37 Amendments of Attila ARA-KOVÁCS related to 2022/0394(COD)
Amendment 65 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) The aim of this Regulation is to develop a voluntary Union certification framework for carbon removals and carbon farming, with the view to incentivise the uptake of high- quality carbon removals, in full respect of the biodiversity and the zero-pollution objectives. It is a tool to support the achievement of the Union objectives under the Paris Agreement, notably the goal of collective climate neutrality by 2050 laid down in Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council24 . The Union also committed to generate negative emissions after 2050. In accordance with Regulation 2021/119 priority should be given to reduction in direct emissions which will have to be complemented by carbon removals. An important instrument to enhance carbon removals in terrestrial ecosystems is Regulation (EU) 2018/841 of the European Parliament and of the Council25 , which is currently under review, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2023/83925 . The objective of the review is to set out a Union net removals target of 310 Mt CO2 eq by 2030, and to allocate respective targets to each Member State. __________________ 24 Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 2021 establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulations (EC) No 401/2009 and (EU) 2018/1999 (‘European Climate Law’) (OJ L 243, 9.7.2021, p. 1). 25 Regulation (EU) 2018/841 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on the inclusion of greenhouse gas emissions and removals from land use, land use change and forestry in the 2030 climate and energy framework, and amending Regulation (EU) No 525/2013 and Decision No 529/2013/EU (OJ L 156, 19.6.2018, p. 1).
Amendment 85 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5 a (new)
Recital 5 a (new)
(5 a) The different types of carbon removal activities vary in terms of the removal process, the storage medium and the timescales of the storage, which can vary from decades to centuries for carbon farming or storage in certain products, to permanent storage in geological formations. For this reason, different rules should be set out for these kind of activities.
Amendment 88 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5 b (new)
Recital 5 b (new)
(5 b) The scope of carbon farming covered under the Union carbon removal certification framework should be consistent with the scope of Regulation (EU) 2018/841, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2023/839, and of the reporting under that Regulation in the national greenhouse gas inventories.
Amendment 90 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) This Regulation should set out the requirements under which carbon removals and carbon farming should be eligible for certification under the Union certification framework. To this end, carbon removals and carbon farming should be quantified in an accurate and robust way taking into account their level of uncertainty in order to limit the risk of overestimating the quantity of CO2 removed from the atmosphere; and they should be generated only by carbon removal activities that generate a net carbon removal benefit, are additional, aim to ensure long-term storage of carbon, and have a neutral impact or co-benefit on sustainability objectives. Furthermore, carbon removals should be subject to independent third-party auditing in order to ensure the credibility and reliability of the certification process. Mandatory Union carbon pricing rules established through Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council26 are in place which regulate the treatment of emissions from activities covered by that Directive. This Regulation should be without prejudice to Directive 2003/87/EC, except in relation to the certification of removals of emissions from sustainable biomass which are zero-rated in accordance with Annex IV thereto. __________________ 26 Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC (OJ L 275, 25.10.2003, p. 32).
Amendment 116 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 10
Recital 10
(10) Carbon removals should be quantified in a relevant, accurate, complete, consistent and comparable manner. Uncertainties in the quantification should be duly reported and accounted in order to limit the risk of overestimating the quantity of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere and should be publicly available through an Union register in order to ensure transparency and traceability to carbon removal unit certificates. Carbon removals generated by carbon farming should be quantified with a high level of accuracy to assure the highest quality and minimise uncertainties. Moreover, in order to incentivise synergies between Union climate and biodiversity objectives, enhanced monitoring of land needs to be required, thereby helping to protect and enhance the resilience of nature-based carbon removals throughout the Union. The satellite and on-site monitoring and reporting of emissions and removals need to closely reflect those approaches, and make the best use of advanced technologies available under Union programmes, such as Copernicus, making full use of already existing tools, and ensure consistency with the national greenhouse gas inventories.
Amendment 135 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) Carbon removal activities and carbon farming have a strong potential to deliver win-win solutions for sustainability, even if trade- offs cannot be excluded. Therefore, it is appropriate to establish minimum environmental, economic and social sustainability requirements to ensure that carbon removal activities have at least a neutral impact or generate co-benefits for the sustainability objectives of climate change mitigation and adaptation, the protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems, the sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources, the transition to a circular economy, and pollution prevention and controlprotection of soil quality and prevention of erosion, the fair remuneration of operators, the protection of employment, the transition to a circular economy, and pollution prevention and control. Furthermore, carbon farming should not have a negative impact on food production and food supply in the Union or in the third countries. Those sustainability requirements should, as appropriate, and taking into consideration local conditions, build on the technical screening criteria for Do Not Significant Harm concerning forestry activities and underground permanent geological storage of CO2, laid down in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/213928 , and on the sustainability criteria for forest and agriculture biomass raw material laid down in Article 29 of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council29 . Practices, such as forest monocultures, that produce harmful effects for biodiversity should not be eligible for certification. __________________ 28 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2139 of 4 June 2021 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council by establishing the technical screening criteria for determining the conditions under which an economic activity qualifies as contributing substantially to climate change mitigation or climate change adaptation and for determining whether that economic activity causes no significant harm to any of the other environmental objectives (OJ L 442, 9.12.2021, p. 1). 29 Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (OJ L 328, 21.12.2018, p. 82).
Amendment 153 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) Farming practices that remove CO2 from the atmosphere contribute to the climate neutrality objective and should be rewarded, either via the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) or other public or private initiatives such as sustainable private finance, contractual arrangements along supply chain, voluntary carbon markets and product claims.. Specifically, this Regulation should take into account farming practices as referenced in the Communication on Sustainable Carbon Cycles30 . __________________ 30 Communication from the Commission, Sustainable Carbon Cycles, COM (20221) 800.
Amendment 164 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) Operators or groups of operators may report co-benefits that contribute to the sustainability objectives beyond the minimum environmental, economic and social sustainability requirements. To this end, their reporting should comply with the certification methodologies tailored to the different carbon removal activities, developed by the Commission. Certification methodologies should, as much as possible, incentivise the generation of co-benefits for biodiversity going beyond the minimum sustainability requirements. These additional co-benefits will give more economic value to the certified carbon removals and will result in higher revenues for the operators. In the light of these considerations, it is appropriate for the Commission to prioritise the development of tailored certification methodologies on carbon farming activities that provide significant co-benefits for biodiversity.
Amendment 177 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 20 a (new)
Recital 20 a (new)
(20 a) Carbon removal activities should not primarily take the focus of emission reductions, and therefore carbon removal and carbon farming certificates or units should not be used to offset continued emissions either in compliance or voluntary mechanisms - including the ESR, ETS, CORSIA, Article 6.2 and Article 6.4 mechanisms under the Paris Agreement or voluntary carbon markets. Certificates and units should be incentivized in a manner that makes them complementary to emission reductions, rather than substitutes.
Amendment 194 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 26
Recital 26
(26) Certification schemes should establish and maintain interoperable public registries in order to ensure transparency and full traceability of carbon removal certificates, and to avoid the risk of fraud and double counting. Fraud may occur if more than one certificate is issued for the same carbon removal activity because the activity has been registered under two different certification schemes or has been registered twice under the same scheme. Fraud may also occur when the same certificate is used several times to make the same claim based on a carbon removal activity or a carbon removal unit. The registries should store the documents resulting from the certification process of carbon removals, including summaries of certification audits and re-certification audit reports, the certificates and updated certificates, and make them publicly available in electronic form. The registries should also record the certified carbon removal units that meet the Union quality criteria. The Commission should set up a centralised Union registry that contains in a fully publicly accessible manner all the information held in the registries referred to above. All information in this central registry shall be easy to navigate and search. In order to ensure a level playing field within the single market, the Commission should be empowered to adopt implementing rules setting out standards and technical rules on the functioning and the inter-operability of those registries.
Amendment 208 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. The objective of this Regulation is to facilitate the deployment of carbon removals and carbon farming by operators or groups of operators while ensuring the commitment with the greenhouse gas emissions reductions required pursuant to Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1119. To that end, this Regulation establishes a voluntary Union framework for the certification of carbon removals and carbon farming by laying down:
Amendment 213 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) quality criteria for carbon removal and carbon farming activities that take place in the Union;
Amendment 219 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) rules for the verification and certification of carbon removals and carbon farming;
Amendment 225 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 1 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. For the purpose of Article 1(2), carbon removal units or carbon farming removal unit certified under this framework cannot be used for offsetting, compensating or replacing emissions reductions throughout compliance or voluntary mechanisms, including the ESR, ETS, CORSIA, Article 6.2 and Article 6.4 mechanisms under the Paris Agreement or voluntary carbon markets
Amendment 248 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point e
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point e
(e) ‘group of operators’ means a legal entity that represents more than one operator and is responsible for ensuring that those operators comply with this Regulation. For carbon farming, operators means a legal entity that represents more than one operators. The latter being landlords and tenants producing agricultural and forestry products;
Amendment 270 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point h
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point h
(h) ‘carbon farming’ means a carbon removal activity related to land managementor costal management, agriculture or forestry that results in the increase of carbon storage in living biomass, dead organic matter and soils matter by enhancing carbon capture and/or reducing the release of carbon to the atmosphere;
Amendment 276 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point i
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point i
(i) ‘carbon storage in products’ means a carbon removal or carbon farming activity that stores atmospheric and biogenic carbon in long- lasting products or materials;
Amendment 282 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point o a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point o a (new)
(o a) ‘carbon farming removal unit’ means one tonne of certified net carbon removal benefit generated by a carbon farming removal activity and registered by a certification scheme.
Amendment 287 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Carbon removals and carbon farming shall be eligible for certification under this Regulation where they meet bothall of the following conditions:
Amendment 293 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
(b a) the minimum information on the carbon removal or carbon farming to be included in the Union registry referred to in Article 12 has been provided by the certification scheme to the Commission in accordance with Annex 2a.
Amendment 312 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2
Article 4 – paragraph 2
2. In the case of carbon farming,A carbon farming activity shall provide a net carbon removal benefit, which shall be quantified using the following formula: Net carbon removal benefit = CRbaseline – CRtotal – GHGincrease > 0 where: (a) CRbaseline is the carbon removals under the baseline; (b) CRtotal is the total carbon removals of the carbon farming activity; (c) GHGincrease is the increase in direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions, other than those from biogenic carbon pools, which are due to the implementation of the carbon farming activity. CRbaseline and CRtotal shall be understood as net greenhouse gas removals or emissions in accordance with the accounting rules laid down in Regulation (EU) 2018/841.
Amendment 351 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 5 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. A carbon removal activity and a carbon farming activity shall be additional. To that end, the carbon removal activity and the carbon farming activity shall meet both of the following criteria:
Amendment 381 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 3
Article 6 – paragraph 3
3. For carbon farming and carbon storage in products, the carbon stored by a carbon removal activity shall be considered released to the atmosphere at the end of the monitoring period. For carbon farming, the activity does not cease to take place if the operator or the group of operators renew the monitoring period while proving he maintenance of the carbon storage activity through uninterrupted monitoring activities.
Amendment 415 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. A carbon farming activity shall have at least a neutral impact on all the following sustainability objectives and may generate positive co-benefits for one or more of the following sustainability objectives: (a)climate change mitigation beyond the net carbon removal benefit referred to in Article 4(2); (b)climate change adaptation; (c)sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources; (d)transition to a circular economy; (e)pollution prevention and control; (f)protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems; (g) the quality and fertility of soils and the prevention of erosion; (h) the quality of water; (i) food security.
Amendment 430 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Certificates shall indicate whether a carbon removal or a carbon farming activity have a neutral impact or generate positive benefits for each of the sustainability objectives.
Amendment 438 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 2
Article 8 – paragraph 2
2. The Commission is empowered to, after consultation with the Expert Group on Carbon Removals, shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 16 to establish the technical certification methodologies referred to in paragraph 1 for activities related to permanent carbon storage, carbon farming and carbon storage in products. Those certification methodologies shall include at least the elements set out in Annex I and shall be open for robust public consultation.
Amendment 447 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 8 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. For carbon farming, the methodology shall take in to account the different site-specific characteristics, in particular related to soil diversity and temperature.
Amendment 492 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – title
Article 12 – title
Amendment 495 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 1
Article 12 – paragraph 1
1. A certification schemeThe Commission shall establish and duly maintain a public registry (´Union registry ´) to make publicly accessible the information related to the certification process, containing at least the information set out in Annex 2a, including the certificates and updated certificates, and the quantity of carbon removal units certified in accordance with Article 9. Thosee Union registriesy shall use automated systems, including electronic templates, and shall be interoperable.
Amendment 496 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 12 – paragraph 2
Article 12 – paragraph 2
2. The Commission may adopt implementing acts setting out the structure, format, and technical details of the public registries, andUnion registry, the information to be provided to be Union registry and the procedure for providing such information and the technical details of the recording, holding or use of carbon removal units, as referred to in paragraph 1. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 17.
Amendment 516 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 18 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 18 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. By 31 July 2026, the Commission should assess how biogenic emissions reduction resulting from carbon farming activity may be accounted towards the Union 2040 climate target and, if appropriate, present a legislative proposal to amend Article 1a paragraph 2 of this Regulation.
Amendment 520 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point i
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point i
(i) net carbon removal benefit referred to in Article 4(1) or 4(2);
Amendment 521 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point j
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point j
(j) carbon removals under the baseline referred to in Article 4(1), point (a) or Article 4(2), point (a);
Amendment 522 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point k
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point k
(k) total carbon removals referred to in Article 4(1), point (b) or in Article 4(2), point (b);
Amendment 523 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point l
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point l
(l) increase in direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions referred to in Article 4(1), point (c) or in Article 4(2), point (c);
Amendment 524 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point o
Annex II – paragraph 1 – point o
(o) anywhether the carbon removal or carbon farming activity generate co- benefits for any of the sustainability co-benefitobjectives referred to in Article 7(31) and 7(1a);
Amendment 525 #
Proposal for a regulation
Annex II a (new)
Annex II a (new)