What is Additionality?

If the assessment shows that the project would have been implemented anyway, without financial support, it does not meet the additionality requirement and cannot be certified as a climate project.

Gold Standard

The non-profit Gold Standard Foundation – whose projects we at GoClimate support – was established in 2003 by around 80 environmental organizations, including the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The aim was to raise the bar for climate projects and ensure that climate finance is used where it has the greatest impact. The analysis behind its creation highlighted the enormous global need for climate finance, but also revealed that projects certified under the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) were falling short, both in terms of climate impact and development benefits.

How is Gold Standard better than CDM when it comes to additionality?

Gold Standard applies the same basic approach to assessing additionality, but sets more rigorous and clearer requirements to ensure that projects truly deliver additional climate benefits – and that the financial support is critical for the project to happen.

An important difference from CDM is that projects must also contribute to several of the global sustainability goals beyond just addressing climate change. Many CDM projects are now Gold Standard certified or have undergone other certifications to remain relevant.

Gold Standard requires projects to demonstrate "Ongoing Financial Need" every time a project is renewed – meaning the need for climate finance must be proven even long after the project has started.

Gold Standard excludes project types that are not compatible with the 1.5°C target – such as those based on fossil fuels, nuclear power, or other energy sources that prolong dependence on emissions.

Gold Standard continuously updates its project requirements to ensure that support is used effectively and always directed where it can do the most good – for example, toward forest protection, renewable energy development, or other solutions with strong climate and social benefits.

Gold Standard’s work ensures that climate projects are of higher quality, contribute to sustainable development, and clearly demonstrate that they would not have been realized without financial support. This is why Gold Standard is a leading example when it comes to securing additionality – a requirement that must be met before a project can be approved.

An Enormous Need for Climate Projects

To tackle the climate crisis, we need a rapid and comprehensive transformation of our entire energy system. There is a massive need for financing to drive this transition – toward a world free from fossil fuels and less vulnerable to energy crises. Even though technical solutions like renewable energy are available, they are not being deployed at the necessary pace. On the contrary, investments in fossil fuels continue to rise. Today, about 82 percent of the world’s energy still comes from fossil sources.

As long as we continue burning coal, oil, and gas – while also increasing our total energy consumption – climate change will worsen, and the need for countermeasures will become even more urgent. This is where climate projects play a vital role. Through climate finance, resources can be directed to projects that directly reduce or remove greenhouse gases – such as protecting forests, expanding solar and wind power, or supporting sustainable agriculture.

Climate projects are not a substitute for emission reductions – but a necessary complement. They make it possible to take action here and now, while we wait for the global transition to truly gain momentum.

The Need for Strong Demand

The more people demand climate-positive projects and are willing to pay for them, the more climate projects will be implemented. For example, if just 10% of Sweden’s population supported climate projects through our service for individuals, around SEK 60 million would go to climate projects every month. The result would give the market a huge boost, and many new climate projects would be created. It’s not unrealistic to imagine that with only 10% of Sweden’s population engaged, we could shut down small coal power plants one after another – and thus make a significant contribution to reducing climate change.

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