Regulation
The EU just defined what a tonne of carbon removal means
April 2026 · AGCF Team
In February 2026, the European Commission adopted the first certification methodologies under the Carbon Removal and Carbon Farming Regulation (CRCF) — the world’s first government-backed standard defining what counts as a verified tonne of permanent carbon removal, how permanence must be ensured, and how risks such as leakage and liability are addressed.
From rule-setting to implementation
The first methodologies cover three permanent removal pathways: direct air capture with storage, biogenic CO₂ capture with storage, and biochar. More consequential for nature-based investors is what comes next: the Commission is finalising carbon farming methodologies — covering improved agricultural practices, agroforestry, peatland rewetting and afforestation — with adoption expected in the course of 2026, enabling farmers and foresters to earn result-based payments for verified carbon outcomes. A unified EU registry is planned by 2028, and existing certification standards can apply for recognition under the framework in the meantime.
Why a voluntary framework matters
CRCF certification is voluntary, but its gravitational pull will not be. It gives corporate buyers a government-backed quality benchmark for the first time, it is expected to interact with EU disclosure and claims rules, and the Commission has announced an EU Buyers’ Club to pool early demand for certified units. In practice, CRCF is set to define what “high quality” means in the European market — and quality definitions have a way of becoming price floors for those who meet them and ceilings for those who do not.
Our perspective
AGCF’s regenerative agriculture and soil carbon pipeline in Mediterranean Europe is designed to qualify under the CRCF from the outset. When a regulator defines the benchmark, the advantage belongs to projects built to it before the market reprices around it.