List of figures, tables and boxes
Recommendations
Summary
Part A – Need, potential, opportunities and risks associated with carbon dioxide removals in the EU 27
1 The need for carbon dioxide removals
1.1 Introduction
1.2 The need for removals towards EU climate neutrality
1.3 The need for net-negative emissions
1.4 Barriers to the scale-up of removals
1.5 The EU policy framework on removals
2 Removal methods and their status, potential and costs
2.1 Defining carbon dioxide removals and methods
2.2 Overview of EU removal potential per method
3 Opportunities and risks associated with scaling up removals
3.1 Overview of opportunities and risks
3.2 Effects on the environment and human health
3.3 Effects on economic prosperity and well-being
3.4 Implementation challenges
Part B – Key functions of an EU governance framework for removals
4 Managing the greenhouse gas budget
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Managing the contribution of removals towards climate neutrality
4.3 Clarifying the roles of permanent and temporary removals
4.4 Providing incentives for removals towards climate neutrality
4.5 Establishing a framework for net-negative emissions after 2050
4.6 Summary of EU policy gap assessment
5 Maintaining fiscal sustainability and enhancing distributional fairness
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Maintaining fiscal sustainability
5.3 Enhancing distributional fairness
5.4 Summary of EU policy gap assessment
6 Ensuring the quality of removals
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Quantifying removals
6.3 Ensuring removals additionality
6.4 Reflecting storage duration
6.5 Safeguarding wider sustainability
6.6 Enhancing data and processes
6.7 Addressing the complementarity of activity-level MRV and national GHG accounting
6.8 Summary of EU policy assessment
7 Reversing the decline of the land sink in a changing climate
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Protecting, restoring and expanding nature and land sinks
7.3 Managing biomass demand for energy including BECCS
7.4 Farming carbon on agricultural land
7.5 Integrating policies and enhancing climate resilience of land and local communities
7.6 Summary of EU policy assessment
8 Accelerating innovation and raising public awareness
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Increasing the readiness of diverse removal methods
8.3 Increasing RD&D spending to improve competitiveness
8.4 Enhancing knowledge diffusion and public awareness
8.5 Summary of EU policy assessment
9 Securing the CO2 infrastructure’s availability and resilience
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Enabling CO2 infrastructure through EU policy direction
9.3 Setting regulatory framework facilitating CO2 infrastructure development and use
9.4 Summary of EU policy assessment
10 Enhancing institutional governance
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Integrating removals in EU climate governance
10.3 Delivering on the governance functions
10.4 Summary of EU policy assessment
Part C – Policy instruments: a dynamic approach to integrating removals into the EU’s climate policy framework
11 Options to incentivise removals towards climate neutrality
11.1 Typology of instruments
11.2 Integration into the EU emission trading system
11.3 Mandates and takeback obligations
11.4 Subsidies and public procurement
12 Options to incentivise removals for net negative
12.1 The challenge of transitioning from net zero to net negative
12.2 Incentives through extended emitter responsibility
12.3 Incentives through subsidies and public procurement
13 Options to incentivise temporary removals and manage reversal
13.1 Typology of instruments
13.2 Pricing options for temporary removals
13.3 Key design and implementation challenges for pricing instruments for temporary removals
13.4 Links to other pricing instruments and policies
14 Assessment and comparison of incentive instruments
14.1 Incentive instruments towards net zero and net negative
14.2 Incentive instruments for temporary removals
14.3 The role of sequencing and a dynamic policy mix
14.4 The role of institutions and capacities
Abbreviations
Glossary
Bibliography
Consulted organisations and experts
Annex I - Detailed assessment of individual removal methods: potential volumes and costs