Europe sets the standard for permanent carbon removals: Welcome to an official EU Biochar Carbon Removal Methodology

Today, the European Commission adopted the world’s first methodologies under the European Union’s Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming Regulation (CRCF) for permanent carbon removals, marking a defining moment for the carbon removal sector.

The three first methodologies to be adopted are Biochar Carbon Removal (BCR) alongside Bio-CCS and DACCS, recognising BCR as a mature, scalable, and leading pathway for permanent carbon removal in the EU.

At Carbo Culture, we welcome this milestone not as a sudden breakthrough, but as the result of years of careful, collaborative policy work. This moment has been more than five years in the making, and it fundamentally changes what’s possible for high-integrity carbon removal in Europe and beyond.

From pilot projects to a real market

With the adoption of the first certification methodologies under the Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming (CRCF) Regulation, the EU has now drawn a clear line between climate claims and certified, permanent removals.

For the first time, Europe has a legally grounded framework defining:

1. What is good carbon removal, and what is good permanent carbon removal,
2. How permanence and liability are ensured, and
3. How potential risks like leakage and reversals are addressed.

A shift from experimentation to market formation

At Carbo Culture we have been actively involved in shaping European carbon removal policy over the years, contributing expertise, data, and on-the-ground operational insight to ensure the framework reflects real systems, real possibilities, and real climate impact.

We are deeply grateful to the partners and associations who helped make this possible by compiling research and ensuring that the legislation can stand the test of time and intellectual scrutiny, including: Negative Emissions Platform, Nordic Carbon Removal Association, Carbon Business Council, Biochar Europe, Carbon Gap, Carbon Market Watch, fellow carbon removal developers, researchers, certification bodies, auditors, buyers, the policymakers – both in the EU and in the member states, and of course the members of the Carbon Removal Expert Group and the EU’s DG CLIMA.

This standard is the result of collective, cross-sector work, proof that rigorous climate policy and industrial innovation can move forward together.

For the market, the implications are immediate:

1. Buyers now have a credible, EU-backed benchmark to distinguish permanent removals from offsets and short-lived storage.
2. Project developers can move forward with confidence, knowing what is required to achieve EU certification.
3. Investors finally have regulatory clarity in a field that has been promising scale, but lacking shared rules.
4. Europe positions itself as a global standard-setter, not just a participant, in the carbon removal economy.

With certification schemes opening and the first projects expected to be recognised in the coming months, the market is no longer theoretical, it is operational. The Commission’s announcement of an EU Buyers’ Club further reinforces this shift, signalling clear intent to mobilise both public and private demand for high-integrity removals. Indeed, if you are a company serious about climate responsibility, this is your moment.

Early buyers will not only secure access to scarce, high-quality removals, they will help shape a market built on integrity, transparency, and long-term climate value.

We look forward to working with buyers, partners, and policymakers to turn this framework into real tonnes removed, permanently, and to continue building a carbon removal market that actually delivers for the climate.