Trilogue negotiations on the Carbon Removal Certification Framework concluded on February 19th, with the outcome reflecting the pace of negotiations and a notable diversity of strong positions from all parties involved.
During the trialogue negotiations, several points significant for forestry were agreed upon, including ‘recognized timelines for activities’ such as carbon farming, set at five years as outlined in Article 13.
Addressing the issue of 'baselines', positive outcomes were achieved under Article 4(5) on 'standardized baselines' and Article 4(6) on 'activity baselines', along with corresponding Recital 7(a), which acknowledge local conditions and established baselines at the operator level. Notably, forest owners and managers were recognized as 'operators' under this forthcoming regulation, following a balanced opinion from COMAGRI (Hlavacek, Renew, Czech Republic).
In terms of 'sustainability', Article 7(1)(f) established the requirement for carbon farming, including forestry practices, to deliver at least on the co-benefit of “biodiversity protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems including soil health, as well as avoidance of land degradation.”
In the upcoming stages, COMENVI, the prominent committee within the European Parliament, is set to deliberate on the approval of the agreement on 11 March. If endorsed, the final approval from the European Parliament is scheduled for the April plenary session.
For more information, please contact:
Dániel Komlós
Policy Advisor
