The EU is planning clear emission-capture norms for its carbon market

livemint.com:

The European Union (EU) is quietly setting the direction for the future of carbon markets, with two pieces of regulation clearing big hurdles in recent weeks. Watch closely, because these initiatives will reshape the industry. On Tuesday, the European Commission and European Parliament struck a provisional deal to compile rules for certifying carbon-removal credits—the Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF).

“This is the first time in history that we have a policy which clearly defines quality carbon removal and seeks to quantify it," Sebastian Manhart, senior policy advisor at removals marketplace Carbonfuture GmbH, told me. “Other nations will probably copy it." Carbon offsets are typically categorized either as avoidance credits (buy this, we won’t cut down this forest) or reduction credits (buy this, we’ll install some solar panels). In recent years, scandals ranging from human rights abuses to overstated climate benefits have raised questions over whether offsets are useful in the climate fight or whether they are just a cover for corporations and individuals to continue their polluting behaviour.

Carbon removals seek to suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and store it, ideally permanently underground or in the ocean. While we currently rely on nature to perform that service, nascent technologies ranging from direct air capture (essentially big vacuums) to bio-char, a carbon-rich material made from heating biomass at high temperatures in low oxygen, which can then be added to soil or used in concrete, have the potential to assist. Removals currently make up only about 3% of the total carbon market.