The most important facts at a glance

Climate impacts: In addition to CO₂, the UBA Carbon Calculator also takes other greenhouse gases such as methane, nitrous oxide and the non-CO₂ effects of aviation into account wherever possible. All values in the calculator are therefore shown as CO₂ equivalents (CO₂e).

Balance limits: The UBA Carbon Calculator takes into account all greenhouse gas emissions caused by our lifestyle (consumption-based balance). This also includes greenhouse gas emissions from imports and international travel. A direct comparison with values from the national greenhouse gas balance is not possible. This territorial balance is the central point of reference for climate policy. However, it therefore only shows greenhouse gas emissions within the borders of Germany. This applies analogously to municipal (territorial) balances.

Sources: The complexity of the UBA Carbon Calculator requires numerous individual references. Central sources for the calculation of average values and emission factors are included:

• DeuRess model from ifeu (input-output model based on the national and environmental economic accounts of the Federal Statistical Office)
• TREMOD transport model
• Publications of the Working Group on Energy Balances

Reference year and update: The values in the UBA Carbon Calculator are regularly updated at the turn of the year. Unfortunately, the data has different delay times (usually 2-3 years). The calculator follows the premise of using the latest available data. Unfortunately, this means that a clear reference year cannot be specified for all data.

Project partner: The Carbon Calculator is operated by KlimAktiv gGmbH on behalf of the Umweltbundesamt (German Environment Agency) and is continuously adapted and further developed in cooperation with ifeu (Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Heidelberg) and the Umweltbundesamt (German Environment Agency).

Documentation: A detailed description of the data basis and methods of the UBA Carbon Calculator can be found in the publication "Der UBA-CO2-Rechner für Privatpersonen - Hintergrundinformationen zur Version 5.0".

Materials on the Carbon Calculator:

Practical aids:

• UBA (2025): "Lebensstile im Vergleich – wie unser Fußabdruck das Klima beeinflusst." (German only) Educational materials for a middle school project unit
• UBA (2024): Factsheet "Einsatzmöglichkeiten des UBA-CO₂-Rechners in Kommunen: Anwendungsfelder und Praxisbeispiele" (German only)
• UBA (2021): ich, du, wir, sie -- Was kann der/die Einzelne für den Klimaschutz tun? (German only)
  
  Educational materials for a middle school project unit
• Graphics and sharepics for download: Carbon Footprint, Big Points, CO₂ Handprint and more (German only).
• IFEU (2020): Ökologische Fußabdrücke von Lebensmitteln und Gerichten in Deutschland. (German only) Short study commissioned by the Umweltbundesamt (German Environment Agency).
• UBA (2020): Zusammendenken, was zusammengehört: Kommunaler Klimaschutz und nachhaltiger Konsum (German only).
• UBA: Energy saving: 5 instant tips, 10 big points (German only)
• UBA explanatory film: Climate-neutral living in everyday life (German only).
• Interview on the topic "Climate-neutral living -- Personal Carbon Footprint at a glance (German only)" (19 September 2019)

Background & studies:

• UBA (2025): Der UBA-CO₂-Rechner für Privatpersonen - Hintergrundinformationen zur Version 5.0 (German only)
• UBA (2022): >Der UBA-CO₂-Rechner als wissenschaftliches Erhebungsinstrument (German only).
• UBA (2020): Klimaneutrale Regionen und Kommunen als Metastrategie zur Förderung nachhaltiger Lebensstile: Empirische Analyse und Entwicklung von politischen Handlungsempfehlungen. (German only)
• UBA (2019): Big Points des ressourcenschonenden Konsums als Thema für die Verbraucherberatung – mehr als Energieeffizienz und Klimaschutz. Studie im Rahmen des Projekts „Verbraucherberatung als Baustein einer erfolgreichen Ressourcenpolitik".(German only)
• UBA (2016): Representative survey of per capita consumption of natural resources in Germany (by population group).
• UBA (2007): Die CO₂-Bilanz des Bürgers: Recherche für ein internetbasiertes Tool zur Erstellung persönlicher CO₂-Bilanzen. (German only)

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Privacy policy

The controller within the meaning of data protection laws, in particular the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), is

KlimAktiv gemeinnützige Gesellschaft zur Förderung des Klimaschutzes mbH

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Your rights as a data subject

You can exercise the following rights at any time using the contact details provided:

• Information about your data stored by us and its processing,
• Correction of incorrect personal data,
• Deletion of your data stored by us,
• Restriction of data processing if we are not yet allowed to delete your data due to legal obligations,
• Objection to the processing of your data by us and
• Data portability, provided that you have consented to the data processing or have concluded a contract with us.

If you have given us your consent, you can revoke it at any time with effect for the future.

You can contact the supervisory authority responsible for you at any time with a complaint. Your competent supervisory authority depends on the federal state of your place of residence, your work or the alleged infringement. You can find a list with addresses at List of supervisory authorities (for the non-public sector).

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Purposes of data processing by the controller and third parties

We only process your personal data for the purposes stated in this privacy policy. Your personal data will not be transferred to third parties for purposes other than those stated. We only pass on your personal data to third parties if:

• you have given your express consent to this,
• processing is necessary for the performance of a contract with you,
• the processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation,
• processing is necessary for the purposes of legitimate interests and there is no reason to assume that you have an overriding legitimate interest in the non-disclosure of your data.

The legal basis for data processing is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR, which permits the processing of data for the fulfilment of a contract or pre-contractual measures.

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Deletion or blocking of the data

We adhere to the principles of data avoidance and data minimisation. We therefore only store your personal data for as long as is necessary to achieve the purposes stated here or as provided for by the various storage periods stipulated by law. Once the respective purpose no longer applies or these periods have expired, the corresponding data is routinely blocked or deleted in accordance with the statutory provisions.

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Collection of general information when visiting our internet-based application (referred to here as website)

When you access our website, information of a general nature is automatically collected by means of a cookie. This information (server log files) includes, for example, the type of web browser, the operating system used, the domain name of your internet service provider and similar. This is exclusively information that does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about your person.

This information is technically necessary in order to correctly deliver the website content you have requested and is mandatory when using the internet. It is processed in particular for the following purposes

• ensuring a smooth connection to the website,
• ensuring the smooth use of our website,
• Evaluating system security and stability and
• for other administrative purposes.

The user data collected in the above-mentioned manner is anonymised by means of technical precautions and is not stored together with other personal data of the users. The data can therefore no longer be assigned to the user accessing the website. Anonymous information of this kind may be statistically evaluated by us in order to optimise our website and the technology behind it.

The processing of your personal data is based on our legitimate interest in the aforementioned purposes for data collection. We do not use your data to draw conclusions about your person or your company. Recipients of the data are only the controller and, if applicable, processors.

Anonymous information of this kind may be statistically evaluated by us in order to optimise our website and the technology behind it.

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Cookies

Like many other websites, we also use so-called "cookies". Cookies are small text files that are transferred from a web server to your hard drive. This automatically provides us with certain data such as IP address, browser used, operating system and your connection to the internet.

Cookies cannot be used to start programmes or transfer viruses to a computer. We can use the information contained in cookies to make navigation easier for you and to enable our websites to be displayed correctly.

We also use other cookies on our website that enable us to analyse the surfing behaviour of users (see "Use of Matomo" below).

The legal basis for data processing is Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR, which permits the processing of data for the fulfilment of a contract or pre-contractual measures. Of course, you can also view our website without cookies. Internet browsers are regularly set to accept cookies. In general, you can deactivate the use of cookies at any time via your browser settings. Please use the help functions of your Internet browser to find out how you can change these settings. Please note that individual functions of our website will not work if you have deactivated the use of cookies.

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Use of Matomo

This website uses Matomo (formerly Piwik), an open source software for the statistical analysis of visitor access. Matomo uses cookies, which are text files placed on your computer, to help the website analyse how users use the site.
The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website is stored on a server in Germany.
The following data is stored when individual pages of our website are accessed

• the website accessed
• the anonymised IP address of the user's accessing system
• the website from which the user accessed the website (referrer). This is only possible if you have not prevented it through a browser setting
• which subpages are accessed from the website accessed
• how often the website is accessed
• the time spent on the website
• other data transmitted by the user's browser, such as country, language or browser used, type of end device (e.g. computer, mobile phone)

The IP address is anonymised immediately after processing and before it is stored. It is therefore not possible for us to assign the truncated IP address to the accessing device.

You have the option of preventing the installation of cookies by changing the settings of your browser software. Cookies that have already been saved can be deleted at any time. We would like to point out that not all functions of this website may be available if you make the appropriate settings.

You can find detailed information about Matomo's privacy settings here: https://matomo.org/docs/privacy/.

Under Manage cookies you can opt out of the analysis procedure (opt-out).

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SSL encryption

To protect the security of your data during transmission, we use state-of-the-art encryption methods (e.g. SSL) via HTTPS.

Contact us

If you contact us by e-mail with questions of any kind, you give us your voluntary consent for the purpose of contacting you. This requires you to provide a valid email address. This is used to allocate the enquiry and subsequently answer it. The provision of further data is optional. The information you provide will be stored for the purpose of processing the enquiry and for possible follow-up questions.

Changes to our privacy policy

We reserve the right to amend this privacy policy so that it always complies with current legal requirements or to implement changes to our services in the privacy policy, e.g. when introducing new services. The new privacy policy will then apply to your next visit.

Questions for the data protection officer

If you have any questions about data protection, please send us an email or contact the person responsible for data protection in our organisation directly:

datenschutz@klimaktiv.de

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This legal notice applies to the following website of the Umweltbundesamt (German Environment Agency): Website of the Carbon Calculator of the Umweltbundesamt (https://uba.co2-rechner.de).

Publisher

The website is published by:

The Federal Republic of Germany, represented by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUV), represented by the President of the Umweltbundesamt (German Environment Agency).

Umweltbundesamt (UBA)
Department III 1.1
Wörlitzer Platz 1
06844 Dessau-Roßlau
Email: co2-rechner@uba.de

VAT identification number pursuant to Section 27a of the German VAT Act: DE811317238

Support enquiries should be directed to:
Email: co2-rechner@klimAktiv.de

Responsible party within the meaning of the German Media State Treaty

Martin Ittershagen
Press spokesperson & Head of Press and Public Relations, Internet
Telephone: +49-340-2103-2122
Email: martin.ittershagen@uba.de

Technical supervision

Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV)

Stresemannstraße 128 - 130
10117 Berlin
Phone: 030 18 305-0
Fax: 0228 99 305-3225
Internet: https://www.bmuv.de/

Legal information

Content of the online offer
The Umweltbundesamt (German Environment Agency) accepts no liability for the topicality, correctness, completeness or quality of the information provided, in particular with regard to factors and calculations. Liability claims against the Umweltbundesamt (German Environment Agency) arising from the use or non-use of the information provided or from the use of incorrect or incomplete information are excluded to the extent permitted by law, unless there is evidence of wilful intent or gross negligence on the part of the Umweltbundesamt. The Umweltbundesamt (German Environment Agency) is liable for damage resulting from injury to life, limb or health in accordance with the statutory provisions. The Umweltbundesamt expressly reserves the right to change, supplement or delete parts of the UBA Carbon Calculator or the entire offer without prior notice or to discontinue publication temporarily or permanently.

Insofar as the information provided here contains legal provisions, official notices, recommendations or information, it has been compiled with the greatest possible care. In case of ambiguity, however, only the current official version as published in the designated official gazette shall apply. Any legal notices, recommendations and information are not legally binding and do not constitute legal advice in individual cases. The information cannot and is not intended to replace legal advice. Specific legal questions should always be addressed to a qualified legal advisor. The mere use of this website does not constitute a contractual relationship.

References and links
In the case of direct or indirect references to external websites ('hyperlinks') that are outside the area of responsibility of the Umweltbundesamt (German Environment Agency), liability would only arise in the event that the Umweltbundesamt is aware of the content and it would be technically possible and reasonable for us to prevent use in the event of illegal content. The Umweltbundesamt (German Environment Agency) hereby expressly declares that at the time the links were created, no illegal content was discernible on the linked pages. The Umweltbundesamt has no influence whatsoever on the current and future design, content or authorship of the linked pages. We therefore hereby expressly distance ourselves from all content on all linked pages that has been changed since the link was created. This also applies to all links and references within our own website. The provider of the page to which reference is made is solely liable for illegal, incorrect or incomplete content and in particular for damage resulting from the use or non-use of such information, not the person who merely refers to the respective publication via links.

Copyright and other intellectual property
The Carbon Calculator is protected by copyright. All rights to the content and design are held solely by KlimAktiv gemeinnützige Gesellschaft zur Förderung des Klimaschutzes mbH. The Umweltbundesamt (German Environment Agency) holds a simple right of use. The complete or partial reproduction, distribution, transmission (electronically or by other means) and modification of the Carbon Calculator for public or commercial purposes is prohibited without the prior written consent of the copyright holder. Similarly, the integration of the Carbon Calculator into external websites (framing) is not permitted without the express consent of the copyright holder. Please direct any enquiries regarding the provision of an individual Carbon Calculator to co2-rechner@klimAktiv.de.

Homepage image: Halfpoint_via_AdobeStock_379360697

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This includes greenhouse gas emissions from public administration, social services organisation, infrastructure, education, water supply and waste disposal. The emissions are automatically attributed to each person with an equal share, as these services are available to all citizens equally and in different life situations.

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