Carbon removals

What is carbon removal?

Carbon removal refers to the process of actively removing carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere.

As cutting all greenhouse gas emissions at source is not possible, carbon removal is vital to offsetting unavoidable emissions and limiting global warming.

Carbon removal means taking out CO₂ and storing it away safely, so that it cannot contribute to increasing the global temperature. The emissions saved through carbon removal activities are generally called ‘negative emissions’.

What are the main methods for removing CO₂?

Various methods are used to take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. They include technological and nature-based solutions:

• restoring forests and soil to enhance their natural ability to store carbon
• managing farmland better to increase its carbon storage potential
• capturing carbon directly using mechanical systems that suck in CO₂ and inject it into storage facilities or products
• sequestering carbon from biofuels and bioenergy production plants
• storing carbon in long-lasting products, such as wood-based construction

How does the EU regulate carbon removals?

The EU and its member states are legally committed to achieving climate neutrality by 2050. This will require greenhouse gas emissions to be drastically reduced and the remaining, unavoidable emissions – from carbon-dependent sectors – to be balanced out with carbon removals. Scaling up emission reductions and activities to take CO₂ out of the atmosphere is therefore essential to achieving the neutrality goal. 

By 2050 carbon removals and emissions will have to reach a net balance

*Energy supply: includes bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS); industry: excludes non-BECCS industrial removals

Carbon removals via natural systems have decreased in recent years, while industrial carbon removal is not yet fully developed. The EU wants to boost carbon removal operations and is committed to developing clear rules to regulate these activities.

EU policy initiatives in this area include: 

• EU certification system for carbon removals
• carbon farming solutions
• a target for carbon removals in land and forests

EU certification system for carbon removals

The EU institutions are working on a proposal to set up a legal framework to certify carbon removal activities.

The first step to boost carbon removal activities in the EU is to set up a reliable system to quantify, monitor and verify such operations.

The proposal, presented by the Commission in 2022, was agreed on provisionally by the Council and the European Parliament during trilogues in February 2024. The Council adopted its position for the negotiations with the Parliament in November 2023.

The Council adopted the new rules in November 2024.

• Council greenlights EU certification framework for permanent carbon removals, carbon farming and carbon storage in products (press release, 19 November 2024)

How does EU carbon removal certification work?

Certification is key to providing more clarity and transparency on carbon removal operations and avoiding ambiguity in identifying them. 

The proposal for a regulation on an EU-wide voluntary carbon removal certification framework aims to:

• facilitate and speed up the deployment of carbon removal and soil emission reduction activities
• provide criteria for identifying high-quality removals and reduction
• create business opportunities for the industry and land managers
• counter greenwashing and build trust

What activities would be covered?

According to the provisional agreement reached in February 2024, the proposal regulation would cover:

permanent carbon storage through industrial technologies, such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and direct air capture with capture and storage (DACCS)

carbon storage and soil emission reduction from carbon farming for at least five years (for instance by restoring forests, managing soil and wetlands and using cover crop practices) 

carbon storage in long-lasting products (such as wood-based construction) for at least 35 years 

Methods such as the capture of fossil carbon for storage (CCS) and utilisation (CCU) would not be covered by the rules. By 2026, the Commission would review the scope of the rules to assess the feasibility of including agricultural emission reductions linked to animal husbandry. 

Criteria for certification

Activities could be certified under EU rules if they meet four quality criteria:

• quantification: the activities need to bring about a quantifiable net carbon removal or emission reduction benefit (i.e. carbon removal and emission reduction should outweigh the emissions produced by the activity)
• additionality: the activities go beyond standard practices
• long-term storage: certificates are linked to the duration of the storage so as to ensure long-term storage and minimise the risk of carbon release
• sustainability: the activities contribute to sustainability goals, for instance by protecting biodiversity and water resources

The European Commission, assisted by an expert group, has been tasked with developing certification methodologies based on these criteria.

The certification process

The certification process for carbon removal activities would be voluntary.

An EU-wide registry of certifications would be developed four years after the entry into force of the EU regulation. 

To get certification, the following steps would have to be followed:

1. operators provide comprehensive information on their carbon removal activity
2. independent third-party certifiers verify the activities against the criteria and EU methodology
3. certificates are issued to the operators
4. the activities are recorded in the EU registry

The regulation would set out clear monitoring obligations and liability rules for operators.

Carbon farming solutions

The Council has approved conclusions on carbon farming, following the European Commission’s April 2022 communication on sustainable carbon cycles. The conclusions aim to encourage farming practices which help capture and store CO₂.

• Council adopts conclusions on carbon farming (press release, 7 April 2022)

A target for carbon removals in land and forests

Under the Fit for 55 package, the EU adopted legislation which requires member states to remove 310 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent by 2030 in the land use, land use change and forestry sector. The sector includes activities related to the use and management of land and forests, which naturally absorb and capture carbon.   

To achieve the carbon removal goal, binding targets were set for each member state. 

The regulation was formally adopted by the Council in March 2023. 

• Fit for 55 package: Council adopts regulations on effort sharing and land use and forestry sector (press release, 28 March 2023)