Activities of Anne SANDER related to 2022/0394(COD)
Plenary speeches (1)
Union certification framework for carbon removals
Amendments (36)
Amendment 63 #
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, including with the view to incentivise the uptake of high- quality carbon removals, in full respect of the biodiversity and the zero- pollution objectives, which also helps to sustainably reduce emissions. 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. 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. 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. The voluntary nature of the Union certification framework means that existing and new public and private certification schemes do not need to be recognised by the Commission under this Regulation in order to operate in the EU. __________________ 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 69 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 3 a (new)
Recital 3 a (new)
(3a) The Union voluntary certification framework builds on and contributes to ongoing public and private work on the certification of carbon removals. This concerns the work of international private standards as well as the standards and work of public actors such as the French Label Bas Carbone.
Amendment 86 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5 a (new)
Recital 5 a (new)
(5a) This certification framework should allow operators to adopt practices to generate additional revenues on a voluntary basis.
Amendment 87 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 5 b (new)
Recital 5 b (new)
Amendment 95 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6
Recital 6
(6) This Regulation should set out the requirements under which carbon removals should be eligible for certification under the Union certification framework. To this end, carbon removals should be quantified in an accurate and robust way; 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 ordo no significant harm or generate a co- benefit onfor 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 99 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 6 a (new)
Recital 6 a (new)
(6a) The implementation of this Regulation must take into account the need to maintain the Union’s food security, without endangering the productive capacity of agricultural and forestry holdings and at the same time providing new economic opportunities for farmers. The method of calculating carbon removals and the conditions for certification should be such as to encourage as many as possible to implement carbon storage activities.
Amendment 105 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) A carbon removal activity should result in a net carbon removal benefit showing that it delivers a positive climate impact. The net carbon removal benefit should be computed following two steps. First, operators should quantify the amount of additional carbon removals that a carbon removal activity has generated in comparison to a baseline. A standardised baseline reflecting the standard performance of comparable activities in similar social, economic, environmental and technological circumstances and geographical locations should be preferred because it ensures objectivity, minimises compliance and other administrative costs, and positively recognises the action of first movers who have already engaged in carbon removal activities. In the context of carbon farming, the use of available digital technologies, including electronic databases and geographic information systems, remote sensing, new quantification systems for carbon on the ground, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and of electronic maps should be promoted to decrease the costs of establishing baselines and of monitoring carbon removal activities. However, where it is not possible to set such a standardised baseline, a project-specific baseline based on the operator’s individual performance may be used. In order to reflect the social, economic, environmental and technological developments and to encourage ambition over time in line with the Paris Agreement, baselines should be periodically updated.
Amendment 122 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 12
Recital 12
(12) A standardised baseline should reflect the statutory and market conditions in which the carbon removal activity takes place. If a carbon removal activity is imposed upon operators by the applicable law, or it does not need any incentives to take place, its performance will be reflected in the baseline. In the case of carbon farming in arable mineral soils, the standardised baseline can be considered as fixed, given that the current carbon removal rates in mineral soils in the EU are on average close to zero. For this reason, a carbon removal activity that generates carbon removals in excess of such a baseline should be presumed to be additional. Hence, the use of a standardised baseline should simplify the demonstration of additionality for operators. Therefore, it should reduce the administrative burden of the certification process, which is particularly important in the case of small- scale land managers.
Amendment 128 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) Atmospheric and biogenic carbon that is captured and stored through a carbon removal activity risks being released back into the atmosphere (e.g. reversal) due to natural or anthropogenic causes. Therefore, operators should take all relevant preventive measures to mitigate those risks and duly monitor that carbon continues to be stored over the monitoring period laid down for the relevant carbon removal activity. The validity of the certified carbon removals should depend on the expected duration of the storage and the different risks of reversal associated with the given carbon removal activity. Activities that store carbon in geological formations provide enough certainties on the very long-term duration of several centuries for the stored carbon and can be considered as providing permanent storage of carbon. Carbon farming or carbon storage in products are more exposed to the risk of voluntary or involuntary release of carbon into the atmosphere. To account for this risk, the validity of the certified carbon removals generated by carbon farming and carbon storage in products should be subject to an expiry date matching with the end of the relevant monitoring period or the end of the monitoring subsequent to the full implementation of a carbon removal portfolio. Thereafter, the carbon should be assumed to be released into the atmosphere, unless the economic operator proves the maintenance of the carbon storage through uninterrupted monitoring activities or a carbon removal portfolio manager operates a proportional liability mechanism which monitors longevity performance.
Amendment 137 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) Carbon removal activities have a strong potential to deliver win-win solutions for social, environmental and economic sustainability, even if trade- offs cannot be excluded. Therefore, it is appropriate to establish minimum sustainability requirements to ensure that carbon removal activities have a neutral impactdo no significant harm 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 control, agricultural productivity, product quality and improving farmers’ revenues. 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 150 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) Farming practices that remove CO2 from the atmosphere can contribute to the climate neutrality objective and should be rewarded, either via the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) or other public or through multiple funding sources such as sustainable private finitiatives. Specifically, this Regulation should take intoance, contractual arrangements along supply chains, voluntary carbon markets and product claims, if the measurement and monitoring methodologies show ac count farming practices as referenced in the Communication on Sustainable Carbon Cyclentribution to carbon removal. In the absence of measurement and monitoring methodologies, a previous scientific assessment may establish the contribution of carbon farming activities to carbon removals. __________________ 30 Communication from the Commission, Sustainable Carbon Cycles, COM (20221) 800.
Amendment 159 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 17
Recital 17
(17) Operators or groups of operators may report co-social, environmental and economic benefits that contribute to the sustainability objectives going beyond the minimum 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 willmay give more economic value to the certified carbon removals and will result inlead to higher revenues for the operators. In the light of these considerations, it is appropriate for the Commission to prioritise the development of measurement and monitoring methodologies for biodiversity development and other co- benefits of carbon farming, as well as a tailored certification methodologies on carbon farming activities that provide significant co- benefits for biodiversity or other social, environmental and economic goals. Certification methodologies will include a prior scientific assessment demonstrating a contribution by the carbon farming activity to the generation of co-benefits.
Amendment 167 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) It is appropriate to develop detailed certification methodologies for the different carbon removal activities in order to apply, in a standardised, verifiable and comparable way, the quality criteria laid down in this Regulation. Those methodologies should ensure the robust and transparent certification of the net carbon removal benefit generated by the carbon removal activity, while avoiding disproportionate administrative burden for operators or group of operators, in particular for small farmers and forest holders. To this end, the Commission should be empowered to supplement this Regulation by adopting delegated acts establishing detailed certification methodologies for the different carbon removal activities. Those methodologies should be developed in close consultation with the Expert Group on Carbon Removals and all other interested actors. The development of these methodologies should include precise elements supporting the methods used in drawing them up, while offering all stakeholders the opportunity to contribute to their development. They need to be based on the best available scientific evidence, build upon existing public and private schemes and methodologies for carbon removal certification, and take into account any relevant standard and rules adopted at national and Union level. The establishment of key elements relating to carbon farming such as long-term storage, liability mechanisms, additionality and social, environmental and economic co-benefits of practices should follow the ordinary legislative procedure.
Amendment 184 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 22
Recital 22
(22) To ensure an accurate, robust and transparent verification, certification bodies responsible for performing the certification of carbon removal activities should have the required competences and skills and should be accredited by national accreditation authorities pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council32the European Commission. To avoid possible conflicts of interest, the certification bodies should also be completely independent from the operator carrying out the carbon removal activity that is subject to the certification. In addition, Member States should contribute towards ensuring the correct implementation of the certification process by supervising the operation of certification bodies that are accredited by national accreditation authorities, and by informing the certification schemes about relevant non-conformity findings. __________________ 32 Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 setting out the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 339/93 (OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 30).
Amendment 198 #
Proposal for a regulation
Recital 28
Recital 28
(28) To enable operators to apply the quality criteria set out in this Regulation in a standardised and cost-effective way, while taking into account the specific characteristics of different carbon removal activities, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by establishing detailed certification methodologies for different types of carbon removal activities. The Commission should also be able to amend Annex II listing the minimum information to be contained in the certificates. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate public consultations, including calls for contributions and requests for feedback on future legislation, during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making34. In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States' experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts. __________________ 34 OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1.
Amendment 249 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point f
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point f
(f) ‘monitoring period’ means a period, the duration of which is determined in accordance to the type of carbon removal activity, over which the storage of carbon is monitored by the operator or group of operators;
Amendment 257 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point g
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point g
(g) ‘permanentindustrial carbon storage’ means a carbon removal activity that, under normal circumstances and using appropriate management practices, stores atmospheric or biogenic carbon for several centuries, including bioenergy with carbon capture and storage and direct air carbon capture and storage;
Amendment 267 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point h
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point h
(h) ‘carbon farming’ means a carbon removal and greenhouse gas emission reduction activity related to land management that results in the increase of carbon storage in living biomass, dead organic matter and soils by enhancing carbon capture and/or reducing the release of carbongreenhouse gas to the atmosphere;
Amendment 308 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 2
Article 4 – paragraph 2
2. In the case of carbon farming, the net carbon removal benefit shall be quantified by the following formula: Net carbon removal benefit = CRbaseline – CRtotal – GHGreduction - 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 in the case of carbon farming, which are due to the implementation of the carbon farming activity; (d) GHGreduction is the reduction of GHG emissions accounted for in CO2 or CO2 equivalent, achieved through the implementation of the carbon farming activity. In these cases, 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 325 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 5 a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. For carbon farming in arable mineral soils, the standardised baseline is fixed, which is equivalent to zero removal.
Amendment 338 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 4 – paragraph 7
Article 4 – paragraph 7
7. The baseline shall be periodically updated, but shall remain constant throughout the monitoring period once a carbon removal activity has begun.
Amendment 387 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 6 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 6 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. For carbon farming, the carbon stored shall be considered released into the atmosphere at the end of the permanent assessment period included in the certification methodology, provided the minimum monitoring period is complied with, unless the operator or group of operators renews the period by proving the continued and uninterrupted maintenance of carbon farming and carbon monitoring, or unless a carbon removal portfolio manager renews the control period by ensuring, as part of the monitoring at portfolio level, that the monitoring continues uninterrupted after the end of the monitoring period.
Amendment 394 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. A carbon removal activity shall have a neutral impact on ordo no significant harm or shall generate co- benefits for all the following sustainability objectives:
Amendment 407 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point f a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point f a (new)
(fa) agricultural productivity, including the security of agricultural production;
Amendment 409 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point f b (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point f b (new)
(fb) the quality of agricultural products;
Amendment 410 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point f c (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point f c (new)
(fc) farmers’ revenues or the economic result of the agricultural holding;
Amendment 411 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point f d (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point f d (new)
(fd) soil quality and fertility and prevention of erosion;
Amendment 412 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point f e (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 1 – point f e (new)
(fe) water quality.
Amendment 416 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 7 – paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. The economic, social and environmental sustainability of carbon removal activities shall be duly taken into account as a condition for certification.
Amendment 418 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 2
Article 7 – paragraph 2
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, a carbon removal activity shall comply with minimum sustainability requirements laid down in the certification methodologies, set out in the delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 8 or, where applicable, those provided for in the relevant sustainability regulation, such as the CAP for agricultural removal and carbon farming activities.
Amendment 427 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 7 – paragraph 3
Article 7 – paragraph 3
3. Where an operator or group of operators report co-benefits that contribute to the sustainability objectives referred to in paragraph 1 beyond the minimum sustainability requirements referred to in paragraph 2, they shall comply with the certification methodologies set out in delegated acts referred to in Article 8. The certification methodologies shall incentivise as much as possible the generation of co-benefits going beyond the minimum sustainability requirements, in particular for the objective referred to in paragraph 1, point (f) method by which they are declared under this Regulation shall comply with the certification methodologies set out in delegated acts referred to in Article 8.
Amendment 432 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 2
Article 8 – paragraph 2
Amendment 445 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 8 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. The Commission shall follow the ordinary legislative procedure to lay down the carbon farming standards set out in Articles 4 to 7; that act shall serve as the basis for establishing the certification methodologies referred to in paragraph 1.
Amendment 448 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 8 – paragraph 3
Article 8 – paragraph 3
Amendment 477 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 10 – paragraph 1
Article 10 – paragraph 1
1. Certification bodies appointed by certification schemes shall be accredited by a national accreditation authority pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council37. __________________ 37 Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 setting out the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 339/93 (OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 30)the Commission.
Amendment 506 #
Proposal for a regulation
Article 14 a (new)
Article 14 a (new)
Article 14a 14a. When drawing up the implementing acts referred to in Article 9 and Articles 11 to 14, the Commission shall take into account the following: (a) existing relevant certification governance systems at Union or international level; (b) the results of the deliberations by the expert group referred to in Article 8; (c) the results of a public consultation in accordance with the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making; (d) the results of an impact assessment.