The Project

EU LIFE-funded project · 2026–2029 · Greece & Bulgaria

Reference

LIFE24-GIC-EL-LIFE-LULUCF-ATLAS

Duration

01/01/2026 – 31/12/2029

Total Budget

1,537,141 €

EU Contribution

922,284 €

Coordinator

NTUA

Project Objectives

  1. Enhance the monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) system for the national GHG reporting, in line with EU regulations 2018/841, 2018/1999 and 2023/839, to increase transparency, completeness and accuracy.
  2. Promote systematic monitoring of the land sector, bioclimatic variables and climate change impacts, to identify trends and improve projections.
  3. Support policymaking to sustain and increase net carbon removals, promoting synergies between policies and measures for climate mitigation, adaptation and biodiversity.
  4. Capacity-building and engagement of stakeholders and interested parties in the implementation of the European Green Deal.

Project Goals

  1. Develop geographically explicit inventories for the LULUCF sector, covering all of Greece and a pilot area in Bulgaria, utilising existing EU and national data collection systems (LUCAS, LPIS/IACS, Copernicus).
  2. Apply advanced techniques to enhance the MRV of greenhouse gas emissions and removals in the national GHG inventory for the LULUCF sector, improving activity data and calculation factors, incorporating additional carbon pools, and using at least Tier 2 methodologies.
  3. Develop and pilot a methodology for including coastal wetlands (e.g., seagrass meadows) in the national GHG inventory, starting with Greece.
  4. Establish a comprehensive monitoring framework for forests, focusing on growth, health, natural disturbances, and harvesting.
  5. Enhance climate monitoring by creating a dedicated network for forests, applicable to both natural and urban/peri-urban environments.
  6. Design land and coastal management practices that sustain and enhance carbon sinks in soils and woody biomass, and promote carbon storage in long-lasting products.
  7. Develop methodologies and tools for the ex-ante and ex-post evaluation of policies and measures in the LULUCF sector, and pilot these in Greece and Bulgaria.
  8. Establish operational linkages between carbon certification schemes, national GHG inventories, and policies and measures in the LULUCF sector.
  9. Raise awareness of climate change impacts and the need for mitigation and adaptation actions by engaging stakeholders through targeted activities.

Partners

NTUA

National Technical University of Athens (NTUA)

Coordinator

Greece

The NTUA Climate MRV Unit operates within the School of Chemical Engineering under the Division of Process Analysis, Design and Development. Since 2007, it has acted as the official technical advisor to the Ministry on climate change–related issues, with staff representing Greece in EU working groups and international climate negotiations under the UNFCCC. The Unit serves as the scientific coordinator of the Greek Greenhouse Gas Inventory System.

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DUTH

Democritus University of Thrace

Partner

Greece

DUTH participates through the Department of Forestry and Management of the Environment and Natural Resources, with more than 15 years’ experience in forest management inventories, model development and sustainable management of forest ecosystems, climate change and carbon estimation.

ELGO-DIMITRA

ELLINIKOS GEORGIKOS ORGANISMOS – DIMITRA

Partner

Greece

ELGO-DIMITRA is the national body responsible for agricultural research and technology in Greece. It participates through two institutes: the Institute of Mediterranean Forest Ecosystems (IMFE), established in 1929, and the Forest Research Institute (FRI), established in 1963.

HOMEOTECH

GOUNARIS N. – KONTOS K. OE (HOMEOTECH)

Partner

Greece

HOMEOTECH is an SME operating in Thessaloniki, Greece since 2001, providing technical and scientific consultancy services in environmental and forest engineering, management, protection and development of natural resources. The company developed the GreenTree application package in 2015 and the Forest Act tools in 2021.

HCMR

Hellenic Centre for Marine Research

Partner

Greece

HCMR comprises three institutes and two aquariums. The Institute of Oceanography (HCMR-IO) conducts multidisciplinary marine and coastal research, with extensive datasets on seagrass status and function as carbon sinks, as well as GIS and Remote Sensing expertise.

SNF

Science for Nature Foundation

Partner

Bulgaria

SNF is a non-governmental organization working in the public interest in Bulgaria, focused on environmental restoration and protection, biodiversity, sustainable management of natural resources, climate change adaptation, and stakeholder engagement.

UPATRAS

University of Patras

Partner

Greece

The Department of Sustainable Agriculture at the University of Patras contributes to climate-smart, sustainable agriculture through climate data collection, statistical analysis, greenhouse gas emissions measurement from agricultural activities, and agro-climatic modelling.

Funded by the European Union National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) HOMEOTECH Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH) ELGO-DIMITRA Science for Nature Foundation (SNF) University of Patras (UPATRAS) Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR)