Council greenlights EU certification framework for permanent carbon removals, carbon farming and carbon storage in products
Today, the Council gave the final green light to a regulation establishing the first EU-level certification framework for permanent carbon removals, carbon farming and carbon storage in products. This voluntary framework will facilitate and encourage high-quality carbon removal and soil emission reduction activities in the EU, as a complement to sustained emission reductions.
Carbon removals and soil emission reductions
The regulation will be the first step in introducing a comprehensive certification framework for carbon removals and soil emission reductions into EU legislation. It will help the EU to achieve its goal of climate neutrality by 2050.
The regulation covers the following activities across the EU:
- permanent carbon removals that capture and store atmospheric or biogenic carbon for several centuries (e.g. bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, direct air capture with storage)
- carbon storage activities that capture and store carbon in long-lasting products for at least 35 years (such as wood-based construction products)
- carbon farming activities that enhance carbon sequestration and storage in forests and soils, or that reduce greenhouse gas emissions from soils, carried out over a period of at least five years (e.g. reforestation, restoring peatlands or wetlands, improved fertiliser use)
Certification criteria
Carbon removal activities will have to meet four overarching criteria in order to be certified:
- they must bring about a quantified net carbon removal benefit or net soil emission reduction benefit
- they must be additional, meaning that they go beyond statutory requirements at the level of an individual operator and they need the incentive effect of the certification to become financially viable
- they must aim to ensure long-term storage of carbon while minimising the risk of carbon release
- they should do no significant harm to the environment and should be able to result in co-benefits to one or more sustainability goals
In addition, activities eligible for certification will need to be independently verified by third-party certification bodies.
Certification schemes
Certification schemes will be in place for operators to prove compliance with the regulation. These will be subject to robust and transparent monitoring, verification and reporting rules to promote trust in the system and ensure environmental integrity. Liability mechanisms will also be in place for operators in order to address any release of captured carbon back into the atmosphere.
EU registry
Four years after the entry into force of the regulation, the Commission will establish an electronic EU-wide registry to ensure transparency and full traceability of the so-called certified units, which will be issued to reflect carbon net benefit generated through certified carbon removal and soil emission reduction activities.
Next steps
The regulation will now be published in the EU’s Official Journal and enter into force 20 days after its publication. It will then become directly applicable in all EU member states.
Background
On 30 November 2022, in an important first step towards the further integration of carbon removal schemes into EU climate policy, the Commission proposed a regulation creating a voluntary EU-wide framework to certify high-quality carbon removals.
The Council adopted its negotiating mandate at Coreper level on 17 November 2023, while the European Parliament reached its position on 21 November 2023. After three rounds of negotiations, the EU co-legislators reached an agreement on the final shape of the regulation on 20 February 2024.
