The Member States’ ambassadors to the European Union (Coreper) held discussions, on Friday 3 March, on the Commission’s proposal for a regulation establishing an EU certification framework for carbon removals (see EUROPE 13074/9).
The text presented on 30 November 2022 aims to establish an EU certification framework for carbon removals through industrial carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies, carbon farming and sustainable materials. This certification would be based on four ‘QU.A.L.ITY’ criteria: quantification, additionality, long-term storage and sustainability.
In the document sent to the Permanent Representatives in preparation for today’s meeting, the Swedish Presidency noted that since the dossier was first discussed in February, questions have been raised about these criteria and about the certification system. Many delegations questioned the relationship between the proposed framework and national policies of programmes with similar objectives and international mechanisms and processes. Furthermore, as the Swedish Presidency points out in its note, carbon removals are expected to become an increasingly important element, complementary to emission reductions, in the pursuit of the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C warming target and climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest. A key question in the debate was therefore how this framework could contribute to increasing high-quality carbon removals in the EU as a complement to sustained emission reduction efforts.
At the end of the debate, the Swedish Presidency emphasised that the proposal is attracting a lot of interest from the Member States, although several questions have been raised. These exchanges were held in view of the policy debate of the EU ‘Environment’ Council session on 16 March.
Note from the EU Council to the Committee of Permanent Representatives: https://aeur.eu/f/5n0 (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)