Two Cypriot projects, focused on adapting agriculture to the effects of climate change and on the development of tools for smart buildings, are included in the 168 new projects selected to receive a total of more than 380 million euros in funding under the LIFE Programme for the environment and climate action.
The two projects are a programme to help agriculture adapt to a changing climate (LIFE AgrOassis) which will receive 1.394 million euro from the EU out of a 2.327 million euro budget, and a programme to develop smart tools for smart buildings (SMART SQUARE) which will receive 1.945 million euro from the EU out of a 2.047 million euro budget.
AgrOassis will cover the agricultural sector in Cyprus and Greece and will focus on the develop, demonstration and promotion of innovative techniques and approaches to reduce the risks associated with desertification, inappropriate land use and wildfires.
The partners participating in the programme will also implement measures to regenerate ecosystem services and restore biodiversity through the afforestation of degraded field margins and aiding pollinators.
The project team for SMART SQUARE will develop tools for increasing the smartness of buildings (Smart²) based on the EU Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) scheme.
They will deliver a cloud-based open platform for assessing buildings to identify cost-effective smart building improvements, an SRI observatory to monitor progress, and an SRI audit process to foster standardisation.
Real-time data will also be used to resolve interoperability and cybersecurity issues.
LIFE projects are at central to the European Green Deal and can help the EU become climate-neutral by 2050 and reach climate, energy and environmental goals. They support biodiversity, nature restoration and a circular economy while contributing to the clean energy transition across the continent.
The funding is a 27% increase on last year’s funding, and will mobilise a total investment of over €562 million.
Projects from almost all EU countries will benefit from this EU funding in four themes (sub-programmes): nature and biodiversity, circular economy and quality of life, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and the clean energy transition.
“The climate crisis has severe effects on nature and ecosystems. Extreme heat, droughts, and floods can damage nature and hamper its ability to shield us from the worst impacts of climate change”, Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal said in a statement.
“It is why, at COP27, countries emphasized the importance of protecting and restoring nature. LIFE projects make it possible to move from ambition to action, boosting decarbonization and bringing real change on the ground”, he added.
Source: Cyprus News Agency