Open letter to the European Commission on the Carbon Removal Certification Framework
ECOS and 6 other organisations send an open letter to Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans, Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius, and Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski with a series of priorities that need to be taken into account in the Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF) for it to fulfill its potential.
On 30 November, the European Commission is due to publish its proposal for a Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF). The CRCF will propose EU rules on certifying carbon removals, which are vital in keeping our climate commitments within reach. It will develop the necessary rules to monitor, report, and verify the authenticity of these removals. Such rules will provide the necessary legal framework to scale up carbon farming and industrial solutions to removing carbon from the atmosphere.
We believe the Carbon Removal Certification Framework can have merits and address a gap in the EU climate policy framework, but risks seriously undermining its own declared purpose of climate ambition.
The following priorities need to be taken into account in the proposal for it to fulfill its potential, and for the EU to take a leadership position in rolling out real and sustainable carbon removals:
- Deep emission reductions must take explicit priority over carbon removals.
- The CRCF and its implementation should focus on actual carbon removals and exclude emission reductions or avoidance.
- The role of removals in the EU climate framework should be clarified.
- The CRCF must set the bar for understanding and addressing social and environmental impacts through robust safeguards.
