Briefs · Frontier Science
Europe Has Just Invented the Certificate for Taking Carbon Back
Europe has just invented the certificate for taking carbon back.
On 3 February 2026 the European Commission adopted the EU’s first certification methodologies for permanent carbon removals, the first delegated regulation under the Carbon Removal and Carbon Farming Regulation, (EU) 2024/3012. It is, the Commission says, the world’s first voluntary standard for permanent removals.
Three activities qualify: direct air capture with carbon storage, known as DACCS; biogenic emissions capture with storage, or BioCCS; and biochar carbon removal. They were chosen for technological maturity and for their contribution to EU climate objectives.
The methodology sets the rules: eligibility, monitoring, calculation, long-term storage, liability, and minimum sustainability requirements. A tonne removed must be a tonne measured, stored, and accounted for.
The regulation now faces two months of scrutiny by the European Parliament and the Council, with publication in the Official Journal expected in early April 2026. Captured, counted, and certified: the three words that turn a climate promise into a tradable fact.
Conclusion: carbon removal is not a promise, but rather a product — measured, monitored, and, at last, certifiable.
Read the original at European Commission
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