20.12.2013 Official Journal of the European Union L 347185 REGULATION (EU) No 1293/2013 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 11 December 2013 on the establishment of a Programme for the Environment and Climate Action (LIFE) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 614/2007 (Text with EEA relevance) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 192 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments, Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1), Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (3), Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (%), Whereas: Union environmental and climate policy and legislation have delivered substantial improvements to the state of the environment. However, major environmental and climate challenges remain which, if left unaddressed, will have significant consequences for the Union. Tackling those environmental and climate challenges should, due to their scale and complexity, be funded primarily ~ through the Union’s major funding programmes. In its Communication of 29 June 2011 entitled "A Budget for Europe 2020", recognising the climate change challenge, the Commission stated that it intends to increase the climate-related proportion of the Union budget to at least 20 % with contributions from different policies. This Regulation should contribute to the achievement of that goal. () O] C 191, 29.6.2012, p. 111. () OJ C 277, 13.9.2012, p. 61. (’) Position of the European Parliament of 21 November 2013 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and decision of the Council of 5 December 2013. (3) Those Union funding programmes cannot address all specific needs relating to the environment and climate action. For the environment and for climate action, specific approaches are required to deal with uneven inte- gration of their objectives into Member States’ practices, uneven and inadequate implementation of the legislation in the Member States, and insufficient dissemination of information about, and promotion of, policy goals. It is appropriate to provide a follow-up to the programme established by Regulation (EC) No 614/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council (¥) and adopt a new regulation. Therefore, this Regulation should establish a dedicated funding Programme for the Environment and  Climate  Action (the "LIFE Programme"). In order for Union funding to achieve substantial impact, close synergies and complementarity should be developed between the LIFE Programme and other Union funding programmes. Environmental assets are unevenly distributed across the Union, but their benefits concern, and are felt by, the Union as a whole. The Union's obligation to preserve those assets calls for the consistent application of the principles of solidarity and responsibility sharing, which require that some Union environmental and climate problems be better addressed at regional or local level. Since 1992, LIFE programmes have played an essential role for better solidarity and responsibility sharing in preserving the common good of the Union’s environment and climate. The LIFE Programme should continue playing that role. Given its characteristics and size, the LIFE Programme cannot solve all environmental and climate problems. Rather, its objective should be to act as a catalyst for changes in policy development and implementation by providing and disseminating solutions and best practices to achieve environmental and climate goals, and by promoting innovative environmental and climate change technologies. In that endeavour, the LIFE Programme should support the implementation of the General Union Environment Action Programme to 2020 "Living well, within the limits of our planet" as established by Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council ®) ('7th Environment Action Programme"). (*) Regulation (EC) No 614/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 May 2007 concerning the Financial Instrument for the Environment (LIFE+) (O] L 149, 9.6.2007, p. 1). () Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 November 2013 on a General Union Environment Action Programme to 2020 "Living well, within the limits of our planet".