The European Commission has adopted new rules to implement the EU’s first voluntary certification framework for carbon removals and carbon farming, marking a major step toward creating a credible internal market for high-quality carbon credits. The measures will be reinforced by three initiatives announced under the EU’s updated Bioeconomy Strategy.
The new Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2358 sets out transparency requirements for certification schemes and establishes rules for accrediting and supervising certification bodies, as well as for audit procedures under the Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming (CRCF) Regulation. The Commission said the harmonised standards for monitoring and reporting are essential to ensure that permanent removals and climate-positive land-use practices are properly quantified, certified and rewarded.
The CRCF framework is intended to stimulate investment and increase demand for verified removals, supporting the EU’s long-term climate goals while creating new opportunities across the bioeconomy value chain.
To accelerate the market, the Bioeconomy Strategy launches three complementary initiatives. First, the Commission will create an EU Buyers’ Club to consolidate voluntary demand for CRCF-certified credits. By pooling corporate buyers, the initiative aims to provide a strong demand signal for carbon-farming practices and permanent removals, generating new revenue for farmers and foresters and strengthening biomass value chains.
Second, a new EU Carbon Farming Database will centralise models, emission factors, remote-sensing tools and benchmarking datasets. The Commission said the database will cut monitoring and verification costs, support corporate Scope 3 reporting and improve national greenhouse gas inventories for land-use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF).
Third, a CRCF methodology for carbon storage in buildings will be introduced in 2026, enabling owners to demonstrate the carbon-storage potential of construction materials and encouraging circular-bioeconomy practices in the building sector.
Certification schemes seeking recognition under the CRCF will be required to comply with the Implementing Regulation and forthcoming Delegated Acts that will define methodologies for different types of carbon-removal activities. Two delegated regulations are due in 2026: one covering permanent removals such as direct air capture with storage (DACCS), biogenic carbon capture and storage (BioCCS) and biochar; and another covering carbon-farming activities including agroforestry, peatland rewetting and afforestation.
Applications for recognition of certification schemes will open in early 2026. Once the Delegated Acts are in force, each scheme will be assessed against the relevant methodology and, if compliant, granted a five-year recognition period. The Commission will also host a series of workshops in the first half of 2026 to develop the EU Buyers’ Club.
The CRCF Regulation, adopted in December 2024, established the EU’s first voluntary framework for certifying removals, carbon farming and carbon storage in products. The new Implementing Regulation is the first secondary legislation needed to operationalise the system.
Key measures include minimum requirements for publishing information on the governance and functioning of certification schemes, obligations for public consultation, internal monitoring systems and complaints procedures. By 2028, all information will be available through the EU-wide registry.
Only certification bodies recognised by national authorities or accredited by a National Accreditation Body will be authorised to conduct verification audits. The rules also allow group auditing for carbon-farming projects — a move intended to reduce costs and administrative burdens for small farmers and foresters.
