Extract, with focus on biodiversity, from the Union certification framework for permanent carbon removals, carbon farming and carbon storage in products, as adopted by the European Parliament on 10 April 2024. Despite the title, the framework also covers activities for reduction of soil emissions, see (3) below and the definition of carbon farming.
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
- Having regard to the Treaty ….
Whereas:
(3) The aim of this Regulation is to develop a voluntary Union certification framework for permanent carbon removals, carbon farming and carbon storage in products, with a view to facilitating and encouraging the uptake of high-quality carbon removals and soil emission reductions, in full respect of the biodiversity and the zero-pollution objectives, as a complement to sustained emission reductions across all sectors.
(7) The Union certification framework will support the development of permanent carbon removal, carbon farming and carbon storage in products in the Union that result in an unambiguous positive climate impact, while avoiding greenwashing. In the case of carbon farming, the Union certification framework should also promote the uptake of activities that generate co-benefits for biodiversity, therefore contributing to achieving the nature restoration targets set out in Union law.
(17) ……. Moreover, in order to incentivise synergies between Union climate and biodiversity objectives, enhanced monitoring of land needs to be required, thereby helping to protect and enhance the resilience of nature-based carbon removals throughout the Union.
(23) Carbon removals, carbon farming and carbon storage in product activities have a strong potential to deliver win-win solutions for sustainability, even if trade-offs cannot be excluded. Therefore, it is appropriate to establish minimum sustainability requirements to ensure that those activities do not lead to significant harm to the environment and are able to generate co-benefits for the objectives of: climate
change mitigation and adaptation; the protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems, including soil health and avoidance of land degradation; ….
Carbon farming activities should at least generate cobenefits for the objective of protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems, including soil health as well avoidance of land degradation. ….
Practices that produce harmful effects for biodiversity, such as forest monocultures
producing harmful effects for biodiversity, should not be eligible for certification.
(24) When developing certification methodologies in the context of carbon farming, the Commission should take into account the need to contribute to ensuring food security and promote the protection and the restauration of biodiversity and ecosystems, and to avoid that land is acquired for speculative purposes resulting in negative effects on rural communities, ….
It should promote those activities that have the largest potential to provide positive co-benefits for biodiversity, as well as consider the long-term forest structure, the long-term stability of carbon pools, ecosystem health, resilience and risk of natural disturbances.
(25) Certification methodologies should, as much as possible, incentivise the generation of co-benefits for biodiversity going beyond the minimum sustainability requirements, with a view to generate a premium for the certified units, by including for instance positive lists of activities that are deemed to generate co-benefits. These additional co-benefits would give more economic value to the certified units and would result in higher revenues for the operators. In the light of these considerations, it is appropriate for the Commission to prioritise the development of tailored certification methodologies on carbon farming activities that provide significant co-benefits for biodiversity, and contribute to sustainable management of agricultural land and forests.
(41) It is appropriate that certificates of compliance and certified units underpin different end-uses, such as, the proof of climate-related and other environmental corporate claims (including on biodiversity), or the exchange of certified units through voluntary carbon markets.
HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1: Subject matter and scope
The objective of this Regulation is to facilitate and encourage the deployment of permanent carbon removals, carbon farming and carbon storage in products as a complement to sustained emission reductions across all sectors to meet the objectives and targets laid down in Regulation (EU) 2021/1119, by operators or groups of operators. To that end, this Regulation establishes a voluntary Union framework for the certification of carbon removals and soil emission reductions …..
Article 2: Definitions
(10) ‘carbon farming’ means any practice or process, carried out over an activity period of at least five years, related to terrestrial or coastal management and resulting in capture and temporary storage of atmospheric and biogenic carbon into biogenic carbon pools or the reduction of soil emissions;
Article 7: Sustainability
An activity shall not significantly harm and may generate co-benefits for one or more of, the following sustainability objectives:
(a) climate change mitigation beyond the net carbon removal benefit and net soil emission reduction benefit referred to in Article 4(1) and (2);
(b) climate change adaptation;
(c) sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources;
(d) transition to a circular economy, including the efficient use of sustainably
sourced bio-based materials;
(e) pollution prevention and control;
(f) protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems including soil health,
as well as avoidance of land degradation.
A carbon farming activity shall at least generate co-benefits for the sustainability
objective referred to in point (f) of the first subparagraph.
Chapter 2, Article 8: Certification methodologies
Delegated acts adopted pursuant to paragraph 2 shall differentiate between
activities related to permanent carbon removal, carbon farming and carbon
storage in products and further differentiate the activities on the basis of their
characteristics. The certification methodologies shall:
(a) ensure the robustness and transparency of carbon removals and soil
emission reductions;
(b) promote the protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems;
(c) contribute to ensuring the Union’s food security and avoiding land
speculation;
(d) take into account the competitiveness of farmers and foresters in the Union
in a sustainable manner, particularly for small-scale operators;