On the 30th of November
2022, the European Commission adopted a proposal[1] for a voluntary
framework to reliably certify high-quality carbon removals. To ensure
the quality and comparability of carbon removals, the proposed
regulation establishes four QU.A.L.ITY criteria, which are explained in
more detail in the accompanying Impact Assessment[2]:
- Quantification: Carbon removal activities need to be measured accurately and deliver unambiguous benefits for the climate;
- Additionality: Carbon removal activities need to go beyond existing practices and what is required by law;
- Long-term storage: Certificates are linked to the duration of carbon storage so as to ensure permanent storage;
- Sustainability: Carbon removal activities must
preserve or contribute to sustainability objectives such as climate
change adaptation, circular economy, water and marine resources, and
biodiversity.
Moving forward, the Commission, supported by an Expert Group,
will develop tailored certification methodologies for carbon removal
activities delivering on climate and other environmental objectives.
Numerous initiatives have emerged in the last years to certify
carbon farming practices (i.e. practices that can sustainably enhance
the storage of carbon in soils and forests or reduce the release of
carbon from soils), thus creating a new business model for farmers and
foresters.
The objective of this questionnaire is to obtain a comprehensive
overview of existing certification methodologies for carbon farming
practices and to understand how they ensure that carbon removals are
accurately quantified and additional, that carbon is stored for the
long-term, and that carbon removal activities are sustainable. The
survey is structured along the four QU.A.L.ITY criteria in the
Commission proposal and is aligned with its Annex I, which lists the
elements that a certification methodology shall include in the future
Delegated Acts. At the beginning of each section, there is a short
explanation of each QU.A.L.ITY criterion as featured in the Commission
proposal; this is only done to provide contextual information, and the
replies do not necessarily need to show alignment with the proposed
QU.A.L.ITY criteria in the proposal.
The results of this survey will be presented during a meeting of
the Expert Group on Carbon Removals, which is planned for the 21st and
22nd of June 2023 and will be published as part of a review of existing
certification methodology to be finalised during summer.
We are seeking responses from actors in the field of carbon
farming that can provide us with technical information about how
existing certification methodologies address the challenges behind the
four QU.A.L.ITY criteria.
We thank you in advance for your time and effort to fill in this
survey: this is a very valuable input to the upcoming work on
certification methodologies for carbon farming. Please note that you
do not have to reply to all questions if some of them are not
applicable to the certification methodology that you are describing.
If you want to provide information about several certification
methodologies, please fill in the survey several times, one for each
methodology. You may upload any relevant documentation at the end of the
survey.
This survey will remain open for input until 5th of May 2023 at 23:59 (CEST).
https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/DGCLIMA-CRETA-EU-Survey20230414
[1] COM(2022) 672 final, https://climate.ec.europa.eu/document/fad4a049-ff98-476f-b626-b46c6afdded3_en
[2] SWD(2022) 378 final, https://climate.ec.europa.eu/document/ab53e63b-4b85-4d28-ac67-6bd742506bae_en