FAQ

Over the course of millions of years, the global climate has experienced fluctuations. Since the beginning of industrialisation, however, the composition of the atmosphere has changed as a result of greenhouse gas emissions. This global warming caused by human beings intensifies the natural greenhouse effect and is leading to detectable changes to the climate. This global warming also has a significant effect on people and nature.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the global warming of the last 50 years is clearly attributable to humans. Due to emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, i.e. oil, gas and coal, as well as human land use, the natural greenhouse effect is intensified.

The anthropogenic greenhouse effect is due to greenhouse gases emitted by humans, which amplify the natural greenhouse effect. This leads to global warming. This noticeable change in the climate has a significant impact on people and nature.

Climate change destabilises the Earth’s temperature equilibrium and has far-reaching effects on human beings and the environment. A distinction is made between direct and indirect effects of climate change. During the course of global warming, the energy balance and thus the temperature of the earth change, due to the increased concentration of greenhouse gases, which has a significant impact on humans and the environment.

Both influence each other, which is why they must be tackled together. In this FAQ, we explain the connections and highlight what actions can be taken to help combat both crises.

Greenhouse gases are the gases in the Earth’s atmosphere that produce the greenhouse effect. Most greenhouse gases can have either a natural or an anthropogenic (man-made) source.

The greenhouse effect is basically a natural process that has a significant impact on the temperature on Earth. However, since the beginning of industrialisation, the presence of long-lasting greenhouse gases has been increasing dramatically.

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) is a colourless and odourless gas that is a natural component of the air and part of the global carbon cycle. It plays an important role in photosynthesis, in which plants convert CO₂ into oxygen. At the same time, CO₂ is a significant greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming and climate change. Its concentration is influenced by natural processes and human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels. Monitoring and controlling CO₂ emissions are therefore central to environmental protection and climate policy.

A person produces on average 4.5 tonnes of CO₂ per year. But what exactly does it mean to cause one tonne of CO₂ and what can be understood by it? myclimate has drawn up a comparison.

A CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e) is a unit of measurement that is used to standardise the climate effects of various greenhouse gases.

When comparing CO₂ emissions internationally, three different emission variables of the individual countries are relevant: direct CO₂ emissions, imported CO₂ emissions and a country’s per capita emissions. Current figures on the three emission variables show that Switzerland is one of the largest causers of CO₂ emissions.

For scientists, the term “climate” encompasses weather patterns over a long period. Although this term is somewhat abstract, its impact is very real. What is the difference between weather and climate? And what are the climate factors and drivers?

"Global warming" means that the average temperature everywhere on earth increases for a longer period of time. However, global warming does not necessarily mean that this happens evenly all over the world. Some parts of the earth may warm up more, others more slowly, and fluctuations cannot be ruled out.

The exploitation of Earth is increasing every year, with more resources consumed than the planet can provide. Earth Overshoot Day highlights this issue by precisely defining the date on which annual resources are exhausted. In 2024, it will fall on 1 August, one day earlier than in 2023.

As a concept, sustainability goes far beyond just climate protection. It means dealing responsibly with the earth’s limited resources while creating a sustainable society and promoting social justice.

The European Union tightened its environmental advertising and green claims rules with the coming Green Claims Directive and the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, following suit on France's regulation from 2023. Strict requirements will apply to products and services advertised as “climate-neutral”, “environmentally friendly”, “sustainable” or similar terms. The myclimate label “Engaged for Impact” currently fulfils all requirements set out by the new laws.

Greenwashing, greenwishing, or even greenhushing? And what’s the difference between greenwashing and bluewashing? These days, discussions about climate protection are peppered with a myriad of buzzwords that complicate the debate. These FAQs provide a clear overview of the concepts and explain how to make sustainability communication credible.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are common, universal goals for member states of the United Nations to transform the world into a fairer, more prosperous and peaceful society until 2030. They were adopted in September 2015 as successors to the Millennium Goals.

When planning and designing climate protection projects, myclimate places a special focus on achieving positive impacts that extend beyond reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These impacts help improve the ecological, social, and economic conditions in the countries where we operate. To assess these diverse benefits, we measure them against the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Climate protection projects support the use of renewable energy, realise energy efficiency measures or reduce methane emissions. This can be achieved through technological advances, the filtering of greenhouse gases from power plants and production facilities, but also through afforestation and other suitable measures in agriculture.

myclimate applies only the strictest independent quality standards when choosing and designing its own climate protection projects. International projects are primarily certified according to Gold Standard and Plan Vivo, and selected projects also according to VCS (incl. CCB and/or SD-VISta) or CSI. Domestic projects are verified according to the "myclimate Guidelines for Domestic Projects" or according to the standards in the respective countries.

Everyone can make a contribution to climate protection! In line with the motto “Avoid, reduce and make a contribution to climate protection”, we can take responsibility for our own ecological footprint, which includes our CO₂ emissions. The most common everyday causes of harmful emissions are travel with cars or aeroplanes, heating and electricity usage and our consumption behaviour.

Greenhouse gas emissions produced by people and the resulting global temperature increase are a key cause of climate change. Through decarbonisation – the switch from fossil fuels to carbon-free and renewable energy sources – states and companies worldwide want to reduce and avoid CO₂ emissions. However, current global climate targets are still not ambitious enough to effectively stem climate change.

The world has agreed on a clear goal in the Paris Agreement: global warming should be limited to a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius. To achieve this target, the energy supply must be climate-neutral by 2050. In concrete terms, this means that all energy must come from renewable sources as soon as possible. But what exactly is renewable energy, how does it contribute to climate protection, and where does it have the greatest impact? We provide answers to these and other questions in this article.

On 11 December, 1997, in Kyoto, Japan, the additional protocol to the organisation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted. The aim was to slow down climate change by means of climate protection measures. The Kyoto Protocol included clear regulations on how greenhouse gases were to be reduced. It came into force in 2005 and was replaced by the Paris Agreement in 2021.

At the COP21 climate conference in Paris in 2015, the “Paris Climate Agreement” – also known as the “Paris Treaty” or the “Paris Agreement” – was adopted. There were 197 signatories to the agreement, with almost all of them ratifying the treaty. The agreement is a legally binding international treaty that forms part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Its aim is to limit global warming, preferably to 1.5°C and significantly below 2°C, compared to the pre-industrial level of 1850.

The 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) took place from 31 October to 12 November 2021, in Glasgow, Scotland. As at the previous Climate Change COPs, the focus was on limiting global warming and the measures needed to do so. These emission reduction certificates (Certified Emission Reductions, CERs) can be traded and transferred on international carbon markets.

At a UNFCCC climate conference, politicians from many different countries come together to work out solutions and reach agreements to limit the increase in global warming. In 1992, the first UNFCCC environmental summit conference took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with the participation of the member states of the United Nations. The first Climate Change Conference (COP 1) was held in Berlin, Germany, in 1995.

In 2020, the Paris Agreement replaced the Kyoto Protocol. In the process, the framework conditions for the international carbon markets underwent change. “Paris” now allows parties to the agreement to cooperate directly with one another. This means that CO₂ reductions can be realised in one country, while the certificates for these reductions are transferred to another country and accounted for in that country’s national register.

After the revised Swiss CO₂ Act was narrowly rejected on 13 June 2021, the current CO₂ Act was extended until the end of 2024. The National Council and Council of States then agreed on a reworked version, which will enter into force on 1 January 2025. This newly revised CO₂ Act will shape Swiss climate policy until the end of 2030, with the aim of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half (compared to 1990 levels) by then, a Paris Climate Agreement commitment.

In Europe, North America, Australia and New Zeeland, national and regional emissions trading systems have been introduced to regulate industries that are particularly energy-intensive and emissions-intensive through a market mechanism. Emissions trading employs a marketplace to reduce emissions of harmful gases, which creates motivation for investing in climate-friendly technologies.

The circular economy refers to a systemic approach to longer and more efficient use of resources and thus to avoidance of waste and pollution. Resources are kept in the material cycle for as long as possible with the highest possible value. This means that fewer primary raw materials are consumed, and the more efficient production processes lead to lower greenhouse gas emissions. The approach of the circular economy is not the same as that of recycling. A distinction is drawn between the technical and the biological cycles.

Nature-based solutions are increasingly coming to the fore, rooted in the protection, regeneration and sustainable management of ecosystems. This is because it is no longer possible to achieve the Paris 1.5°C target through mere reduction of man-made emissions and capturing and storing them using technological solutions. For this reason, nature-based solutions are increasingly coming to the fore, rooted in the protection, regeneration and sustainable management of ecosystems. Nature-based solutions are not only one of the most powerful tools to fight climate change, but they also offer a variety of other important advantages for people and nature, such as an unspoiled environment and the protection of biodiversity.

In view of the urgent climate crisis, a well-known but forgotten substance is coming back into focus: biochar. It is one of the most promising negative emissions technologies, i.e. a method of actively removing CO₂ from the atmosphere. But what is behind this black granulate and what potential does it offer for climate protection?

Forests play a crucial role in a functioning global climate and provide vital services. These include regulating the water balance, protecting against and mitigating natural hazards, ensuring clean air and habitats and refuges for animals and for humans, and providing sustainable raw materials. Unfortunately, the world’s forests are threatened for a variety of reasons. Global deforestation is a major driver of climate change and biodiversity loss. But climate change that is already being felt and its consequences – such as more frequent and prolonged droughts, fires, storms and pest infestation – are also affecting our forest ecosystems locally and internationally. To counteract this trend, climate protection organisations such as myclimate support impactful projects for reforestation, stabilisation and for the protection of existing forests. This article explains why forests are so important, and how they contribute to climate protection.

The ecological footprint was developed by Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees in the mid-1990s and it has since been implemented as an indicator for sustainability. It represents the demands made on the ecosystem and natural resources.

The digital transformation has brought many benefits that also have positive effects in the fight against climate change and reduce CO₂ emissions. However, the production, use and data transmission of digital devices cause CO₂ emissions that are greater than you might think. These emissions are summarised under the term "digital CO₂ footprint" or digital carbon footprint.

Net zero is on everyone's lips nowadays. So what exactly does “net zero emission” mean?

SBTs are a way for companies to define emissions reduction targets. Unlike traditional “potential-based targets”, SBTs follow a “top-down” approach: they focus on the quantity of emissions that needs to be reduced in order to meet the targets set out in the Paris Climate Agreement, limiting global warming to 1.5°C. In addition, the Net-Zero Standard, launched in October 2021, gives companies a science-based framework for defining ambitious and effective climate targets with a long-term goal of achieving net-zero emissions.

To reach "zero net greenhouse gas emissions” and limit global warming to 1.5°C, it is necessary to remove and permanently store CO₂ from the atmosphere. This is called Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR). As it is the opposite of emissions, these practices or technologies are often described as "negative emissions", "sinks" or "removals". There is a direct link between radically reducing CO₂ emissions and CDR: The earlier net zero emissions are achieved, the less CDR is necessary. Therefore, the projected amount of required CDR over the 21st century varies from 100 to 1,000 Gt CO₂.

The term carbon budget is used to illustrate the average amount of CO₂ per resident that may be produced in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C. By ratifying the Paris Agreement, Switzerland has committed itself to reducing its emissions by 50% by 2030 and to limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Based on Switzerland’s historic emissions, the country’s annual budget per person is a maximum of 0.47t of CO₂ by 2100.

Sufficiency, often also referred to as frugality, starts with consumer behaviour. Based on the principle of "less is more", the general consumption of resources should be reduced to a level that can be reasonably sustained in the future, as the current distribution ratios for goods and resources are not only ecologically dangerous, but also internationally questionable.

Climate models are used together with emission scenarios to calculate the probable future climate, so-called climate projections. The climate models describe how the earth's climate functions, while the emission scenarios describe the impact of humans on the environment. If the climate models are combined with the emission scenarios, it is possible to predict with a certain amount of probability how the climate will be in the future.

myclimate offers various CO₂ emissions calculators for different activities. It isn’t just emissions from air travel, car journeys and cruise holidays that can be calculated: individual carbon footprints, the corporate carbon footprint and/or the greenhouse gas footprint of events can also be ascertained, and a carbon footprint drawn up for individual households. In addition, it is possible to support carbon offset projects and the valuable educational programmes of myclimate with free donations or to directly select a project of your choice for support.

The CO₂ tax is also known as the CO₂ price or CO₂ pricing and, like any other tax, is set individually by a state. In Sweden, the CO₂ tax has been in place since 1991 and currently stands at 114 euros per tonne of CO₂ emitted. In Switzerland, Denmark, Finland and Slovenia, a CO₂ tax has also been standard for many years. In Germany, the CO₂ tax will be introduced from 2021 with an introductory price of 25 euros and will increase gradually. By taxing CO₂ emissions, the countries are pursuing the goal of making CO₂ emissions more expensive in order to achieve a reduction in CO₂ emissions.

"Offsetting" means compensating for carbon dioxide emissions generated in one place by funding equivalent climate-effective reductions in another. This term can, however, create the wrong impression that no emissions are generated at all.

The term “climate neutral” is widespread, but it often causes misunderstanding and confusion. That’s because in most cases it doesn’t mean that no emissions are produced, “merely” that emissions are offset by climate protection projects. That’s why myclimate no longer uses this term. A more effective approach than calculating climate neutrality is transparent communication by companies and organisations about their own climate protection efforts.

CO₂ certificates represent the amount of emissions for which financial responsibility is assumed through support for climate protection projects. One certificate corresponds to one tonne of greenhouse gases.

The replacement of the Kyoto Protocol with the Paris Agreement and the decisions of the subsequent climate protection conferences have a far-reaching impact – for all players in the carbon market and for people worldwide. myclimate is at the forefront of promoting transparency and integrity in the voluntary carbon market. The following provides an overview of current developments in the voluntary market and what they mean for private sector companies. 

If we are to achieve the Paris climate goals, then the private sector is more important than ever. The myclimate label “Engaged for Impact” (impact label for short) denotes companies that proactively and voluntarily commit to climate protection by financing climate protection measures. In addition to reducing their own emissions, this is an important component of a climate strategy towards net zero, and it also enables a company to gain experience in pricing in the costs of remaining CO₂ emissions.

The market and the public have their doubts: should we be supporting climate protection projects? myclimate responds: yes, absolutely, and sooner rather than later. Here, myclimate offers ten reasons why climate protection projects are important.

Beyond value chain mitigation (BVCM) is a key concept in the battle against the climate crisis. It covers measures that companies undertake to reduce the impact of climate change beyond their own value chains, in particular through climate protection projects. These can be high-quality, certified and measurable climate protection projects that have additional benefits for local people and biodiversity, or transformational activities that drive innovation, advocacy, education and behavioural change. BVCM complements a company’s own emissions reduction efforts and is a critical lever for reaching the climate targets set by the Paris Agreement.

myclimate’s strict quality standards ensure that when you support climate protection projects, it makes a genuine difference. This, in turn, makes it easy for companies to select an effective project that aligns with their values.

On the myclimate website you can find a large and highly diverse selection of climate protection projects that myclimate supports and co-develops, covering everything from climate-optimised forest management, agroforestry and rewetting of moors in Switzerland, landscape restoration in Ethiopia and climate-friendly rice farming in India. But how does myclimate choose its project ideas from the countless options for climate protection? And what does it take to develop a climate protection project and guide it over a period of years?

myclimate invests exclusively in projects that deliver measurable and long-term success. Only emissions reductions that have actually been realised and can be proven over a longer contract term of 7 to 14 years are counted in energy projects. Contributions to climate protection made to myclimate are generally paid out to the supported projects after the services have been rendered. The contribution amount depends on the volume of the project’s greenhouse gas reduction. Land use and forestry projects (agriculture, moorland, forest) are a speciality, as they naturally have a longer time horizon of 30 to 50 years.

myclimate and myclimate Germany are charitable foundations and are therefore tax-exempt in Switzerland and Germany. All private climate protection contributions and donations to myclimate are tax deductible in both Switzerland and Germany.

Insetting refers to the financing of climate protection projects along a company’s own value chain that demonstrably reduce or sequester emissions and thereby achieve a positive impact on the communities, landscapes and ecosystems associated with the value chain.