EU

The European Commission just did something no other jurisdiction has managed: it adopted the world’s first voluntary standard specifically for permanent carbon removals. Under the Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming (CRCF) Regulation, the Commission published certification methodologies covering three pathways: direct air capture with carbon storage (DACCS), biogenic emissions capture with storage (BioCCS), and biochar carbon removal (BCR). What This Means in Practice Until now, permanent CDR projects in Europe operated in a regulatory grey zone. Buyers had no common framework for evaluating project quality. Developers had no certification path to demonstrate they met EU standards. That changes now. ...

The European Commission dropped a big policy package yesterday: the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA), a regulation aimed at rebuilding European industrial capacity while decarbonizing strategic sectors. The headlines focus on “Made in EU” procurement quotas (25% for low-carbon steel and aluminum, 5% for concrete). But buried in the details are signals that matter for the CDR industry — both positive and concerning. What’s in It for Carbon Removal? The IAA creates a framework for: ...