Partner for development and climate action

Profile & Contact

atmosfair is a non-profit company from Berlin, which emerged in 2004 from a research project of the German Environment Ministry (BMU). atmosfair is financed by voluntary climate protection contributions from companies and private individuals. We use these to develop and operate climate projects for CO<sub>2</sub> compensation in developing countries in the areas of renewable energies and energy efficiency.

Because we develop and implement our projects ourselves, we can prove the additionality of investments in climate protection for each of them. Through atmosfair, your climate contributions arrive where they are needed, as we invest 90 percent of our income in our projects. Our projects promote the sustainable development of the project region and improve the living conditions of local people, e.g. by creating new sources of income. Our work is subject to constant monitoring by our advisory board made up of representatives from the BMU and other NGOs. We use funds to purchase hardware and thus subsidise the technology for the end users. In addition, atmosfair bears any transport costs incurred and supports its partner organisations with the necessary infrastructure on site. The projects create long-term jobs in the project regions.

atmosfair gGmbH
Zossener Straße 55-58
10961 Berlin
+49 (0)30 120 84 80 0

info@atmosfair.de

Open website

Photo credits: atmosfair

Specifications

Project countries and regions:

Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean

Project sectors:

Renewable energies, Waste management or landfill gas

Co-benefits/Contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

SDG 1 – No Poverty, SDG 2 – Zero Hunger, SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-being, SDG 4 – Quality Education, SDG 5 – Gender Equality, SDG 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy, SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 13 – Climate Action, SDG 15 – Life on Land, SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals

Target group:

Small enterprises, Local communities

Employed project standards:

Clean Development Mechanism + Gold Standard (CDM CER + GS), Gold Standard bzw. Gold Standard for the Global Goals (GS VER)

Legal form:

Non-profit

Portfolio:

Own climate protection projects:

Offers and services:

Tailored CO2e footprint accounting, Marketing support, Projects with insetting approach (linked to supply chains)

Specific features:

Climate strategy/target setting (Science-Based Targets, SBT), mobility consulting (business travel tool), avoidance and reduction concepts

PROJECT EXAMPLE

New energy for Nepal – Small biogas plants and climate-friendly hiking

Project background

The majority of Nepal’s population lives in rural areas. The people there mainly use the so-called three-stone fire for cooking. This traditional but inefficient way of cooking consumes a lot of firewood and pollutes the environment due to the resulting CO₂ emissions. atmosfair is building small biogas plants in Nepal with its partner Alternative Energy Promotion Center (AEPC) and subsidising them together with AEPC so that poorer households can also afford them. Switching to biogas saves firewood and therefore CO₂.

However, the construction and repair of small biogas plants is just one part of atmosfair’s commitment in Nepal to promote new environmentally and climate-friendly energy sources in the country. Together with ‘forum anders reisen’, atmosfair launched the first climate-friendly trekking trail after the severe earthquakes in 2015. Lodge owners rebuilt their lodges to make them earthquake-proof. atmosfair then equipped them with solar thermal systems, PV modules, efficient stoves, biogas plants and much more. The concept offers sustainable future prospects for the local population. Following the success of the pilot project, atmosfair is now building a second trekking trail.

In order to ensure that the successful cooperation, with all its benefits for Nepalese households, the economy and the climate, remains on a solid footing in the future and is compatible with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, the Nepalese government has pledged corresponding adjustments for the emission reductions from the Biogas Support Programme. This means that these reductions can be used for offsetting without restriction.

Country/Region

Nepal

Technology

Small gas plants, PV modules, solar water heating systems, efficient ovens

Standard

GS4GG

Status and duration

in operation

Target group

Households throughout the country; lodges/guest houses, schools, hospitals and care homes for the elderly

Effect achieved

680,000 t CO₂e avoided per year

Co-benefits achieved

Most families in rural Nepal spend up to 4 hours a day collecting firewood. The women are often responsible for this. If they do not collect the wood themselves (often illegally), it has to be purchased at a high price. Biogas replaces firewood, saving families time and money. The resources freed up can be invested in their children’s education, for example. In addition, cooking with biogas is smoke-free and safer than cooking on an open fire and reduces health problems such as respiratory diseases. The fermentation residue from the biogas plant is a valuable fertiliser that the families use to grow vegetables. The construction and maintenance of the plants create jobs for the local population.

Local cooperation partners

Since 2015, atmosfair has been working with the Alternative Energy Promotion Center (AEPC), a government organisation in Nepal. Our project partner BSP-N, one of the most experienced actors in the biogas sector in Nepal, coordinates repairs to biogas plants.

Link to further project examples