Policy Overview
The EU Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF) is the world’s first voluntary framework providing a unified legal definition for high-quality carbon removals. Enacted via Regulation 2024/3012, it establishes the ‘QU.A.L.ITY’ criteria—Quantification, Additionality, Long-term storage, and Sustainability—to verify carbon sequestration activities across the Union. For the CCUS sector, the CRCF is transformative as it formally classifies DACCS (Direct Air Capture with Carbon Storage) and Bio-CCS (Bio-energy with CCS) as ‘Permanent Carbon Removals’.
By creating a centralized Union Registry and enforcing strict third-party auditing, the CRCF aims to eliminate ‘greenwashing’ and provide corporate buyers with the legal certainty needed to procure high-value carbon removals. This framework acts as the regulatory bridge for expensive but critical negative emission technologies to achieve commercial scale, ensuring that every certified tonne is a tangible contribution to the EU’s 2040 and 2050 climate neutrality targets.