MEPs adopt position on the Carbon Removal Certification Framework proposal

The European Commission (EC) presented a proposal for the first EU-wide voluntary framework for the certification of carbon removals, the Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF). The proposal sets out criteria to define high-quality carbon removals and establishes processes for monitoring, reporting, and verifying the authenticity of these removals.

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

In October 2023, the Committee on the Environment, Public Health, and Food Safety (ENVI) adopted its position on CRCF, now adopted by Parliament.

MEPs hope that the establishment of an EU certification framework for carbon removals (CFCR) should help to increase the use of carbon removals, build trust with stakeholders and industry, and counter “greenwashing.”

MEPs stress that the scheme must be in line with international standards and that an ‘EU registry’ must be set up to ensure transparency, provide information to the public, and avoid the risk of fraud and double counting of carbon removals.

They also see a need to distinguish between the definitions, quality criteria, and the rules on carbon removals, carbon farming, and carbon storage in products, due to their differences and environmental impact.

Climate change is already so serious that we cannot rely solely on emissions reductions but also need to remove carbon. This tool makes this possible, as we are advancing with rules to regulate a market that has been plagued by greenwashing, lack of clarity, and distrust. Certification will help attract private investment in carbon removal projects, thereby assisting us in our climate transition and furthering Europe’s climate leadership, commented rapporteur Lídia Pereira (EPP, PT) after the plenary vote.

With both Parliament and Council having adopted their positions, the trilogue negotiation can now begin.

Acknowledgement of BECCS welcomed

Commenting on the Parliament’s adoption on November 21, 2023, the European Suppliers of Waste-to-Energy Technology (ESWET), an organization that represents the suppliers of Waste-to-Energy technology, a hard-to-abate sector that must rely on alternative solutions to fully decarbonize itself, says that it “strongly” supports the position taken by the European Parliament.

ESWET notes that following the Council’s example, the Parliament acknowledges Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) as a permanent carbon removal activity, securing its status as a biogenic carbon storage method with the potential to endure for a very long time.

Concerning long-term carbon storage, the Parliament asked that the certification of carbon storage in products should initially be limited to harvested wood products or materials for construction storing carbon for at least five decades.

ESWET calls on legislators not to limit the scope of long-term storage and to carefully evaluate all the available options, especially the ones storing carbon from hard-to-abate sectors.

Since the publication of the proposal by the Commission, ESWET has been asking for clarity when it comes to the possible interaction between the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and the Carbon Removals Framework.

ESWET highlights that the monitoring requirements agreed under the Carbon Removal Mechanism can potentially overlap with the ETS, so the articulation between the two systems has to be carefully designed.

In addition, the European Commission must ensure that the certification methodologies to be established in the follow-up legislation are technology-specific so that they can fully consider the particular features of each technology, including Waste-to-Energy-related technologies.