On the 1st of March, the European Parliament released a report on Sustainable Carbon Cycles adopted by the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) stating that carbon removal from technological solutions must play a growing role in achieving climate neutrality by 2050.
The report highlights the potential of sustainable carbon cycles to contribute to the EU net carbon removal target and stresses that carbon removal should complement, not replace, legally binding emissions reductions. At the same time, the Committee members urge the establishment of a monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) framework to incentivise new types of carbon removal activities and an EU governance certification system for carbon removal to promote harmonised implementation across Europe and avoid any form of the so-called “greenwashing”.
Additionally, the Committee emphasises that industrial sustainable carbon technologies, such as Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU), can contribute to EU climate neutrality, and call for a system to trace captured CO₂ and clarify the issue of liability for harm caused if carbon removals are reversed.
Specifically, the European Parliament:
🟢 Underlines that the solutions based on CCU technologies can play a pivotal role in defossilise the industry, especially for the mitigation of process emissions.
🟢 Considers that technologies such as Direct Air Capture that is scientifically proven and environmentally safe can play a crucial role in the achievement of climate neutrality in the EU by 2050 at the latest;
🟢 Emphasises that emissions reduction at the source must always remain the priority;
🟢 Stresses the need to significantly reduce the environmental footprint of current carbon capture technologies, in particular of energy and water use;
🟢 Calls on the Commission to establish an efficient and reliable system for the traceability of captured CO₂, distinguishing between carbon capture on-site and from the atmosphere to avoid double counting and safeguard the integrity of removals.
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