Lufthansa Group Expands Climate Protection Portfolio with Greater Focus on Carbon Removal Technologies
- 6 hours ago
- 2 min read
The Lufthansa Group has introduced an enhanced climate protection portfolio that places a stronger emphasis on technology based carbon removal solutions as part of its long term sustainability strategy. The updated portfolio includes 14 climate protection projects certified according to the highest international standards, with projects designed to permanently remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere now accounting for approximately 20% of the portfolio, double the previous share.
The initiative forms part of Lufthansa Group's efforts to provide passengers with more sustainable travel options. Through voluntary contributions, travelers can support climate protection projects and the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) to reduce the environmental impact of air travel. In 2025, passengers contributed to projects covering more than 710,000 metric tonnes of CO₂ emissions, representing a 20% increase compared to the previous year.
According to Nina Sproedt, Head of Sustainability at Lufthansa Group, climate protection projects complement the company's own emission reduction measures and play an important role in achieving its long term climate goals. The airline group is increasingly prioritizing innovative technologies that provide long lasting carbon sequestration while helping scale emerging climate solutions.
To develop the new portfolio, Lufthansa Group has partnered with organizations including myclimate, First Climate, Ceezer, Senken, Climeworks and 1PointFive. All selected projects are certified under leading standards such as the Gold Standard, ensuring measurable climate benefits while also supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Greater Emphasis on Carbon Removal
The climate protection portfolio is divided into two categories: emission avoidance and carbon removal projects. Avoidance projects focus on preventing emissions through initiatives such as energy efficient cookstoves and biogas systems. Removal projects actively extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it over the long term.
Alongside nature based solutions such as reforestation, Lufthansa Group is increasingly investing in technology driven carbon removal methods. These include biochar production and Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS), a technology that captures CO₂ directly from the air and stores it permanently underground.
Supporting the Future of Sustainable Aviation
Decarbonizing aviation remains one of the industry's greatest challenges due to the limited availability of low carbon alternatives for long haul flights. While Lufthansa Group continues to prioritize direct emission reduction measures, including fleet modernization and SAF adoption, the company views carbon removal technologies as an important complementary solution.
For the first time, DACCS projects have been incorporated into Lufthansa Group's climate protection portfolio. The company is already collaborating with partners such as Climeworks, Airbus and Deep Sky to accelerate the development and deployment of these advanced technologies.
The expanded portfolio highlights Lufthansa Group's commitment to supporting innovation in climate protection while offering passengers greater opportunities to contribute to the aviation sector's transition toward net zero emissions.
Image source: lufthansagroup.com
