Our goal

Acceleration of the green transition towards a more sustainable society. 

Rationale for the support

The triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss demands an acceleration of the green transition. This programme area supports the transition towards climate neutrality in 2050 through the implementation of the EU’s Green Deal and its legal obligations. The green transition gives Europe an opportunity to build resilience. Societies must adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change. Further efforts are needed to ensure access to affordable, reliable and clean energy. Energy use must become more efficient, and it is crucial to secure a more sustainable supply of raw materials to scale up clean technologies. Pollution and unsustainable consumption lead to environmental degradation that damages ecosystems and increases biodiversity loss. To strengthen resilience across sectors, the resource-intensive linear economy must evolve into a resource-efficient circular economy. Efforts are needed to protect and restore nature, increase the use of renewable natural resources, and reverse the degradation of ecosystems. Some groups and areas suffer disproportionately from the impacts of climate change and environmental degradation. The geographical dimension of ensuring a just green transition must therefore be addressed. The green transition can have significant impacts on individuals and societies. Equality and non-discrimination are crosscutting principles that shall be addressed throughout the programme area. 

Areas of support

  • Clean energy transition.  

  • Air, water, and soil pollution.  

  • Energy security.  

  • Energy poverty.  

  • Sustainable and smart mobility.  

  • Circular economy.  

  • Industrial carbon management.  

  • Natural sinks for absorbing carbon.  

  • Climate change adaptation.  

  • Biodiversity and ecosystems.  

  • Green governance. 

How the objective will be addressed

The programme area aims to strengthen all levels of government to enable the implementation of, and compliance with, the EU’s Green Deal. This may include regulatory processes, management systems, and the use of digital solutions, as well as access to and sharing of data. Knowledge sharing, awareness raising, antidisinformation campaigns, and capacity building will contribute to achieving the programme area objective. The programme area supports the application of nature-based solutions, low-carbon technologies, and environmentally friendly practices. The funding is suitable both for smaller infrastructure projects and projects that facilitate larger investments. This may include consequence analyses, feasibility studies or testing of new concepts, and pilots. The funding may cover areas where the private sector sees limited potential benefits from investments. The scope of each programme will be defined by selecting areas of support. Unless otherwise agreed, and to avoid a complex programme design, the scope will be limited to a restricted number of areas of support.

Key actors and beneficiaries

Citizens, the public sector and the private sector must mobilise and work together to address the programme area objective. Public institutions, all levels of government, and private entities are the main implementing actors. Civil society organisations, entities from the Donor States, research institutions, and international organisations are valuable partners. The supported measures will benefit the general public. The programme area will promote social inclusion, gender equality and youth empowerment. It will target the people that are most affected by climate change and environmental degradation.