Certification framework: the devil is in the details
A few days after the conclusion of negotiations on the European Union’s carbon removals certification Framework (CRCF), I4CE helped organise the European Carbon Farming Summit in Valencia, as part of the CREDIBLE project. The high level of stakeholder participation at the summit testifies to the expectations that this new tool will contribute to a better economic valuation of carbon farming practices.
The summit raised high hopes for improving and harmonising carbon measurement to certify projects, in particular through remote sensing, in a sector where there is a great deal of uncertainty. While it is vital to improve measurement and monitoring, uncertainty must not be allowed to justify inaction, and the key is to find the right balance between cost and accuracy.
The Label Bas-Carbone (French low carbon standard) is an example of this, and I4CE is continuing its work on the subject via the INFORMA project. The relationship between the CRCF and existing standards was also discussed at length, in a session co-hosted by I4CE: the creation of a European framework and the harmonisation of quality criteria were widely welcomed, but how can visibility and guarantees be given to those already involved in an existing standard?
The stakeholders also agree on the need to mobilise both public and private funding, and stress the key role of the downstream agricultural and forestry sectors. However, this funding can only be released under certain conditions: trust in the quality of the projects and clarification of the claims. This last point is currently blocking a great deal of private funding in France. Finally, all the options concerning the use of the certificates remain open: voluntary offsetting, public funds, a link with a future European Trading Scheme for Agriculture etc. For example, should the same level of windfall effect be tolerated for all uses of the certificates? More broadly, this raises the question of the place we want to give to certification tools within the various agricultural and forestry public policies. This will be on I4CE‘s agenda and for future European meetings!
