LIFE 2026 — Clean Energy Transition
About this call
LIFE-2026-CET is the 2026 call under the LIFE Clean Energy Transition sub-programme, managed by CINEA. The call has a total estimated budget of €85.5 million across 13 topics and a single deadline of 16 September 2026. CET is the "soft" strand of LIFE — it does not fund hard infrastructure but instead funds Coordination and Support Actions: policy implementation, capacity-building, technical assistance, awareness-raising, and the establishment of new market structures and services that unlock clean-energy investment at the local, regional and national levels. The funding rate is 95% of eligible costs, materially higher than the 60% standard for LIFE Climate Action and Environment. Consortium rules differ by topic: most require at least three applicants from three different eligible countries, while four topics (BUILDSKILLS, PRIVAFIN, OSS, PDA) allow single applicants. Eligibility otherwise follows the standard LIFE template — public bodies (including municipalities, regions, public utilities), private entities and NGOs from EU Member States, EEA countries, and countries associated to LIFE.
Key facts
Total envelope
Opens
Submission deadline
Deadline model
Funder DG
Programme
Topics under this call
Energy renovation solutions
Scaling deep-renovation and energy-renovation solutions for residential and public buildings.
BUILD UP Skills national platforms
Strengthens national BUILD UP Skills platforms to upskill the construction workforce for the clean-energy transition.
Scaling smart and clean energy for affordability
Scales smart and clean energy approaches to improve affordability for households and SMEs.
Cooperation among energy communities
Supports cooperation among renewable and citizen energy communities to scale local energy ownership.
Alleviating household energy poverty
Supports measures to address household energy poverty through advisory services, retrofits and policy frameworks.
Integrated heating and cooling plans for groups of municipalities
Supports groups of municipalities developing integrated heating and cooling plans aligned with the EU clean-energy transition.
One-Stop-Shops for clean energy transition
Establishing and scaling one-stop-shops that deliver integrated renovation services for households and public buildings.
Project Development Assistance for sustainable energy investment
Project Development Assistance for sustainable-energy investment projects in cities, regions and public bodies.
Implementation of key clean-energy legislation
Supporting national, regional and local implementation of EU clean-energy legislation (EPBD, EED, RED).
National frameworks for renewable heating and cooling
Supports the development of national policy frameworks for renewable heating and cooling deployment.