With retroactive effect from the beginning of the year, the Federal Council enacted the implementing provisions for the Swiss CO₂ Act in April. As had already been indicated, 25 per cent of CO₂ emissions from the use of fossil motor fuels must be offset in the current year. Thereafter, the percentage will increase by 5 percentage points each year to 50 per cent in 2030. We therefore expect to avoid greenhouse gas emissions of 30 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent between 2025 and 2030 through climate protection projects financed by us and certified by the federal government, slightly more than half of which will be abroad.

The Federal Council was unable to agree to our request to set the carbon offset rate until 2035. This means that an opportunity to financially support the implementation of effective climate protection projects in Switzerland and abroad through a longer-term investment framework has been missed. This will exacerbate the financial situation for the implementation of individual projects abroad in particular. Experience has shown that for every month that federal authorisation is delayed, which can take many months for projects that have already been externally validated, the funding available until 2030 is reduced by several per cent.

In the worst case, this will mean that projects that have already been developed cannot be implemented. Currently, 19 projects from our international portfolio are awaiting evaluation by the federal authorities, with another 40 to follow in the course of the year. The fact that, after a 16-month wait, the WAHU Mobility project in Ghana – the third in our portfolio – has now been authorised for the first time is not only a cause for celebration, but also a cause for concern. It is questionable whether the carbon offset obligation can still be met by 2030 at this pace and following the Federal Council's negative decision. Despite the difficult framework conditions, the KliK Foundation remains committed to making substantial contributions to climate protection in Switzerland and abroad.

E-construction site in Zurich: When the construction site hums instead of roars

Switzerland's first fully electrified construction site is located in a district of the city of Zurich. It is a pilot project within the framework of a research project supported by the KliK Foundation through its programme for electric construction vehicles.

Over the next two years, the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU) will be conducting research into the electrification of urban construction sites in collaboration with the KliK Foundation, the partner cities of Lucerne, Basel and Zurich, and other specialist partners. Innosuisse is supporting the project with around CHF 435,000. Three pilot e-construction sites in Lucerne, Basel and Zurich will demonstrate the actual potential for CO₂ savings and noise reduction on construction sites over the next two years. The city of Zurich kicked off the project in April 2025 with its pilot construction site:

In the greater Lucerne area, the KliK Foundation is supporting two projects for sustainable energy supply: the heating network using lake energy in central Lucerne and the Emmen Luzern Rontal district heating network, which is largely powered by waste heat from a waste incineration plant.

We were given a tour of two central plants for these heating networks – operated by ewl energie wasser luzern – and gained exciting insights into the strategy and implementation of Lucerne's energy transition.

Are you also planning a district heating or heating network project with a sustainable energy source? Then register it for our supported programme as soon as possible and receive annual subsidies until 2030! The registration deadline is 31 December 2025.

Successful start to May with Kenya as Switzerland's new partner country

The news has generated a lot of interest in international circles: on 2 May 2025, Switzerland and Kenya signed a bilateral climate agreement in accordance with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. This partnership paves the way for the KliK Foundation to support activities to reduce greenhouse gases in Kenya. The KliK Foundation is committed to ensuring that these activities are financially viable by financing climate-friendly and innovative technologies. The resulting emission reductions, known as Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs), are purchased by the KliK Foundation and transferred to Switzerland, which can count the emission reductions as a contribution to its climate target.

If you have an idea for an innovative climate protection activity to reduce emissions in Kenya, please register directly on our registration website. You will receive a response from us shortly.

Climate protection activity with e-bikes authorised by Switzerland and Ghana

Our international climate protection activities in Switzerland's partner countries are making significant progress. Numerous externally validated activities have been submitted to the Federal Council and the respective partner countries for authorisation and are awaiting rapid review. The authorisation of the e-bike activity in Ghana has now finally been approved by the Federal Council and Ghana as the third international climate protection measure supported by the KliK Foundation under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. The activity of the company WAHU Mobility will contribute to reducing greenhouse gases through the production and distribution of e-bikes for drivers in the gig economy.

Launch of Peruvian-Swiss cooperation under the Paris Agreement

Peru is one of the partner countries that has signed a bilateral agreement with Switzerland to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In mid-March, a two-day event was held at the Swiss embassy in Lima in cooperation with the Peruvian Ministry of the Environment (MINAM), the Swiss embassy in Peru, the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Peru and the KliK Foundation. It marked the start of successful cooperation on measures to mitigate climate change. Representatives from Switzerland and Peru presented opportunities for joint climate protection in the public and private sectors arising from the bilateral climate agreement between the two countries.