Frank Noe has loved cycling and being active in nature from a young age. His vision is to inspire everyone from young to old to cycle. «I want to inspire people to act (more) sustainably and (more) courageously,» emphasises Frank. In this spirit, he is always putting new ideas into action. He has already launched various initiatives around the topic of «mobility of the future».
In his current project THE5000+, myclimate supports Frank Noe in the complete offsetting of CO2 emissions generated in the course of the project.
The project is called THE5000+ because the balloon will travel at an altitude of approx. 5000-6000 meters. It will cross the Alps from the northern side of the Alps to Italy in temperatures between -20 and -30 degrees Celsius within 3-4 hours. Frank will sit on his bike, which is mounted in a roller trainer, and pedal from take-off to landing.
During the whole project, Frank will be accompanied by a professional camera team, who will edit an 80-minute documentary film from around 300 hours of filming. THE5000+ is also linked to a fundraising campaign with an ambitious goal. With it, Frank wants to make it possible for people affected by poverty to be mobile in the future. Donations can be made here.
This trailer summarises the entire THE5000+ project on film. Further details on the campaign are available here.
Update 15 July 2022: Frank Noe and his team have completed their first test flight in a balloon. They were accompanied on film by Bayrischer Rundfunk. Watch the video here.
In an exclusive interview, Alina Feucht reveals why myclimate is a partner in THE5000+ and how the CO2 offset is determined and implemented:
Alina, what does myclimate actually do and with what vision?
Alina: myclimate is an international non-profit climate protection organisation with 20 years of experience. Our vision: We want to shape the future of our world and achieve the 1.5 degree target together with partners from the business sector and private individuals through consultancy, education and carbon offset projects. To this end, myclimate offers holistic strategy and action consulting for companies on the path to carbon neutrality according to scientific standards and the principle: avoid, reduce, offset. In the business field of CO2 and resource management, myclimate supports companies with advice, analyses, IT tools and labels. Experienced consultants help to identify and tap potential in the areas of energy and resource efficiency. In addition, myclimate encourages everyone to make a contribution to our future with action-oriented and interactive educational offers.
Just like Frank with THE5000+, you also have big goals. Which goal coincides with Frank's action and what special contribution do you make to his action?
Alina: Our goal is to motivate as many actors from the business world as possible, as well as private individuals, to act in a sustainable, climate-friendly way and to support them with carbon offset solutions.
We are therefore very happy to support Frank in his carbon commitment by offsetting all the emissions associated with the THE5000+ project in high-quality myclimate carbon offset projects and thus balancing them out. Our environmental scientists will first draw up a CO2 balance for the entire project. The calculated amount of CO2 will then be offset.
We would be pleased if as many other project initiators, event organisers or private travellers as possible felt motivated to plan their projects, events or trips as climate-friendly as possible and to offset all unavoidable emissions through high-quality climate protection projects. Enquiries can be sent directly to us.
What role does offsetting play in climate protection and what distinguishes you from other offsetting companies?
Alina: Everyone can contribute to climate protection! True to the motto «avoid, reduce and compensate», we can take responsibility for our own ecological footprint, i.e. also for our CO2 emissions. With compensation, you can take responsibility for emissions that are not included in the ticket price or fuel price. It has been common practice for years to pay for waste water or waste disposal, but there is no polluter-pays principle for greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, the only option left is voluntary compensation so that the damage caused can be offset.
With projects of the highest quality, myclimate promotes measurable climate protection and sustainable development worldwide. The voluntary offsetting of CO2 emissions takes place in over 144 carbon offset projects in 41 countries. There, emissions are reduced by replacing fossil energy sources with renewable energies, implementing local reforestation measures with small farmers and implementing energy-efficient technologies. myclimate is one of the world's quality leaders in voluntary CO2 offsetting measures. Since their inception, myclimate carbon offset projects have created thousands of jobs, protected biodiversity and improved the general living conditions of hundreds of thousands of people. All myclimate carbon offset projects meet the highest standards (Gold Standard, CDM, Plan Vivo) and, in addition to reducing greenhouse gases, demonstrably make a positive contribution to sustainable development locally and regionally. This is one of the reasons why the German Federal Environment Agency explicitly singles out myclimate as a provider of voluntary CO2 offsetting.
More in the myclimate climate booklet.
What motivated you, you as myclimate, to support Frank in his world record attempt as an important partner?
Alina: Together with partners from the private sector and private individuals, myclimate wants to shape a climate-friendly future through advisory and educational services. and education services, as well as its own carbon offset projects, myclimate aims to shape a climate-friendly future. We were convinced by Frank's commitment to climate-friendly mobility, both professionally and in his private life – he is a true cycling enthusiast. We think that's worth supporting! With the THE5000+ campaign, he will certainly generate a lot of attention – for us, a great opportunity to sensitise a large audience about the topic of climate protection. Our motto Avoid, Reduce, Compensate can be well illustrated in the context of this campaign. In terms of sustainability, it is of course best to avoid fossil fuels as often as possible and to take the bike or the train. But when we do take the car, the plane or the hot-air balloon, as in this case, offsetting the resulting greenhouse gas emissions is a sensible measure.