AG Climate Neutrality

The Working Group on Climate Neutrality (WG) synthesises knowledge from climate research on the topic of climate neutrality, in order to put it into practice together with stakeholders in Austria. The aim is to support businesses as well as cities and other territorial authorities with scientific evidence and criteria, thereby creating a basis for a consistent assessment of reduction targets and achievements. To this end, the AG Climate Neutrality has developed, as a first step, a Climate Neutrality Guide with a scientifically grounded roadmap, serving as a science-based action guide for businesses.

The guide, entitled "The Path to Climate Neutrality", is aimed at companies that want to achieve climate neutrality in the sense of greenhouse gas neutrality and are looking for corresponding decarbonisation strategies – particularly if they intend to market their company as "climate neutral", "CO2-neutral" or "Net Zero". Taking the right steps is key to achieving this status. This guide provides science-based and practice-oriented support to help Austrian businesses quickly get onto a robust climate neutrality pathway that is compatible with the global 1.5-degree target and the national goal of climate neutrality by 2040.

Across seven chapters, the necessary steps are outlined that companies need to take in order to plan, budget, and implement their path to climate neutrality.

Download Climate Neutrality Guide

Climate Neutrality Guide in accessible version 

CCCA AG Climate Neutrality – Plans and Approach:

The Paris Agreement 2015 requires climate neutrality across all sectors – and as quickly as possible. The aim of the AG Climate Neutrality is to create a scientific basis for the climate neutrality of businesses, organisations, and territorial authorities in Austria. The elements of this scientific basis – and thus the tasks of the WG – are:

  1. Defining the concept of climate neutrality to support its consistent use
  2. Standardised accounting of all GHG emissions (system boundaries, Scope 1, 2, and 3, emission factors)
  3. Criteria for evaluating emissions reduction measures, with regard to global, national, and sectoral reduction targets
  4. Criteria for evaluating offsetting measures
  5. Criteria for evaluating climate neutrality roadmaps of businesses, organisations, and territorial authorities (benchmarks, best practices)
  6. Scientific groundwork for and accompanying support in the development of a national standard and label

The AG Climate Neutrality synthesises the current state of science and technology and prepares it in line with the needs of its users.

To this end, it is organised into i) a steering group, ii) a science group, and iii) a stakeholder group, all of which are in regular contact with one another. The AG Climate Neutrality operates in a highly dynamic field, at the intersection of i) businesses and territorial authorities that are increasingly setting climate neutrality targets and want to design these on a scientific basis, ii) consultants offering their respective tools and approaches, iii) providers of offsetting measures, and iv) national and international organisations that develop methods and set standards.

WG Leadership: Holger Hoff (University of Graz) and Günter Getzinger (TU Graz)
Contact: ag-klimaneutral@ccca.ac.at


WG Info Event Klimatag, 12.4.2023

WG Consultant Workshop 10.3.2023

WG Stakeholder Workshop 12.12.2022


WG Workshop 04.07.2022:

WG Meeting at Klimatag 21.04.2022:


Activities of the AG Climate Neutrality 2020–2021:


Materials: