What is the aim of the EU certification framework?

With the Green Deal, the EU has committed itself to climate neutrality by 2050. In addition to the overall reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, existing emissions must be removed from the atmosphere in order to compensate for emissions that are difficult to reduce and to achieve this goal. In addition to technical solutions for CO₂ removal, cost-effective and scalable nature-based solutions play an important role. For example, in the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector, the EU aims to: A net CO₂ withdrawal of 310 million tons by 2030 to achieve. An important contribution to this can be made by the so-called Carbon Farming afford.

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With the establishment of a voluntary, EU-wide framework for the certification of high-quality CO₂ withdrawals, the so-called EU Carbon Removal Certification Framework, The EU would like to promote innovative measures for CO₂ removal and carbon farming initiatives.

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What are the key points of the agreement?

The provisionally agreed regulation establishes EU-wide rules for the standardised quantification, monitoring, and verification of CO₂ removals and carbon credits generated through these initiatives. The agreement has yet to be formally confirmed by Parliament and Council. It comprises both technological and nature-based approaches to CO₂ removal and classifies them into three categories according to their storage period. The agreement also covers reducing emissions from soils through the release of soil carbon. The latter was not yet included in the European Commission's original proposal of November 2022 and was supplemented in the agreement reached by Parliament and Council.

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The regulation distinguishes between the following types:

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What are the key quality criteria?

The resolution contains guidelines for the recognition of certification systems and defines specific criteria to ensure the quality, transparency and credibility of the carbon credits generated. The agreement maintains the Commission's proposal's requirement that four key quality criteria must be met in order to obtain certification: quantification, additionality, long-term storage and sustainability, summarised as qu.a.l.ity criteria:

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• QuAntification: The activities must have clear benefits for the climate. Correct information on CO₂ quantities must be guaranteed.
• Additionality: The measures must go beyond standard procedures and measures required by law.
• Long-term storage: It is ensured that, depending on the type, there is the appropriate durability (see table above). Operators must be responsible for rereleases of CO2 into the atmosphere that occur during the monitoring period, which must be at least as long as the activity itself.
• SustainabilITY: The practices should contribute to wider sustainability goals. Every measure in the area of climate-efficient agriculture should have at least one positive side effect on biodiversity, including soil health and the reduction of soil erosion.

On the basis of the above quality criteria, the Commission will develop adapted certification methods for the various CO₂ removal activities in order to ensure uniform, efficient and cost-effective application of the standards.

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How does EU certification for CO₂ withdrawals work?

The certification is initially voluntary. Operators of CO₂ extraction activities who want to have their project certified must contact a certification body that has been reviewed and approved by the EU Commission.

The draft offers considerable room for manoeuvre at national level. Within this framework, both public and private sector certification systems of EU Member States can be approved. The establishment of a public certification system will not be mandatory, but should be decided on the basis of the individual benefits of the individual states.

The regulation requires that the generated carbon credits must be recorded in a public register. A EU-wide electronic register for certified CO₂ withdrawals should be introduced within four years. Until then, existing registers can be used.

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How can farms receive remuneration — and companies make their contribution?

Compensation can be provided through public or private funding. Public funding could be disbursed, for example, under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), through state aid schemes or innovation funds. The financial resources of the CAP are intended to help farmers go beyond the binding legal requirements of carbon farming. Germany could use the CAP framework, for example, as a tool to create incentives for carbon farming with the help of eco-schemes.

Private financing, on the other hand, can be provided by food companies remunerating farmers for the additional CO₂ withdrawals and in return improving their CO₂ balance and strengthening the resilience of their supply chains - so-called insetting projects. Through the voluntary carbon market, companies from all sectors can benefit from purchasing carbon credits to invest in climate-efficient agriculture, thereby promoting climate protection and biodiversity. Klim is active in the two areas mentioned above and, together with companies, provides farmers with private funding to integrate regenerative measures - we will continue to do this and the regulation will not change that for now.

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What does the decision mean for carbon farming and climate?

It is absolutely welcome that the EU has taken an important milestone towards an EU certificate market for CO₂ withdrawals even before the parliamentary elections in the summer. This creates security of action and trust for everyone involved in the chain. However, the draft regulation is very broad: If nation states can choose between either public, private or budgetary financed systems and design them individually, there is a risk of fragmentation into 28 individual solutions. The vision of a uniform certification mechanism is being recklessly jeopardised. It is therefore now up to the EU expert groups, which must back up the draft regulation with specific certification methodologies and recognised measures and at the same time define it more precisely.

This is the only way the EU regulation can contribute to genuine standardisation and that support the voluntary commitment of private sector companies more. The creditability of carbon credits at company level as part of EU certification has yet to be clarified. In view of the ever faster pace of climate change, we need such investment security today more than ever. Impeccable accountability creates the necessary incentives for companies to invest in climate protection measures.

In order for the delicate carbon farming plant to fully bloom, a number of maintenance and care measures are therefore necessary. It's good when all players in the value chain are audibly involved in shaping this development.

At Klim, we are already working with committed companies to scale regenerative agriculture because we no longer have time to wait. The quality of our carbon credits is ensured by taking into account the qu.a.l.ity criteria, which are reflected in the regulation. These include quantifiability, additionality and permanence as well as co-benefits for biodiversity and soil health. With our methodology and digital platform, we offer the highest level of transparency and traceability of our carbon credits.

Are you interested in talking about climate protection projects and regenerative agriculture? Then feel free to contact us.

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