The REP Wrap: EU launches carbon removal standards

Your weekly summary of corporate sustainability news.

The European Commission announced on Tuesday the adoption of its first standards for carbon removal projects. The voluntary system provides “certification methodologies” for carbon technologies, to verify that the removals are permanent. The new rules cover three types of carbon removal activities: Direct Air Capture with Carbon Storage, Biogenic Emissions Capture with Carbon storage, and Biochar Carbon Removal. The launch of the standards follows the EU’s adoption of the Carbon Farming and Carbon Removals Regulation in 2024. 

The European Commission’s advisory body for corporate reporting, EFRAG, is recruiting new members to the subgroup that helps shape the European Sustainability Reporting Standards. Applications are open until the 1st of March.  

The Science Based Targets initiative has opened its Automotive Sector Net-Zero Standard up to a second consultation. The latest draft focuses on enhancing alignment with the upcoming Corporate Net-Zero Standard, whilst also seeking to provide clarity around “use of sold products” emissions and vehicle definitions. 

Almost two-thirds (62%) of listed companies are on course to overshoot their share of the 2°C carbon budget, according to MSCI’s latest quarterly update. Around a quarter of those companies were found to be aligned with a temperature increase of more than 3.2°C. Only 12% were deemed to be on a trajectory of 1.5°C or less. 

Amazon has signed a 110 megawatts offshore wind power purchase agreement with German energy firm RWE. The deal builds on an agreement made between the two last year, which sees RWE provide Amazon with green energy and Amazon Web Services support RWE’s “digital transformation”. 

Meanwhile, German energy firm EnBW sold €1bn in green hybrid bonds on Tuesday, in a deal that was 10 times oversubscribed and will fund wind and solar energy, along with grid expansion.