Key Impact Points:

• Comprehensive Framework: The EU Council approved the first certification framework for permanent carbon removals, carbon farming, and carbon storage in products to help meet the 2050 climate neutrality target.
• Robust Certification Criteria: The framework mandates measurable carbon benefits, additionality, long-term storage, and sustainability safeguards for certification.
• Transparency via EU Registry: A digital EU registry will ensure traceability of certified units and compliance by operators, with liability mechanisms to address carbon release risks.

EU Advances Carbon Removal Standards

The Council has finalized a regulation to establish the EU’s first certification framework for permanent carbon removals, carbon farming, and carbon storage in products. This voluntary system aims to boost high-quality carbon reduction initiatives and complements ongoing emission reduction efforts.

“This framework is a milestone in aligning our carbon removal strategies with the EU’s broader climate neutrality goals,” said a Council spokesperson.

Key Activities Covered

1. Permanent Carbon Removals: Techniques like bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) or direct air capture store atmospheric carbon for centuries.
2. Carbon Storage in Products: Long-lasting storage in items like wood-based construction materials for at least 35 years.
3. Carbon Farming: Practices like reforestation or peatland restoration enhance carbon sequestration and emission reduction for a minimum of five years.

Certification Requirements

To be certified, activities must:

• Demonstrate quantifiable net carbon benefits.
• Be additional, going beyond legal obligations and requiring financial incentives for viability.
• Ensure long-term carbon storage while mitigating release risks.
• Avoid environmental harm and provide co-benefits for sustainability.

Certified activities will undergo independent verification to maintain integrity.

Monitoring and Enforcement

Operators must comply with transparent reporting and monitoring standards under the framework. Liability mechanisms will hold them accountable for any carbon release.

EU-Wide Registry for Transparency

The European Commission will launch an electronic registry within four years to track certified units, ensuring traceability and public trust.

Next Steps

The regulation will take effect 20 days after its publication in the EU’s Official Journal. It will become directly applicable across all EU member states.

This certification framework is a major stride in advancing the EU’s carbon removal strategies, aligning with its climate neutrality ambitions by 2050.

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