Certifying land-use based carbon dioxide removals : outline of a strawman proposal

Science is clear that to reduce the impacts of climate change increasing amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) will have to be removed from the atmosphere, even if all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were to be completely eliminated. Land-based activities, such as forest, agricultural or soil management, have the potential to remove and/or store significant amounts of carbon. However, a number of concerns exist around the measurability and the non-permanence of natural carbon sinks, with related risks of ‘greenwashing’ due to reversals, leakages, and double-counting. These concerns will need to be addressed satisfactorily when developing a robust, transparent, and dynamic EU-wide CO2 removals certification system. It should be developed step-by-step and allow for learning-bydoing. Initial focus should be on those land-based CO2 removal options for which high-quality monitoring capability already exists, such as afforestation, reforestation, agro-forestry and biochar. Transparency will be key. Each CO2 removal certificate – representing a tonne of CO2 removed from the atmosphere for a specified period of time – will have to carry a minimum set of information including geo-references, period of validity, methodologies used and on-going monitoring requirements to be followed. Additional information, for example, in terms of promoting biodiversity, could highlight co-benefits. The governance of an EU-wide certification system will have to clarify roles and responsibilities of different public and private actors, establishing sufficient checks and balances in developing methodologies and their use, keeping track of issuance, ownership, and transactions in the central EU registry, as well as regulating public access. If successful, an EU-wide CO2 removal certification system could set a new international standard. In the EU, it would lay the foundation for creating performance-based incentive systems, which can be created via standards, direct public support like under the Common Agriculture Policy, voluntary markets, and compliance markets such as the EU emissions trading system

Between crises and decarbonisation : realigning EU climate and energy policy for the new ‘state of the world'

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 compounded an already difficult policy landscape characterised by rising energy prices, international supply chains’ disruptions, growing greenhouse gas emissions and exacerbating geopolitical tensions. This combination of crises ushers in a new ‘state of the world’, where energy security is a much more pressing concern, and calls for an intervention in the short term to address the social and economic consequences of the surge in the cost of energy. In this context, support must be targeted and mute efficient price signals in energy markets to the minimum possible extent. In the medium and longer term, the transition towards a low-carbon economy must be accelerated, duly considering the significant efforts needed for a major reorganisation of the energy supply to European citizens and firms. The scale of the acceleration required questions the ability of the EU and its Member States to make it happen. Ensuring the feasibility of the investments in new infrastructures, the procurement of sufficient raw materials and manufactured components, and the deployment of a skilled and abundant workforce is fundamental. The acceleration of the transition questions the adequacy of the existing European electricity market design as well, which must be carefully assessed and possibly amended in order to be future-proof. It questions, finally, the existing European governance for energy, which must evolve to support a long-term collaborative decision-making process and deal with a multi-vector and highly integrated energy system at multiple levels. This policy paper, which summaries a joint research initiative between the FSR and the European Climate Foundation, addresses these issues in three sections: 1) what are the key characteristics of the new state of the world? 2) what are the policy priorities in the near and longer term? 3) what are the process and governance to make it work

What future for voluntary carbon markets?

While much interest is being shown for ‘climate neutral’ pledges by companies, and voluntary carbon markets, both can be confusing. This Policy Brief looks at the definitions and governance characteristics needed to deliver on both fronts. Successful markets need rules and oversight to function properly. Environmental integrity and robust carbon accounting lie at the heart of any markets that claim to benefit the environment. This Policy Brief sets out the building blocks of success, based on actual experience, and makes a number of recommendations on how to learn from the mistakes of the pas