The European Council has agreed on the development of the first EU certification framework for permanent carbon removals, carbon farming, and carbon storage in products. The voluntary system will calculate, measure, and verify carbon removal efforts and reduce the widespread risk of greenwashing on environmental claims. These rules are a landmark move by the EU to get further ahead of its climate ambitions.
The carbon removal solutions include industrial technologies, such as Direct Air Capture (DAC), and natural methods like enhanced forest or soil carbon sequestration. Funding for such projects can be derived from carbon credits, government incentives, or private investments, which requires a standardized system to evaluate the efficiency and quality of these initiatives.
The certification framework is part of the European Green Deal, proposed in 2022, to complement the comprehensive strategy of the EU for reaching climate neutrality by 2050. The EU supports absolute GHG emission reductions but realizes that these have to be compensated for by reliable carbon removals.
Among other things, organizations adhering to the framework will receive certifications demonstrating their compliance with very stringent carbon reduction standards. Certification will be the measuring stick among investors, partners, and clients when looking at companies’ sustainability efforts. To qualify, entities must implement long-term carbon removal systems able to capture and store atmospheric or biogenic carbon.