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Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/285 of 3 February 2026 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2024/3012 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing the certification methodologies for permanent carbon removals activities

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/285 of 3 February 2026 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2024/3012 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing the certification methodologies for permanent carbon removals activities

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2024/3012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2024 establishing a Union certification framework for permanent carbon removals, carbon farming and carbon storage in products(1), and in particular Article 8(2) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Regulation (EU) 2024/3012 establishes a voluntary Union framework for the certification for permanent carbon removals, carbon farming and carbon storage in products in order to support the achievement of the Union objectives under the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(2), in particular the collective achievement of the climate neutrality objective, at the latest by 2050, as laid down in Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council(3). To that end, Regulation (EU) 2024/3012 lays down quality criteria for carbon removal activities with regard to quantification, additionality, storage, liability, and sustainability. It is necessary to set out the certification methodologies under which operators of permanent carbon removal activities taking place in the Union can demonstrate compliance of the activities with those quality criteria, and the carbon removals generated by such activities can be eligible for certification under the Union framework.

(2) The review carried out by the Commission of existing methodologies for the certification of permanent carbon removals and the ensuing work conducted by the Expert Group on Carbon Removals have identified three types of permanent carbon removal activities for which the scientific knowledge and technological maturity allow for the development of certification methodologies for the purpose of Regulation (EU) 2024/3012 that ensure the robust and transparent quantification of the net carbon removal benefit, namely direct air capture with carbon storage (‘DACCS’), biogenic emissions capture with carbon storage (‘BioCCS’), and biochar carbon removal (‘BCR’).

(3) It is appropriate to periodically review this Regulation, at least every four years, in all its aspects. Account is to be taken of technological and scientific progress and innovation, in particular improvements in monitoring, reporting and verification, with regard to DACCS, BioCCS and BCR activities and to other permanent carbon removal activities. Developments in Union legislation need to be equally considered, among others, the review of sustainability requirements under Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council(4). In order to reflect experience with the implementation of this Regulation, knowledge sharing events are to be organised for collecting feedback and sharing best practices.

(4) Currently DACCS, BioCCS and BCR activities are affected by a market failure; that is to say that they provide benefits on climate change mitigation that are associated with costs but do not generate adequate revenues for their operators, translating into a funding gap(5). Operators capturing and storing biogenic or atmospheric CO2 are unable to receive allowances or reductions in their obligations under Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(6). Therefore, operators of DACCS, BioCCS and BCR activities currently lack economic reasons to invest. This funding gap can be overcome through public support and revenues generated through the selling of certified units, or a possible combination of the two funding mechanisms(7). For those activities it is therefore appropriate to set a standardised baseline of zero CO2 equivalent as this is highly representative of the current standard performance of comparable practices and processes in similar social, economic, environmental, technological and regulatory circumstances. Therefore, in line with the rules on additionality in case of use of a standardised baseline set out in Regulation (EU) 2024/3012, such activities are considered additional.

(5) To ensure the permanence of the CO2 storage, DACCS and BioCCS activities should store CO2 in geological storage sites permitted under Directive 2009/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(8) that provide the liability framework for any leakage of CO2. It should be possible for DACCS and BioCCS activities to use a shared transport infrastructure and to dispatch CO2 to several storage sites that store CO2 from multiple sources.

(6) BCR activities produce a quantifiable fraction of stable biochar that is expected to store carbon for at least several centuries and that can therefore generate permanent carbon removal units. The production and use of biochar should be monitored up to the point it is applied to soils or incorporated in products for the uses permitted under the BCR methodology. In cases where the application of BCR in soils has not been directly supervised, the operators should grant access to the site for at least one year following the application, so that an effective use of BCR in line with conditions for permanent storage of carbon can be verified. Considering the low risk of reversal of the fraction of biochar that has been identified as stable, and the use of a conservatism factor in the quantification of the permanent fraction of the biochar, no further monitoring should be required beyond the point at which the biochar is demonstrated to have been applied to the land or incorporated into a product.

(7) In order not to disincentivise the capture of CO2, the sustainability requirements for biomass applied in respect of BioCCS activities should not go beyond those applicable to biomass applied to bioenergy installations that do not capture CO2. It is appropriate to recall that in case of public support provided by Member States, operators need to comply with the cascading principle in accordance with Article 3(3) of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 and as implemented by Member States.

(8) To preserve ecosystems, biodiversity and natural carbon sinks, the BioCCS and BCR activities should not create unsustainable demand for biomass raw material and should be conducted in accordance with the principle of the cascading use of biomass and should provide a transparent reporting of the type of biomass consumed by the activity.

(9) BioCCS activities with the primary purpose of producing heat or electricity from biomass combustion should demonstrate that the biomass consumption capacity of the facility has not increased by more than the amount necessary to supply energy for the capture of biogenic CO2 emissions.

(10) BCR activities in which biochar is the primary product of the activity, accounting for 50 % or more of the total energy outputs of the co-products, can only use feedstocks coming from waste or residue as defined in Article 2, points (23) and (43), respectively, of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 for the production of biochar.

(11) Where the increase in biomass consumption required to provide on-site heat or electricity used for DACCS or BioCCS activities, or for the production of biochar in BCR activities, is limited to waste and residual biomass or is consistent with the principle of cascading use of biomass and does not result in displacement of existing biomass uses or increased pressure on land, such increase is not expected to be associated with significant indirect land use changes (‘ILUC’) emissions. Currently on-site heat or electricity is not supplied in any significant amounts by consumption of food and feed-crop based biofuels, bioliquids or biomass fuels and it is considered unlikely this will change following the incentive effect of Regulation (EU) 2024/3012. Therefore, no ILUC associated emissions are expected to significantly affect the quantification of the net carbon removal benefit for DACCS, BioCCS and BCR activities.

(12) In order to enhance transparency and to recognise best practices in the sourcing of biomass feedstocks, operators of DACCS, BioCCS and BCR activities should report on the biomass feedstocks consumed by their activities. This information should feed into the assessment of how permanent carbon removal activites could affect ecosystems, the availability of feedstocks for other sectors, and the risk that feedstocks are sourced beyond local availability in the context of the review of the certification methodologies and for the purposes of their potential amendments.

(13) In order to preserve soil health, it is important to recall that biochar produced through BCR activities is to comply with Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council(9), Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(10), Regulations (EC) No 1069/2009(11) and (EU) 2019/1021(12) of the European Parliament and of the Council and Directive (EU) 2025/2360 of the European Parliament and of the Council(13),

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1 Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

  1. ‘atmospheric CO2’ means CO2 well mixed in the free atmosphere at ambient air temperature, where the concentration of CO2 is not affected by local point sources but may vary because of regional anthropogenic and natural emission sources;

  2. ‘biochar’ means a carbonaceous material that is produced by thermal treatment of biomass or biomass fuels;

  3. ‘biochar carbon removal activity’ or ‘BCR activity’ means an activity resulting in the production and permanent storage of biochar by its application to soils or by its incorporation into materials;

  4. ‘biogenic emissions capture with carbon storage activity’ or ‘BioCCS activity’ means an activity resulting in a process of capturing biogenic CO2, followed by transport and permanent storage of that biogenic CO2 by injection at a geological storage site for which a valid permit exists in accordance with Article 8 of Directive 2009/31/EC;

  5. ‘biogenic CO2’ means CO2 produced from a source of biomass, biofuel, bioliquid or biomass fuel by a chemical or biological process acting on the carbon atoms therein, including combustion, oxidation, anaerobic digestion and fermentation;

  6. ‘direct air capture with carbon storage activity or ‘DACCS activity’ means an activity resulting in a process that captures atmospheric CO2 from ambient air, followed by transport and permanent storage of that atmospheric CO2 by injection at a geological storage site for which a valid permit exists in accordance with Article 8 of Directive 2009/31/EC.

Article 2 Certification methodology for permanent carbon removals generated by direct air capture with carbon storage activities

1.

A DACCS activity shall comply with the following requirements:

  1. the eligibility criteria laid down in Section 1.1.1 of the Annex;

  2. the activity and monitoring periods laid down in Sections 1.2.1.1 and 1.2.1.2 of the Annex;

  3. the rules for identifying the carbon removal sinks and GHG emission sources laid down in Section 2.1.1 of the Annex;

  4. the rules for calculating the baseline laid down in Section 2.1.2 of the Annex;

  5. the rules for calculating the total carbon removals, laid down in Section 2.1.3 of the Annex;

  6. the rules for calculating the greenhouse gas associated, laid down in Section 2.1.4 of the Annex;

  7. the rules on long-term storage and liability, laid down in Section 3.1 of the Annex;

  8. the rules on the minimum sustainability requirements laid down in Section 4.1 of the Annex;

  9. the rules on the monitoring and reporting requirements laid down in Sections 1.3.2 and 1.3.3 of the Annex.

2.

The operator of a DACCS activity shall ensure that the facility capturing the CO2 is located in the Union.

Article 3 Certification methodology for permanent carbon removals generated by biogenic emissions capture with carbon storage activities

1.

A BioCCS activity shall comply with the following requirements:

  1. the eligibility criteria laid down in Section 1.1.1 of the Annex;

  2. the activity and monitoring periods laid down in Section 1.2.1 of the Annex;

  3. the rules for identifying the carbon removal sinks and GHG emission sources laid down in Section 2.1.1 of the Annex;

  4. the rules for calculating the baseline laid down in Section 2.1.2 of the Annex;

  5. the rules for calculating the total carbon removals laid down in Section 2.1.3 of the Annex;

  6. the rules for calculating the greenhouse gas associated laid down in Section 2.1.4 of the Annex;

  7. the rules on long-term storage and liability laid down in Section 3.1 of the Annex;

  8. the rules on the minimum sustainability requirements laid down in Section 4.1 of the Annex;

  9. the rules on monitoring and reporting requirements laid down in Sections 1.3.2 and 1.3.3 of the Annex.

2.

The biogenic CO2 captured in a BioCCS activity shall be generated as a by-product of production processes of goods, energy and services and shall not generate biogenic CO2 from biomass, biofuel, bioliquid or biomass fuel solely for the purpose of capture and storage.

3.

The operator of a BioCCS activity shall ensure that the facility capturing the CO2 is located in the Union.

Article 4 Certification methodology for permanent carbon removals generated by biochar carbon removal activities

1.

A BCR activity shall comply with the following requirements:

  1. the eligibility criteria laid down in Section 1.1.2 of the Annex;

  2. the activity and monitoring periods laid down in Section 1.2.2 of the Annex;

  3. the rules for identifying the carbon removal sinks and GHG emission sources laid down in Section 2.2.1 of the Annex;

  4. the rules for calculating the baseline laid down in Section 2.2.2 of the Annex;

  5. the rules for calculating the total carbon removals laid down in Section 2.2.3 of the Annex;

  6. the rules for calculating the greenhouse gas associated laid down in Section 2.2.4 of the Annex;

  7. the rules on long-term storage and liability laid down in Section 3.2 of the Annex;

  8. the rules on the minimum sustainability requirements laid down in Section 4.1 of the Annex;

  9. the rules on monitoring and reporting requirements laid down in Sections 1.3.2 and 1.3.3 of the Annex.

2.

A BCR activity shall ensure that the biochar production facility and the storage of the biochar are located in the Union.

Article 5 Entry into force

ANNEX