Last week, the European Commission unveiled its proposal for the first EU-wide voluntary framework to certify carbon removals. The proposal, another brick contributing to the EU's climate, environmental and zero-pollution goals, builds upon the Commission's Communication on Sustainable Carbon Cycles of December 2021 and will also support action in the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector. The proposed regulation will significantly improve the EU's capacity to quantify, monitor and verify carbon removals by adopting a new set of criteria, also mentioned to as “QU.A.L.ITY”: 

• Quantification: Carbon removal activities need to be measured accurately and deliver unambiguous benefits for the climate; additional carbon removals generated by an activity should outweigh any greenhouse gas emissions that were produced as a consequence of the specific activity over its whole lifecycle 

• Additionality: Carbon removal activities need to go beyond existing practices and what is required by law; 

• Long-term storage: Certificates are linked to the duration of carbon storage so as to ensure permanent storage; 

• Sustainability: Carbon removal activities must preserve or contribute to sustainability objectives such as climate change adaptation, circular economy, water and marine resources, and biodiversity. 

This updated, more transparent system should help tackle the lack of trust expressed by stakeholders and industry working with carbon removals. The proposed regulation also interacts with the reinforced efforts towards fighting greenwashing and the overarching objective of biodiversity protection. Among the technologies mentioned by the Commission as fundamental in this perspective, we find bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS). In parallel, progress in agriculture is mentioned as a key enabler to strengthening the proposed initiatives: increased adoption of carbon farming practices will positively impact the storage of carbon in soils and forests, and reduce the release of carbon from soils, in addition to providing those financial incentives necessary so that farmers and foresters are more and more encouraged to adopt sustainable business models. 

Circularity is also an important part of the proposed regulation’s scope. The longevity of materials and products can go a long way in diminishing carbon pollution in the long run: wood-based construction products and improved life cycle assessments will significantly reduce the footprint of industrial and commercial sectors alike. To enable these developments, a serious effort will be needed to improve and exploit empirical data. Technologies in the realms of remote sensing, modelling, machine learning and artificial intelligence will contribute greatly to the collection of climate-relevant data. Making this data FAIR-compliant (the principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability – see the EERAdata project for reference) will be crucial to ensure coordinated action across the whole EU.  

The legislative proposal will now be submitted to the European Parliament and the Council and will follow the ordinary legislative procedure. In parallel, the Commission will set up an Expert Group to provide technical advice on the preparation of certification methodologies for carbon removals.