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Certification of Carbon Removals. Part 1: Synoptic review of carbon removal solutions

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Bey, Niki et al. 2021: Certification of Carbon Removals. Part 1: Synoptic review of carbon removal solutions. Vienna: Environment Agency Austria.

Sucking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere – 'carbon removals' – is essential to achieve Europe's 2050 net-zero climate goals. This report considers twelve nature- and technology-based carbon removal solutions, evaluating their climate mitigation potential and suitability for deployment across Europe. The report supports the European Commission's development of a certification mechanism for carbon removals.

We consider twelve carbon removal options:

  • Afforestation & Reforestation
  • Agroforestry
  • Peatland rewetting
  • Improved forest management.
  • Increase in soil organic carbon on mineral soils
  • Biochar
  • Biomass in buildings
  • Direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS)
  • Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)
  • Enhanced rock weathering
  • Carbon capture and storage (CCS)
  • Various Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) routes

Each solution is described in a multipage fiche that evaluates key aspects, such as EU mitigation potential, cost, and co-benefits and potential risks associated with the solutions. The fiches also consider key challenges for certifying carbon removals, including the risk of non-permanence and monitoring, reporting, and verification challenges.

We find that all carbon removal solutions have different strengths and weaknesses, posing different challenges and opportunities for a European carbon removal certification mechanism. For example, while nature-based solutions tend to be more mature and cost-effective than technology-based solutions, they typically pose higher risks of non-permanence. Conversely, monitoring, reporting and verification tends to be simpler for technology-based solutions, but they often have significant negative externalities, such as high electricity consumption. Each of these characteristics must be considered to design a robust and effective system to incentivise carbon removals within Europe.

Ecologic Institute led evaluations of all nature-based solutions, as part of a project funded by European Commission DG CLIMA. An accompanying report was published simultaneously, which reviews 24 existing carbon removal certification mechanisms and methodologies and identifies key lessons for designing a European carbon removals mechanism.

 

More content from this project

Language
English
Authorship
Niki Bey (Ramboll)
Larisa Maya-Drysdale (Ramboll)
Raphaëlle Stewart (Ramboll)
Cordelia Pätz (Ramboll)
Maria Naae Hornsleth (Ramboll)
Christian Heller (Umweltbundesamt GmbH)
Paul Zakkour (Carbon Counts GmbH)
Funding
Published by
Year
Dimension
125 pp.
ISBN
978-3-99004-619-7
Project
Project ID
Table of contents
Keywords
carbon removals, negative emissions, nature-based solutions, nbs, climate mitigation, soil carbon, peatlands, afforestation, certification, carbon capture, mitigation, climate change, fit for 55

Source URL: https://www.ecologic.eu/18499