1. Define your objective

The method you need depends on the claim you want to make.

• CSRD reporting. Under ESRS E1, gross Scope 1 to 3 stays unadjusted. CRCF units are reported separately and are not netted against your emissions.
• Neutralisation under a net zero target. This usually needs permanent removal units, not temporary carbon farming units.
• A voluntary claim. If you make a public statement like "we fund European carbon removal", you have more freedom, but the unit type still sets how strong and how durable that claim is. Temporary farming units back a weaker claim than permanent removals.

One limit to know: CRCF units count toward EU climate goals and the EU NDC, not toward third-country NDCs or CORSIA.

2. Match method to mandate

CRCF spans permanent removals, carbon farming and storage in products. Permanence is the deciding difference.

• Permanent removals from DACCS, BECCS (BioCCS) and biochar. Centuries, do not expire. The strongest basis for a neutralisation claim.
• Carbon farming from soils, afforestation and forestry, and peatland rewetting. Temporary sequestration, at least 5 years. Real climate value, but reversible, so a weaker neutralisation basis.
• Storage in products, for example mineralisation in building materials. Durable, at least 35 years.
• Soil emission reduction units, a fourth unit type, reduce emissions rather than remove carbon.

Rule of thumb: the longer your claim has to hold, the more you want permanent removals over temporary farming or forestry units.

3. What it costs today

No CRCF price exists yet. As rough orientation only, here are voluntary-market proxies as broad ranges, in US dollars per tonne. These are not CRCF prices and they move, so treat them as orders of magnitude, not quotes:

• Biochar, roughly 125 to 270.
• BECCS, a few hundred.
• DACCS, roughly 500 to over 1000.
• Carbon farming and forestry, lower, often temporary units.

Orders of magnitude from the voluntary market, not CRCF prices, and not sourced to a single point in time. For live, sourced pricing see CDR.fyi and the State of CDR report.

4. Could CRCF link to the compliance market?

Not yet, but the direction is set, and this is the biggest potential demand driver. We keep the levels strictly apart.

• Decided: the 2040 climate law gives domestic permanent removals a directional role under the EU ETS. The operative mechanism is not yet legislated.
• Report: the Commission must report by 31 July 2026 on how permanent removals could be accounted for in the EU ETS.
• In discussion: an ETS proposal touching removals is anticipated around July 2026, but is not yet a primary-source document. Any real CRCF-to-ETS link is open.

So buying early is partly a bet that this integration arrives. Honest framing: it is not decided, watch July closely. We track every move on the feed.

The SBTi caveat, shown honestly

The SBTi V2 draft could exclude CRCF units from neutralisation, because they count toward the EU NDC. This is draft stage, expected to be finalised in late 2026 and mandatory from 2028. We flag it rather than hide it, because it matters for your decision.

Why buyers engage now anyway

There is no adopted compliance demand for CRCF units today. The reasons to move early are these:

• CSRD reporting evidence.
• Supply security and price fixing through multi-year offtakes.
• Regulatory preparation, including a possible future ETS link.
• Local European quality and a credible story.

International credits and Article 6

CRCF is the European, domestic route. International projects can play a capped role, and the rules are not final.

• The EU 2040 climate target proposes allowing up to 3 percent international carbon credits from 2036, aligned with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
• This is a proposed amendment to the European Climate Law, still in discussion, not an operative mechanism.

A realistic European strategy is a CRCF-aligned domestic core, with international Article 6 credits possible for a limited portion once the rules settle.

Source: White & Case · status: proposed, in discussion

Good practice for a first purchase

• Start from the claim, then pick the method, not the other way round.
• Prefer EU project locations if CRCF eligibility matters to you. See it on each profile.
• Favour registry-verified projects over developer-stated ones, and ask for the registry link.
• Use multi-year offtakes to lock supply and price while the market is young.
• Document everything for CSRD, keep removals separate from gross emissions.

Background reading and primary sources are collected on our useful links page, common questions on the FAQ.

How we label status

• CRCF eligibility depends on the project location being in an EU member state, not on where the developer is based.
• Status is three-tiered: Developer-stated, Registry-verified, CRCF-certified. The first CRCF-certified units are expected from late 2026, so almost nothing is certified yet.

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