Open letter calling for a firewall between carbon emissions, land sequestration and permanent removals in the EU

An open letter from a coalition of academics, NGOs, and businesses calling for a 'firewall' in EU climate policy to prevent carbon removals and land sequestration from being used as substitutes for gross emissions reductions. The signatories argue that 'net' targets risk mitigation deterrence and advocate for three independent targets to be integrated into the 2040 climate target and the EU's updated nationally determined contributions.

• The signatories argue that 'net' climate targets are misleading and risk 'mitigation deterrence', where emissions cuts are delayed or replaced by promised future removals or sequestration.
• Separating targets for emissions, land-based sequestration, and permanent removals is presented as necessary to ensure decarbonisation remains the priority and to provide better governance for different removal types, which have distinct risks and requirements regarding biodiversity, land, and water.
• The letter highlights a physical distinction between emitting carbon and removing it, stating that the impact of emitting and then removing CO2 is more harmful than avoiding the emission entirely.
• The authors call for the European Commission to adopt three separate targets for greenhouse gas emissions reductions, land-based sequestration, and permanent carbon removals in its upcoming Communication on the EU climate target for 2040 and the updated EU NDC.

APA

Carbon Market Watch (2024). Open letter calling for a firewall between carbon emissions, land sequestration and permanent removals in the EU. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/High-Level-Letter-w_-Logos-signatories-rev.-28-January-2025.pdf

Chicago

Carbon Market Watch. Open letter calling for a firewall between carbon emissions, land sequestration and permanent removals in the EU. 2024. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/High-Level-Letter-w_-Logos-signatories-rev.-28-January-2025.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Carbon Market Watch |title=Open letter calling for a firewall between carbon emissions, land sequestration and permanent removals in the EU |date=8 January 2024 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/High-Level-Letter-w_-Logos-signatories-rev.-28-January-2025.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{carbonmarketwatch2024open, author = {{Carbon Market Watch}}, title = {{Open letter calling for a firewall between carbon emissions, land sequestration and permanent removals in the EU}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2024}, month = jan, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/High-Level-Letter-w_-Logos-signatories-rev.-28-January-2025.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }