Summary:
- Lufthansa Group expands its climate portfolio with 14 high standard projects, doubling the share of long term CO₂ removal to around 20%.
- Technology based climate solutions gain prominence, including DACCS and biochar, supporting scalable, future ready decarbonisation pathways.
- Passenger supported sustainability grows, with travellers contributing to projects covering 710,000+ tonnes of CO₂ in 2025 through more sustainable travel options.
The Lufthansa Group has reshaped its portfolio of climate protection projects and is placing a stronger emphasis on technology-based solutions. As part of its offers for more sustainable flying, passengers can contribute to CO₂ savings through the climate protection project portfolio. The new portfolio comprises 14 projects certified to the highest standards. The share of projects that permanently remove CO₂ from the atmosphere has been doubled and now accounts for around 20%. The projects are being implemented in Lufthansa Group’s home markets of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Italy, as well as in other countries. In 2025, Lufthansa Group passengers contributed to climate protection projects covering more than 710,000 metric tonnes of CO₂ through more sustainable travel options – an increase of around 20% compared with the previous year.
“Climate protection projects, which complement our own emission reduction measures, are an important building block on the path to more sustainable aviation and the achievement of our climate goals,” said Nina Sproedt, Head of Sustainability, Lufthansa Group. “With our carefully curated portfolio, we are increasingly focusing on technology-based projects that enable long-term CO₂ sequestration. In this way, we are contributing to the further development and scaling of these technologies. We offer our passengers the opportunity to support high-quality climate protection projects and the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel, thereby actively participating in the transformation of aviation.”
For its new climate protection project portfolio, the Lufthansa Group is working 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 by the German Environment Agency, among others. In this way, the Lufthansa Group ensures that supporting these projects makes a positive contribution to climate protection. Furthermore, Gold Standard projects also contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and thereby support sustainable development in the respective project regions.
The Lufthansa Group’s climate protection project portfolio is divided into two categories: ‘avoidance’ and ‘removal’ projects. ‘Avoidance’ projects prevent CO₂ emissions outside the airline industry – for example, through the use of energy-efficient cookstoves or modular biogas plants. ‘Removal’ projects, on the other hand, actively remove CO₂ from the atmosphere and store it over the long-term. This can be nature-based, for example through the reforestation of forests and natural landscapes. In addition, there are ‘removal’ projects that use technology-based approaches – for example, those in which CO₂ is extracted from the ambient air via photosynthesis and bound 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).
In addition, the Lufthansa Group is exploring further emission-reduction solutions with an open approach to technology. Particularly advanced technologies such as DACCS will make it possible in the future to filter CO₂ from the ambient air and subsequently store it underground for the long-term. These projects are now, for the first time, included in the Lufthansa Group’s climate protection project portfolio. The Lufthansa Group is already working with partners such as Deep Sky, Airbus and Climeworks to advance the development, promotion, and utilisation of these innovative technological solutions.
Hear more from Lufthansa at the co-located APEX FTE EMEA and APEX FTE Ancillary & Retailing events, taking place in Dublin on 9-11 June 2026. Stefan Patermann, Head of Commercial Excellence & Commercial Airport Partnerships, Lufthansa, is participating in a session focused on ‘Commercial collaboration: embracing innovation and collaboration to create new revenue streams for airlines, airports and their partners’.
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