Carbon Removals Certification Framework CRCF
The Carbon Removals Certification Framework (CRCF), established by Regulation (EU) 2024/3012, introduces a voluntary EU-wide certification system to recognise high-quality carbon removals, carbon farming and carbon storage activities. It aims to support the EU's objective of achieving climate neutrality by 2050.
Objectives and scope
The CRCF establishes a voluntary EU-wide certification framework designed to promote reliable and measurable climate benefits from carbon removal and storage activities.
The framework covers three main categories:
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Carbon farming: activities that increase carbon sequestration or reduce emissions from soils and other biogenic carbon pools.
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Carbon storage in products: temporary storage of atmospheric carbon in long-lasting products.
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Permanent carbon removals: activities that remove CO₂ from the atmosphere and store it permanently.
To qualify for certification, activities must meet three key requirements:
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Comply with the QU.A.L.ITY criteria, ensuring quantification, additionality, long-term storage and sustainability.
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Follow the relevant certification methodology established for each activity type.
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Undergo independent verification by a recognised conformity assessment body.
In general, emissions covered by the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) are excluded from the framework. Certain biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels may qualify, provided they meet the applicable sustainability and greenhouse gas emission-saving criteria under the Renewable Energy Directive.
GME is also part of Copa-Cogeca Working Group on CRCF and we strictly collaborate with land owners on the file.
Relevance for peatland restoration and rewetting
The CRCF is particularly relevant to peatland restoration because it explicitly recognises activities that reduce carbon emissions from soil carbon pools, including the restoration and rewetting of degraded peatlands.
The Regulation defines soil emission reduction as a reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions achieved through activities that reduce carbon emissions from soil carbon pools or increase carbon removals in biogenic carbon pools.
This provides an important opportunity for peatland landscapes, including active sites, legacy sites and historically abandoned areas.
In many EU Member States, rewetting is not a mandatory requirement following the end of peat extraction or other land uses. Consequently, drained peatlands may continue releasing significant amounts of greenhouse gases when used for forestry or agriculture.
In these circumstances, voluntary hydrological restoration can deliver measurable and additional climate benefits by reducing emissions and, where conditions allow, restoring the carbon sink function of peatlands.
The CRCF certification methodologies will therefore play a key role in determining how these benefits are measured, verified and recognised within the EU framework.
State of play
The detailed certification methodologies for the different activity categories are established through Delegated Acts.
On 6 February 2026, the European Commission adopted the first Delegated Act, covering three categories of permanent carbon removal activities.
Further methodological developments will be important in determining how carbon farming and soil emission reduction activities, including peatland rewetting, can qualify for certification.
Policy recommendations
To ensure that the CRCF effectively supports peatland restoration and recognises its climate benefits, the following policy improvements are recommended:
1. Account for continued emissions from drained organic soils in baseline methodologies
Where rewetting is not legally required, the baseline should reflect the continued emissions from drained peatlands. This is essential to demonstrate the additional climate benefits of voluntary rewetting and ensure that these activities can qualify for certification.
2. Review restrictions on peat and peat-containing products
Restrictions should focus on actual climate impacts rather than the presence of a particular material. The environmental performance of peat-related activities depends on extraction conditions, use and after-use management. A material-based exclusion risks overlooking practices that could reduce overall emissions.
3. Reassess biomass harvesting restrictions
Restrictions should be reviewed to avoid unintentionally excluding potentially climate-positive practices, such as controlled acrotelm harvesting or the use of restoration-derived peat-containing topsoil. These practices should be assessed according to their actual environmental performance and contribution to emission reductions.
4. Replace material-based exclusions with performance-based criteria
References to “peat-free” inputs should be replaced with criteria based on measurable reductions in climate impact. This would ensure that certification rewards demonstrable environmental improvements rather than material substitution alone.
Why it matters
The CRCF represents an important opportunity to recognise peatland restoration and rewetting as meaningful climate mitigation activities within the EU policy framework.
However, its effectiveness will depend on the development of appropriate certification methodologies and baselines that accurately reflect the emissions associated with drained peatlands.
Ensuring that these methodologies recognise additional emission reductions, while avoiding unnecessary material-based restrictions, will be essential to unlocking the climate mitigation potential of peatland restoration across Europe.
Legal reference: Regulation (EU) 2024/3012 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Union certification framework for permanent carbon removals, carbon farming and carbon storage in products.