CRCF background information

The briefing examines the EU's Carbon Removals Certification Framework (CRCF), specifically criticizing the Delegated Act for permanent removals. It argues that the current methodologies for Direct Air Capture with Storage (DACCS), Biomass with capture and storage (BioCCS), and Biochar fail to account for environmental knock-on effects, lack proper monitoring and liability, and breach the 'Do No Significant Harm' principle. The author warns that these flaws could lead to certified activities increasing atmospheric emissions and undermine the EU's path to climate neutrality, potentially exposing buyers to greenwashing accusations if integrated into the EU Emission Trading System or voluntary markets.

• The CRCF is a voluntary EU framework for certifying carbon dioxide removals and emissions reductions, comprising a Regulation on quality and governance, an Implementing Act on certification rules, and Delegated Acts for permanent removals and carbon farming.
• Permanent carbon removal activities under the framework include Direct air capture with storage (DACCS), Biomass with capture and storage (BioCCS), and Biochar, while carbon farming covers afforestation, rewetting/restoration of peatlands and organic soils, and agriculture/agroforestry on mineral soils.
• The Delegated Act for permanent removals is criticized for being a 'political compromise' rather than science-based, risking increased logging pressures on forest ecosystems and failing to account for biodiversity impacts from biomass harvesting.
• The document identifies three specific breaches of the CRCF Regulation in the permanent removals Delegated Act: failure to account for all associated emissions in biomass extraction (Article 4), failure to implement adequate monitoring and liability for biochar (Article 6), and failure to comply with the Do No Significant Harm principle (Article 7).
• There is a risk that low-quality credits from the CRCF could be used for offsetting at the company level or integrated into the EU Emission Trading System, which would undermine EU climate targets and expose buyers to greenwashing accusations.

APA

Carbon Market Watch (n.d.). CRCF background information. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/CRCF-webinar-background-doc.pdf

Chicago

Carbon Market Watch. CRCF background information. n.d. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/CRCF-webinar-background-doc.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Carbon Market Watch |title=CRCF background information |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/CRCF-webinar-background-doc.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{carbonmarketwatchndcrcf, author = {{Carbon Market Watch}}, title = {{CRCF background information}}, institution = {Carbon Market Watch}, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/CRCF-webinar-background-doc.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }