Carbon offsetting: Offsetting in Switzerland
Carbon offsetting in Switzerland is achieved in projects and programmes that reduce carbon emissions or store carbon. For example, oil for heating is replaced by wood, or methane emissions are reduced by the use of biogas plants. The emission reductions are monitored by the federal government, which issues national emission attestations.
Distributors of fossil fuels have an offsetting obligation under the CO2 Act. They invest in projects in Switzerland and abroad that reduce greenhouse gas emissions or store carbon.
How the offsetting obligation works is explained in detail on the following pages:
Switzerland offsets an increasing proportion of its emissions abroad:
Projects in Switzerland
In Switzerland, for example, there are projects that reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, reduce emissions of greenhouse gases other than CO2 or store carbon that has been removed from the atmosphere in the form of CO2 long term.
The following PDF (in German) explains which project and programme types are permitted:
The list is non-exhaustive and is subject to change.
Some projects are too small for individual authorisation; for example, it would be disproportionate to submit a separate project for each water-saving nozzle. Small projects can be combined into larger programmes.
The CO2 Act and the associated CO2 Ordinance form the legal basis for the implementation of carbon offsetting.
Registered offsetting projects
The FOEN and the SFOE register offsetting projects and publish the associated documentation:
Registered projects in Switzerland
Rejected and withdrawn offsetting projects
An overview of rejected and withdrawn offsetting projects is published here:
List of rejected or withdrawn projects in Switzerland
Impact of offsetting projects
The Compensation Office publishes statistics on the registered offsetting projects. Emission reduction estimates are taken from the information submitted by the project applicants; they are not made by the FOEN. All attestations issued can also be seen in the public area of the Emissions Trading System.
All information on the implementation of offsetting projects in Switzerland and abroad can be found here:
Compensation Office
The FOEN and SFOE jointly operate the Compensation Office, the contact point for project applicants, validators and verifiers, and entities subject to the offsetting obligation.
Contact: kop-ch@bafu.admin.ch