Published on 10 September 2025

Partner countries

In order to achieve part of its climate target, Switzerland can implement offsetting projects abroad. To this end, Switzerland has concluded bilateral agreements with a number of partner countries in accordance with Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement. The Compensation Office, which is run jointly by the Federal Office for the Environment and the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, is responsible for implementing these agreements.

1. Bilateral agreements under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement

Switzerland has committed to halving its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. In accordance with Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, one way of achieving this is to fund climate protection projects in partner countries. To this end, Switzerland has concluded bilateral agreements with a number of countries via the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN); these form the statutory basis for implementing offset projects and transferring emission reductions to Switzerland. [1] Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMO) are the attestations issued for each emission reduction transferred.

Federal Office for the Environment FOEN: Bilateral climate agreements

2. How are the bilateral agreements implemented?

The bilateral agreements provide for close cooperation between Switzerland and its partner countries throughout the entire implementation process of the offsetting project. The Compensation Office is the Swiss government’s competent entity and the single point of contact for partner countries during the implementation phase of the agreements.
The most important steps in project implementation are:

• submission of a project or programme outline (this step if optional)  preliminary review;
• submission of an authorisation application on a project or programme qualification; and
• submission of a monitoring report for a decision on the issuance of attestations.

The processes of the Compensation Office for projects abroad, from the submission of applications to the issuing of international certificates, as well as various requirements for specific measures abroad are described in more detail in the following document.

• Process description for authorization and specific requirements for Monitoring, Reporting and Verification of mitigation activities under Art. 6 of the Paris Agreement

  PDF663.28 kB13 January 2026

The key requirements, the application procedure and the steps leading to ITMO being granted are described in detail in the FOEN's enforcement aid.

Federal Office for the Environment FOEN: Enforcement aid: Offsetting CO₂ emissions: projects and programmes

FOEN-approved validators and verifiers (VVs) independently assess projects and programmes and the resulting emission reductions. These may only operate if they are also approved by the partner country.

• List of approved validation and verification bodies for offsetting projects abroad - 11.11.2025

  XLSX57.48 kB13 November 2025

3. Which projects abroad are already active under bilateral agreements with Switzerland?

The following page provides information on approved projects and monitoring reports in partner countries:

Registered offsetting projects abroad

4. Where do I find the latest information on conducting an offsetting project?

The ‘Offsetting CO₂ emissions’ newsletter informs project applicants, VVs, companies subject to the offsetting obligation and other stakeholders about important developments, decisions, innovations and publications regarding carbon emissions offsetting in Switzerland and abroad.

‘Offsetting CO₂ emissions’ newsletter

Compensation Office

The Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) is the Swiss enforcement authority for emission reduction projects in the Swiss carbon compliance market. It operates the Compensation Office along with the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE). Interested countries and stakeholders may contact: [e-mail]