(21 February 2017) – A group of experts within the LIFE external monitoring team (Neemo, including AEIDL) has published a report analysing the LIFE programme’s role in creating green jobs and boosting sustainable economic growth across Europe.
The study – ‘LIFE: Contributing to Employment and Economic Growth’ – explores LIFE project sustainability (i.e. the viability of project outcomes after the end of financing) and replicability (i.e. the degree to which project outcomes are taken up by other entities).
The report first focuses on the statistical and econometric analysis of LIFE projects in terms of sustainability and replicability potential. It then examines the economic impact of selected LIFE projects under different replication scenarios. The third section highlights the hidden economic potential of LIFE Nature projects thanks to the ecosystem services delivered. The final section presents an overview of recent Green Finance initiatives that can help LIFE project replication.
The report concludes that from an initial investment of €2.1 billion (total LIFE project funding from 1991 to 2016), the LIFE Programme has led to the creation of 74 500 full time equivalent (FTE) jobs: 31 000 during project implementation and 43 000 as a result of the first five years of project replication.