EU | MEPs adopt certification framework to boost high quality carbon removals and counter greenwashing

Late Monday night, negotiators from the Parliament and Council reached a provisional political agreement on a new voluntary EU certification framework for carbon removals, which aims to boost their deployment and improve the EU’s capacity to quantify, monitor and verify such activities.

The new law covers different types of carbon removals namely permanent carbon storage, notably through industrial technologies, carbon storage in long-lasting products and carbon farming. The scope was also extended to cover certain types of carbon farming activities that reduce emissions from agricultural soils provided they lead to an overall improvement in the soil carbon balance. The reduction of methane release from enteric fermentation or manure management from livestock will be included as part of the 2026 review.

There will be different units for these different categories due to their differences and environmental impact. Co-legislators tasked the Commission to develop different certification methodologies for these categories stressing that permanent carbon removals must be able to store atmospheric or biogenic carbon for several centuries to be certified and products at least 35 years. Carbon farming activities must be maintained for at least five years.

To promote the sustainable and efficient use of limited biomass resources, the certification methodologies shall ensure consistency with the application of the principle of the cascading use of biomass as laid down in the amended Renewable Energy Directive.

For any activity to qualify for certification it must go beyond both EU and national requirements for individual operators and the incentive effect of the certification must be needed for the activity to become financially viable.

Co-legislators also agreed that all carbon removals and emission reductions generated under this Regulation shall contribute to achieving the EU’s nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris agreement.

| Sustainability requirements

Co-legislators agreed to establish minimum sustainability requirements to ensure that activities do not lead to significant harm to the environment (climate change mitigation and adaptation; biodiversity; the sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources; the transition to a circular economy), whereas carbon farming activities need to at least generate co-benefits for biodiversity and ecosystems. Certified units that generate co-benefits, in particular for biodiversity, must have a higher economic value.

| EU registry for carbon removals

To ensure transparency of the scheme, and to avoid the risk of fraud and double counting of carbon removals, the Commission shall establish a public EU registry for carbon removals and soil emission reductions at the latest four years after the entry into force of this Regulation. It must contain the documents related to the certification process, including certificates and summaries of audits.

“I am very pleased that the first certification framework for Carbon Removals is about to become a reality. The agreement reached today on this important piece of legislation will make the EU a global leader in carbon removals. It will foster private investment and develop the voluntary carbon markets while respecting climate integrity and preventing greenwashing. I look forward to the final adoption by Parliament and Council before the European elections.”

-Rapporteur Lídia Pereira (EPP, PT) 

| Next steps

The deal still has to be adopted by Parliament and Council, after which the new law will be published in the EU Official Journal and enter into force 20 days later.

| Background

In April 2023, Parliament adopted a resolution on Sustainable carbon cycles saying that while the EU must always prioritise swift and predictable reductions of GHG emissions, carbon removals must play a growing role in achieving EU climate neutrality by 2050 to balance out emissions that cannot be eliminated.

This legislation responds to citizens’ expectations concerning climate change and the environment as expressed in proposal 1(5) of the conclusions of the Conference on the Future of Europe where they call for the introduction of “a certification of carbon removals, based on robust, solid and transparent carbon accounting”.