The EU Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming Regulation (CRCF, Regulation (EU) 2024/3012) has moved from a 2022 proposal to a rapidly operationalizing framework in 2026. With the July proposal to fold CRCF-certified units into the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), what began as a voluntary quality label is quickly becoming a variable that could define the future value of carbon removal credits across Europe — and beyond. From proposal to a live integration pathway into the EU Emissions Trading System — tracking every milestone of the Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming Regulation, and what it signals for biochar carbon removal developers.
What CRCF Is
CRCF is the EU’s first unified voluntary certification framework covering carbon removals, carbon farming, and carbon storage in products. Its purpose is to curb greenwashing and establish a comparable, credible quality baseline across the bloc.
The framework defines four distinct certified unit types, which must never be conflated:
- Permanent carbon removals — DACCS, BioCCS, biochar
- Carbon farming — agroforestry, peatland rewetting, and related land practices
- Carbon storage in products — e.g., bio-based construction materials
- Soil emission reductions
Certification quality rests on four pillars, known as QU.A.L.ITY: Quantification, Additionality, Long-term storage, and sustainability.
The Full Timeline
2022–2024: Legislative Process
| Nov 30, 2022 | European Commission publishes the CRCF proposal |
| Nov 17, 2023 | Council agrees its negotiating mandate; trilogue negotiations begin |
| Feb 19, 2024 | Parliament and Council reach provisional political agreement |
| Apr 10, 2024 | European Parliament plenary vote passes the text |
| Nov 27, 2024 | Regulation (EU) 2024/3012 formally established |
| Dec 6, 2024 | Regulation enters into force |
2025: Implementing Rules
| Nov 2025 | Commission adopts Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2358, setting technical rules for certification schemes, certification bodies, and audits |
H1 2026: Methodology Rollout
| Jan 22, 2026 | Draft delegated act on carbon farming methodologies (agroforestry, peatland rewetting, afforestation) opens for consultation, through Feb 19 |
| Feb 3, 2026 | First delegated act adopted — Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/285 — establishing certification methodologies for biochar, BioCCS, and DACCS |
| May 7, 2026 | Commission opens the certification-scheme recognition process |
| May 20–21, 2026 | First “CRCF Days” event — scheme recognition, EU Buyers’ Club development |
| Jun 1, 2026 | Commission holds a guidance webinar on the scheme recognition process |
| Jun 2026 | EU Buyers’ Club platform goes live; first permanent-removal purchases targeted by December 2026 |
★ Mid-2026: ETS Integration — The Turning Point
| Jul 9–10, 2026 | Commission adopts the carbon farming delegated act; transmitted to Council for scrutiny |
| By Jul 31, 2026 | Deadline for the Commission’s assessment report on whether permanently stored carbon removals can be integrated into the EU ETS |
| Jul 17, 2026 | Commission formally proposes revising the EU ETS to incorporate CRCF-certified removal units: - Central-purchasing model, funded via allowance auctions from 2031–2040
- Cumulative target of 250 million removal units; ~48 Mt/year target by 2040
- Only BioCCS and DACCS are currently recognized — biochar is not yet included
- Facility-generated CRCF-certified BioCCS removals may directly offset an operator’s own fossil emissions
- Commission must report on purchasing progress by end-2034
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Phase 4 · H2 2026: Pending Items
| As of Aug 20, 2026 | Five organizations (including Puro.earth) have formally applied for certification-scheme recognition; all remain under technical assessment — none yet recognized |
| Aug 2026 | Environmental groups continue to raise concerns about methodology rigor, warning that weak standards could undermine ETS integrity if integration proceeds |
| Expected Q4 2026 | Delegated act on carbon storage in products expected; first scheme recognitions expected |
| Within 2026 | Mandatory CRCF review begins |
Outlook: What Comes Next
| Early 2027 (expected) | Carbon farming track of the EU Buyers’ Club launches |
| Late 2026 – 2027 (expected) | First CRCF-certified units expected to be issued |
| By end-2028 (expected) | Unified EU registry launches |
What This Means for Biochar Carbon Removal (BCR)
Biochar is one of the first three permanent removal pathways certified under CRCF, which is a meaningful market endorsement. But the current state of rollout, and the direction of ETS integration, the impact needs to be divided into three stages:
- Short term: certification eligibility exists, but no scheme has been recognized yet — no project can issue a genuinely “CRCF-certified” biochar credit, and developers remain in the voluntary market
- Medium term: the July ETS proposal names only BioCCS and DACCS, leaving biochar out of the compliance-market pathway — a gap that may widen relative to those two over time
- Long term: registries like Puro.earth racing to secure CRCF recognition signal that the industry expects biochar’s regulatory scope to expand — building dMRV traceability now is preparation, not optional