Klimabonus
Klimabonus is a German regional currency that turns verified CO2 savings into local spending power: households earn Klimaboni worth one euro each for measured climate actions — installing a balcony solar panel, joining car sharing, repairing appliances instead of replacing them — at a rate of 100 euros per tonne of CO2 saved. The currency exists as both regional banknotes and a digital version, can only be spent at local and sustainable businesses, and 3% of every new issuance automatically flows to a regional climate project. Run by the nonprofit Klimabonus e.V. with federal ministry support, it operates in the Chiemgau, Flensburg, and Leipzig regions, with Flensburg as the current model region; participation is free for both citizens and businesses.
The Wörgl lineage running live in Germany: debt-free money issued against verified CO2 reduction, spendable only in the sustainable local economy, with 3% of issuance auto-funding climate projects — monetarily the most interesting design in its cohort, held back by euro parity, grant-dependent funding, and small scale.
M69 Score
Scored against the Money2069 Manifesto — see methodology. Higher = more aligned.
Detailed Rating Breakdown
Issuance Model3x4.0
The strongest dimension: money is created debt-free against a measured real-world metric — 100 euros of Klimaboni per tonne of verified CO2 reduction (IM-02: 5, IM-03: 4). Issuance is rule-based though operator-verified (IM-01: 3), supply is elastic with climate activity rather than capped (IM-04: 4), and 1:1 exchangeability allows contraction (IM-05: 3).
Spending Power Stability2x2.0
Parity with the euro is held administratively (1 KB = 1 EUR) rather than through an index mechanism (SPS-01: 2, SPS-02: 2); the issuance methodology is published (SPS-03: 3) and parity has held since the 2019 predecessor project (SPS-04: 4), but the currency is regional-only (SPS-06: 1).
Fiat Independence & Interoperability2x1.0
Euro-pegged and euro-referenced throughout (FI-01/02: 1); a euro collapse would take the system with it (FI-05: 1). The multi-region replicable model (Chiemgau, Flensburg, Leipzig) earns slight interoperability credit (FI-07/08: 2).
Traction2x3.0
Active — new banknote designs entered circulation in June 2026 and the association was hiring staff in July 2026 (TR-01: 4, TR-06: 4); the 2019-2023 predecessor project reached over 10,000 participants and 30,500 tonnes of CO2 reduced (TR-03: 3); peer-reviewed IJCCR coverage plus regional press (TR-08: 5); partners include Monneta, TUV Nord and the federal economics ministry (TR-07: 4); but acceptance-point counts are undisclosed (TR-04: 2) and rewards are subsidy-like by design (TR-09: 2).
Sovereignty2.0
A small association the state funds and could defund (SO-01: 1, SO-03: 1); physical banknotes are genuinely bearer-held and censorship-resistant in circulation (SO-04: 3, SO-07: 3, SO-08: 3), but monetary rules are policy documents, not enforced by technology (SO-09: 1).
Governance2.0
German Verein structure gives formal member governance and statutes (GO-01: 3, GO-07: 3) and the issuance methodology is public (GO-03: 3), but decision power sits with a small association leadership (GO-02: 2, GO-04: 2) and issuance parameters are changeable by the association (GO-08: 2).
Resilience2.0
Survived the end of its first federally funded phase in February 2023 and relaunched (RE-01: 3); paper notes plus simple digital rails are maintainable and even offline-tolerant (RE-04: 4, RE-05: 4, RE-08: 3); but funding is project-grant-dependent with no self-sustaining model (RE-07: 2) and there are no economic stress mechanisms (RE-06: 2).
Inclusivity3.0
Free participation for citizens and businesses (IN-02: 5), equal rules (IN-05: 4), and 3% of every issuance flows to regional public climate goods (IN-04: 4); light onboarding (IN-06: 3); the hard limit is geographic restriction to member regions (IN-01: 2).