The European Union defines official methodologies for carbon removal under the CRCF for the first time.
6 Feb 2026
The European Commission has adopted the first set of certification methodologies under the Carbon Sequestration and Carbon Farming (CRCF) Regulation, marking a key milestone for the development of a regulated carbon dioxide removal (CDR) market in Europe.
The methodologies cover three pathways considered permanent carbon removals under the European framework:
- Direct Air Capture with Carbon Storage (DACCS)
- Biogenic Emissions Capture with Carbon Storage (BioCCS)
- Biochar
This is the first time the EU has published a comprehensive methodological document—86 pages long—that establishes clear, prescriptive, and agreed-upon rules for certifying CDR projects, significantly reducing the ambiguity that has historically characterized this market.
A Structural, Not Just Regulatory, Step
Beyond the technical announcement, the CRCF represents a substantial advance in the credibility and scalability of the RDC in Europe. The framework is cross-cutting yet internally consistent: although activity periods and application limits vary depending on the technology, accounting standards, durability definitions, and monitoring requirements remain aligned across the three pathways.
This consistency prevents market fragmentation and lays the foundation for a fungible certification system, a key condition for attracting institutional investment and facilitating future integration with other carbon markets.
A Clear Signal for Developers and Investors
The methodologies offer, for the first time, a concrete regulatory target for project developers, voluntary standards, and market makers. Industry stakeholders can now accurately assess how their current methodologies align or ,do not align, with European requirements.
Even for projects outside the EU, the CRCF sends a clear directional signal: Europe is moving toward a regulated, demanding, and credible framework for carbon removal, which could influence global standards and the evolution of the voluntary market.
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