ETS needs carbon removals

Carbon removals in the ETS can support both European industry and the climate. But this will only work if their integration is done correctly.

FAQ: ETS revision & Carbon Dioxide Removal Integration

Our Checklist for Success

The Negative Emissions Platform has devised 3 principles and 6 actions - it’s the checklist for a successful integration of carbon removals into the ETS

  • Check mark

    Remaining a strong climate tool

    Actions:

    1. The EU ETS must retain its current climate ambition to strongly incentivise decarbonisation and help scale the permanent carbon removals needed for net zero.

  • Checkmark

    Giving confidence to carbon removals investors

    Actions:

    2. The EU must be clear how the gap between costs and ETS price will be closed – ETS revenues must be earmarked to cover carbon removal purchases.

    3. The EU must provide investors with clarity on the science-based volume of carbon removals required each year to address residual emissions for hard-to-abate sectors under the ETS. 

  • Checkmark

    Ramping-up removals now

    Actions:

    4. The European Commission and national governments need to start funding the purchase of significant volumes of permanent removals now.

    5.The European Commission should clarify when and how corporate carbon removal claims can be substantiated, to mobilise the voluntary carbon market and incentivise near-term private funding for permanent carbon removals.

    6. Europe must unlock a portfolio of different carbon removal approaches via an acceleration of the CRCF certification framework and greater R&I funding.

Industry needs carbon removals

Industry needs carbon removals because:

  • ETS needs carbon removals

    Hard-to-abate industries will need permanent carbon removals to reach net zero.

  • Checkmark

    Carbon removals can unlock new revenue streams for European industry.

  • Checkmark

    Carbon removals are an industrial growth opportunity for Europe.

Find out more

Climate needs carbon removals

Every credible pathway to climate neutrality requires carbon removals to address residual emissions from hard-to-abate sectors

  • Check mark

    Carbon removals are essential for achieving net zero and stabilising the climate.

  • Checkmark

    The world is far from deploying carbon removals at the scale required.

  • Checkmark

    Delaying carbon removals will make climate action more difficult and more expensive.

Find out more

ETS needs carbon removals

  • Check mark

    Maintain a functioning & effective carbon market beyond 2030

  • Checkmark

    Help stabilise the ETS price

Find out more

Europe needs carbon removals

  • Check mark

    Building a credible demand signal for permanent carbon removals through the ETS.

  • Checkmark

    Safeguarding Europe’s first-mover advantage in a globally competitive carbon removal market.

  • Checkmark

    The critical policy window to unlock investment and scale deployment before 2031.

Find out more

Industry voices

Watch all ETS interviews

  • "Once a robust certification framework is in place, integrating permanent removals into the EU Emissions Trading System will help balance reductions and removals in a cost-effective way"

    Prof. Ottmar Edenhofer, European Scientific Advisory Board for Climate Change

  • "Negative emissions are a cornerstone of making it to net zero"

    Wokpe Hoekstra, European Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth

  • "(The post-2030 ETS) should provide further space for hard-to-abate emissions by allowing the use of industrial carbon removals"

    Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission President – (letter to 27 Heads of State, 20/10/25)

     

  • "Removals will be increasingly needed to reach net-zero and to ensure long-term viability of the EU ETS …. Permanent technological removals will be crucial to address hard-to abate emissions"

    Business Europe

  • "carbon removal (…) offers sensible potential to add value if those carbon removal certificates have a market value. The incorporation of carbon removal within the emission trading system, or any other organised system, should be accelerated to give perspectives to investors."

    European Roundtable for Industry

  • "To reach climate neutrality we need to sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but we also need to remove carbon from the atmosphere."

    Frans Timmermans, former Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal

Mainstreaming carbon removals in EU law

  • Emissions Trading System

    The EU should integrate permanent carbon dioxide removals into the ETS through a phased approach that builds long-term demand and revenue certainty while preserving the system’s environmental integrity. This would start with public funding and intermediary-led procurement, followed by the gradual inclusion of certified permanent removals without increasing the ETS cap. It should also be backed by separate CDR targets in EU climate law and strong safeguards so that only high-integrity, permanent removals are eligible.

    Download

  • EU Climate Law

    The EU Climate Law should be strengthened to support both climate neutrality by 2050 and the growth of a competitive permanent carbon dioxide removal industry. This means setting a 90% net emissions reduction target for 2040, alongside separate targets for gross emissions reductions, permanent CDR and LULUCF, backed by a broader support package beyond ETS integration. It should also include strong safeguards for any international credits and support a portfolio of permanent CDR methods to ensure consistency across EU policies.

    Download

  • Green Claims Directive

    The Green Claims Directive proposed by the European Commission is crucial for combating greenwashing and promoting investment in permanent carbon removal. This directive would require companies to substantiate and communicate their environmental claims, including guidelines on using carbon credits.

    Download
  • Making a short-term EU purchasing programme work for CDR

    Making a short-term EU purchasing programme work for permanent CDR

    The EU should scale permanent carbon dioxide removal by 2030 through near-term support, including an EU Buyers’ Club, results-based payments for verified removals, and a pathway from a €1 billion pilot in 2026 to longer-term support through the Industrial Decarbonisation Bank. It should also make CDR visible in key EU funding instruments, support large-scale R&D through FP10, and secure long-term funding to strengthen competitiveness, jobs and climate goals.

    Download
  • CDR in the Multiannual Financial Budget

    CDR in the Multiannual Financial Budget

    The EU budget will help decide which net-zero technologies scale in Europe, but carbon dioxide removal is still not clearly included in funding priorities. To protect competitiveness, jobs and climate goals, the EU should make CDR eligible in key funding instruments, support large-scale R&D through FP10, and secure long-term funding as negotiations move forward.

    Download

News & updates

News & Updates
Call to enable CO₂ Storage in the Baltic Sea Region under the Helsinki Convention
Call to enable CO₂ Storage in the Baltic Sea Region under the Helsinki Convention
Separate Member State targets are essential for a credible EU climate framework after 2030
Separate Member State targets are essential for a credible EU climate framework after 2030
Open Letter: Call for the rapid implementation of penalties in Member States under Article 23 of the Net-Zero Industry Act 
Open Letter: Call for the rapid implementation of penalties in Member States under Article 23 of the Net-Zero Industry Act 
A Healthier Earth joins the Negative Emissions Platform
A Healthier Earth joins the Negative Emissions Platform
Timber Carbon joins the Negative Emissions Platform
Timber Carbon joins the Negative Emissions Platform