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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

The grant's core objective is to support cities and regional authorities in building the necessary capacity and skills to develop and implement decarbonisation plans and strategies for the clean energy transition. This aims to benefit industries, businesses, and citizens in their territories.
Target recipients are primarily PUBLIC sector entities, specifically cities and regional authorities. The grant encourages consortia.
This is a SECTOR-SPECIFIC grant focusing on clean energy, environmental transition, and public administration at local/regional levels.
Geographic scope covers cities and regions within eligible countries, typically EU Member States.
Key filtering criteria include being a public authority, demonstrating political commitment, and participating in a consortium of at least three organizations from three different eligible countries.
This grant is part of the recurring LIFE 2025 call for Clean Energy Transition, aligning with broader EU Green Deal objectives.

Financial Structure

Total Budget for Topic: The total budget available for the LIFE-2025-CET-LOCAL topic is EUR 7,000,000.
Suggested Grant Amount: The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of up to EUR 1,750,000 would be appropriate for achieving the specific objectives. However, this is a guideline, and submitting proposals for other amounts is not precluded.
Currency: All financial amounts are in EUR.
Funding Rate: The grant covers 95.0% of eligible costs, meaning a 5% co-financing contribution is required from beneficiaries.
Financial Reporting: Financial and operational capacity requirements are outlined in section 7 of the call document, and the legal and financial set-up of grants is detailed in section 10 of the call document, implying regular financial reporting and compliance.
Financial Sustainability: Proposals should outline the scale of financial resources needed post-project and foresee necessary financial resources within the public budget, assessing possible financing solutions for implementing clean energy transition measures.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Type and Structure

Eligible Organization Types: Primarily cities and regional authorities. This includes municipal and regional public bodies responsible for energy or climate policies and implementation. Other types of organizations may be eligible as consortium partners if they are beneficiaries and contribute to the project's objectives.
Consortium Requirement: Proposals must be submitted by at least 3 applicants (beneficiaries, not affiliated entities) from 3 different eligible countries. This means collaboration across borders is mandatory.

Geographic Requirements

Eligible Countries: Applicants must be established in one of the EU Member States: AT, BE, BG, HR, CY, CZ, DK, EE, FI, FR, DE, GR, HU, IE, IT, LV, LT, LU, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SK, SI, ES, SE.

Capacity and Commitment

Capacity Requirements: Organizations should demonstrate the capacity and skills to deliver and implement decarbonisation plans and strategies.
Political Commitment: Targeted cities and regional authorities must demonstrate their involvement and political commitment, potentially through specific letters of support.

Project Scope Requirements

Specific Focus: Proposals must clearly specify whether they address Scope A or Scope B:
- Scope A: Implementation of integrated decarbonisation plans, focusing on accelerating and mainstreaming sustainable energy measures, developing skills, and optimizing public expenditure. Activities may include setting up structures, peer-to-peer learning, and comprehensive capacity building.
- Scope B: Development of methodologies, templates, blueprints, and strategies for the preparation of local heating and cooling plans, including building skills, facilitating data access, fostering fossil gas phase-out, and engaging market participants.

Exclusion Criteria

Specific exclusion criteria are detailed in section 7 of the call document (not provided in this excerpt), covering financial and operational capacity and exclusion grounds.

Application Process

Application Process Steps

Submission: Applications must be submitted via the Electronic Submission Service available through the Funding & Tenders Portal.
Application Type: The submission process is 'single-stage'.

Deadlines and Timeline

Application Deadline: The final deadline for submitting proposals is 2025-09-23T00:00:00.000+0000.
Submission Session Availability: The submission session for this topic became available on 2025-04-24.
Indicative Timeline: An indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement procedures is described in section 4 of the call document (not provided in this excerpt).

Required Documentation and Materials

Standard Application Form: A specific application form (LIFE SAP and OAG) is available in the Submission System.
Detailed Budget Table: A 'Detailed budget table (LIFE)' template must be used.
Participant Information: 'Participant information (LIFE)' document is required.
Letters of Support: Proposals should include specific and tailored letters of support demonstrating the involvement and political commitment of targeted cities and regional authorities.

Support and Assistance

National Contact Point (NCP): Applicants are encouraged to contact their NCP for support.
IT Helpdesk: Available for technical questions related to submission, access rights, and login issues.
Online Manual: A step-by-step online guide covering proposal preparation, submission, and project reporting is available.
FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions for the LIFE-2025-CET call are available.
Info Session Recordings: Recordings and presentations from info sessions may be available.

Evaluation Criteria

Expected Impact and Contribution

Proposals should clearly present concrete results and demonstrate how these contribute to topic-specific impacts.
A detailed analysis of the starting point, well-substantiated assumptions, and clear causal links between results and expected impact are required.
Quantification of results and impacts is expected using topic-specific indicators (e.g., number of measures implemented, financial resources earmarked, capacity improvements) and common LIFE Clean Energy Transition sub-programme indicators (e.g., primary/final energy savings, renewable energy generation, GHG emission reduction, investments triggered).
Impact should be quantified for the end of the project and for 5 years after the project ends.

Project Quality and Coherence

Proposals should outline how actions and methods can be rapidly deployed and used by cities and regional authorities.
The project plan should help policymakers prioritize actions effectively.
Clarity on how the project will enable the necessary financial resources within public budgets and assess possible financing solutions for implementation.

Cross-Cutting Themes

Social Impact: Proposals should ensure a 'social, just, and competitive transition', including active involvement of citizens and communities.
Stakeholder Engagement: Structured dialogues between different levels of governance and active involvement of public and private stakeholders (including citizens, communities, local/regional industry, businesses, and energy operators) are expected.
Vulnerable Groups: Particular attention should be paid to vulnerable groups in the context of implementing sustainable energy measures.

Alignment and Complementarity

Proposals should consider complementarity and alignment with relevant initiatives such as National Energy and Climate Plans, National Building Renovation Plans, and the Horizon Europe Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission.

General Evaluation Criteria

Award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in section 9 of the call document (not provided in this excerpt).

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

EU Directives: Projects must align with and contribute to objectives of the EU 'Fit for 55' legislative package, particularly the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) and the Renewable Energy Directive (RED).
Legal Framework: Compliance with the LIFE Regulation 2021/783 and EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509 is required.

Ethical and Social Considerations

Inclusion: Proposals should demonstrate active involvement of public and private stakeholders, including citizens, communities, and local/regional industry, businesses, and energy operators, to ensure a 'social, just, and competitive transition'.
Vulnerable Groups: Particular attention must be given to vulnerable groups during the implementation of sustainable energy measures.

Project Specifics

Scope Selection: Applicants must clearly specify whether their proposal focuses on 'Scope A: Implementation of integrated decarbonisation plans' or 'Scope B: Development of methodologies, templates, blueprints and strategies for the preparation of local heating and cooling plans'.
Knowledge Transfer: Actions should include peer-to-peer approaches to share knowledge and best practices among cities and regional authorities.
Structured Dialogue: Proposals should foresee structured dialogues between different levels of governance.

Risk Management

While not explicitly detailed, the requirement for well-substantiated assumptions and clear causality links between results and expected impact implies a need for robust project planning that considers potential risks to achieving outcomes.

Grant Details