Lufthansa Group expands climate protection portfolio | News
The Lufthansa Group has reshaped its portfolio of climate protection projects and is placing a stronger emphasis on technology-based solutions. As part of the offer for more sustainable flying, passengers can contribute to CO₂ savings through the climate protection project portfolio. The new portfolio includes 14 projects certified to the highest standards. The share of projects that permanently remove CO₂ from the atmosphere has doubled and now stands at around 20 percent. The projects are being implemented in Lufthansa Group’s home markets of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Italy, as well as in other countries. By 2025, Lufthansa Group passengers will have contributed to climate protection projects covering more than 710,000 tons of CO₂ through more sustainable travel options – an increase of approximately 20 percent compared to the previous year.
Nina Sproedt, Head of Sustainability at Lufthansa Group, says: “Climate protection projects, which complement our own emission reduction measures, are an important building block towards more sustainable aviation and achieving our climate goals. With our carefully curated portfolio, we are increasingly focusing on technology-based projects that enable long-term CO₂ capture. In this way, we contribute to the further development and scaling up of these technologies. We offer our passengers the opportunity to experience high-quality climate protection projects and the use of sustainable aviation fuel, through which we actively participate in the transformation of aviation.”
For its new climate protection project portfolio, the Lufthansa Group is collaborating with myclimate, First Climate, Ceezer, Senken, Climeworks and 1PointFive. The projects selected for the portfolio are certified according to the highest available standards, such as the Gold Standard, which is recommended, among others, by the German Environment Agency. In this way, the Lufthansa Group ensures that supporting these projects makes a positive contribution to climate protection. In addition, Gold Standard projects also contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), thereby supporting sustainable development in the respective project regions.
Technology focus in the new portfolio of climate protection projects
The Lufthansa Group’s climate protection project portfolio is divided into two categories: “avoidance” and “elimination” projects. ‘Avoidance’ projects prevent CO₂ emissions outside the aviation sector – for example through the use of energy-efficient cooking stoves or modular biogas installations. ‘Removal projects’, on the other hand, actively remove CO₂ from the atmosphere and store it long-term. This can happen naturally, for example through reforestation of forests and natural landscapes. In addition, there are “removal” projects that use technology-based approaches – for example, projects that take CO₂ from the ambient air through photosynthesis and fix it as carbon in the form of biochar. Innovative projects that filter CO₂ from the air and store it underground are also part of the growing share of removal projects (Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage, DACCS).
Commitment to innovative DACCS technologies
In the aviation sector, decarbonization is particularly challenging compared to other sectors. Sector-specific measures to reduce CO₂ emissions are always a priority. In addition, the Lufthansa Group is exploring further solutions for emissions reduction with an open approach to technology. In particular, advanced technologies such as DACCS will make it possible in the future to filter CO₂ from the ambient air and then store it underground for the long term. These projects have now been included in the Lufthansa Group’s climate protection project portfolio for the first time. The Lufthansa Group is already working with partners such as Deep Sky, Airbus and Climeworks to advance the development, promotion and deployment of these innovative technological solutions.
Passengers and interested public can also find more information about the new climate protection portfolio and the underlying mechanisms on specially created web pages of the Lufthansa Group airlines.
