Contribution project

Climate project portfolio “Global impact”: diversified and verified

worldwide

ClimatePartner ID: 2050

Project details

Climate project portfolio "Global impact"Get to know the project

Reaching net zero by 2050 will be a long journey. On the way there, businesses will continue to emit greenhouse gases, even if they are reducing them as fast as they can. Climate projects bridge this gap. These are certified activities, such as clean cooking, forest protection, and regenerative agriculture, that reduce, avoid, or remove CO₂. By supporting these projects, companies can take responsibility for emissions they cannot yet avoid.

The climate project portfolio "Global impact" brings together twelve carefully selected climate projects spanning ten technologies and five continents. Similar to an ETF, the portfolio enables a diversified, risk-optimised contribution to global climate action, comprising 65% carbon reduction projects, 20% carbon avoidance projects and 15% carbon removal projects.

All projects undergo ClimatePartners’ multi-stage project integrity screening. Portfolio projects that have been externally assessed by rating agencies such as BeZero Carbon, Sylvera, and MSCI have received a rating of BB or higher.

Supporting all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, the portfolio goes far beyond climate action alone. The selected projects improve health conditions, protect the habitats of endangered species, create jobs, strengthen local infrastructure and promote sustainable development in areas where the impacts of climate change are most acute.

The portfolio comprises twelve projects:

Carbon reduction (social impact):

Carbon reduction (industrial gases):

Carbon avoidance:

Carbon removal:

Project Standard

The project contributes to the the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals

The voluntary carbon market is complex – and it’s changing rapidly. With the climate project portfolio "Global impact", we have developed a product that simplifies this complexity: twelve certified projects, ten technologies, five continents. A clear structure, verifiable impact.

Leopold FürstTeam Lead Contribution Consulting, ClimatePartner

Why diversification in climate action makes sense

The climate crisis cannot be solved with a single technology. Climate projects employ various approaches, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions (carbon reduction), removing CO₂ from the atmosphere (carbon removal), and preventing emissions from entering the atmosphere (carbon avoidance). These technologies, which range from improved cookstoves and biochar to forest protection, are all grouped under the term climate tech.

A balanced portfolio across various climate tech categories maximises impact, reduces risk, and establishes a foundation for a credible climate action strategy. The climate project portfolio functions similarly to an ETF in the financial sector, spreading risk across many assets.

Guidance from the SBTi

The SBTi provides clear direction: reducing emissions within a company’s own value chain is important, but this alone is not enough. Despite existing climate targets, the world is heading for a temperature rise of 2.3–2.5 °C. This is why, alongside reduction, the SBTi also recommends taking responsibility for ongoing emissions: by financing climate projects that deliver significant climate impact and provide social and environmental co-benefits – especially in regions most affected by climate change. From 2035 onwards, the focus will shift more strongly towards climate projects that permanently remove carbon from the atmosphere (carbon removal).

The climate portfolio ”Global impact” is precisely tailored to this framework, comprising a solid core of reduction projects, a share of avoidance projects and an increasing proportion of removal projects, alongside broad regional diversification.

All projects in this portfolio are registered with international standards.

The project aims to contribute to these United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Project facts

Climate projects generally fall into one of three groups: carbon reduction, carbon removal, or carbon avoidance. Carbon reduction projects reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by a specific activity (e.g., improved cookstoves). Carbon removal projects remove carbon from the atmosphere by sequestering it in carbon sinks (e.g., reforestation). Carbon avoidance projects avoid greenhouse gas emissions entering the atmosphere (e.g., protecting forests from deforestation with REDD+ projects).

Climate projects demonstrably reduce, remove, or avoid greenhouse gas emissions. This is achieved with various technologies, ranging from nature-based solutions to social impact projects and renewable energies.

Climate projects go through third-party validation and verification. Verification happens regularly after each monitoring period. A validation and verification body checks and assesses whether the values and project activities stated in the monitoring report are correct and verifies them. As with validation, visits to the project site are often part of the process.

Climate projects go through third-party validation and verification. Validation happens early in the project life cycle and ensures that the project design is in line with current processes and requirements. This phase often also involves field visits with on-site interviews and analyses. Auditors are accredited, impartial assessors who have to be approved as a validation and verification body (VVB) by the standards body.

Four criteria for projects to meet quality thresholds

01. AdditionalityA project must lead to lower carbon emissions than would have occured without the project. Additionality also means that a project relies on financing from the sale of emission reductions, as the project would otherwise not be feasible and the upfront investment would be too high for project developers.

02. Exclusion of double countingThe carbon reduction may only be counted once and may not be counted again elsewhere, so a Verified Emission Reduction is retired once it has been used. This process is recorded in official registries.

03. PermanenceThe criterion of permanence ensures that carbon reductions or removals are ongoing and do not occur just once. This guarantees a long-term benefit for the climate. The minimum duration of a project depends on the underlying project technology.

04. Audit by independent third-partiesClimate projects must be audited regularly by independent auditors such as TÜV Nord. These auditors verify that the project is in compliance with the relevant standards. They also determine the volume of carbon emissions that have actually been avoided or removed.

The life cycle of a climate project

A climate project has a set life cycle consisting of various phases, from the feasibility assessment to the retirement of Verified Emission Reductions (VERs).

Project planning phase

The project developer reviews the general feasibility of the project, the project design, and the financing. Then, the Project Design Document (PDD) is prepared, which contains all the basic information about the project, such as the objective, location, timeline, and duration.

Validation

In this phase, independent auditors examine the PDD and the information it contains. This phase often also involves field visits with on-side interviews and analyses. Auditors are accredited, impartial assessors who have to be approved by the relevant standard as a validation and verification body (VVB). TÜV Nord/Süd, S&A Carbon LLC., and SCS Global Services are examples of VVBs."

Registration

Once validated, the project can be registered with a standard such as the Verified Carbon Standard or the Gold Standard. All high-quality climate projects are based on international standards. They provide the framework for project design, construction, carbon accounting, and monitoring. Recognised standards make the climate project system and the projects themselves resilient, traceable, and credible.

Monitoring

After the climate project has been registered, the monitoring begins. Here, the project developers monitor and document the data of the project activities and progress. The duration of the monitoring phase varies from project to project: it can cover two years, but documentation over five or seven years is also possible.

Verification

At the end of each monitoring phase, a VVB checks and assesses whether the values and project activities stated in the monitoring report are correct. As with validation, visits to the project site are often part of the verification process.

Issuance of Verified Emission Reductions

Once verified, the emission reductions that were confirmed in the verification phase can be issued as VERs. The steps of monitoring, verification, and issuance of VERs are repeated regularly and are therefore considered as a cycle.

Retirement of Verified Emission Reductions

Once a VER has been used, it must be retired. This process is also reflected in the registry. If the financing of a climate project is done through ClimatePartner, the VERs are bundled in a system certified by TÜV Austria and then retired on a regular basis. This ensures that each VER can no longer be sold and is only used once, preventing double counting.

* For certified projects only: the project-related information on this page is based on the documents in the register.

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