Carbon dioxide removal organizations have joined together to call for technological neutrality for carbon removal solutions. 17 organizations representing the carbon removal ecosystem have sent a letter to the European Parliament to urge EU legislators to ensure that the Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF) is technology-neutral.
According to the organizations, the move comes as a reaction to changes to Article 2, paragraph 1, a and g, and Article 6 that particularly exclude some permanent carbon dioxide removal solutions from qualifying under the Framework’s permanent storage requirement. As a consequence, the changes could significantly reduce the EU´s ability to achieve its climate targets and risk stunting innovation in the nascent carbon removal sector.
The letter signed by the organizations aims to express the concerns of the CDR ecosystem and make suggestions to the text of the Carbon Removal Certification Framework draft proposal.
The first suggestion is a different definition for “carbon removal” outlined in Article 2, paragraph 1, a) of the draft proposal. According to the letter, the current text does not include some carbon removal technologies and is not technologically neutral. It is specified that in order to ensure neutrality, the text must follow the IPCC’s definition (in line with the Council’s compromise text from August 2023) for carbon removal.
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Further changes include the definition of “permanent carbon storage” outlined in Article 2, paragraph 1, g) that in its current form narrows down the technology solutions to geological storage of CO2. The change in the text suggested is inclusive of other relevant technologies.
According to the letter, a technology-neutral approach in the Carbon Removal Certification Framework is needed to foster growth and innovation in the sector. Limiting the CDR approaches could backfire into an opportunity for legislators to pick winners and stunt innovation.
