2024 year in review—carbon dioxide removal policies and standards

The consensus is clear: we cannot scale to the gigatons of Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) needed to limit global warming without strong policies and standards. What counts as high-quality CDR? How should companies think about CDR in the context of their net-zero strategies? We saw significant progress on these questions in 2024. In this year-in-review, we provide key milestones relating to carbon removal policies and standards, highlighting the increasing role of governments in shaping the carbon removal market.

February

• The University of Oxford releases its revised Principles for Net Zero Aligned Carbon Offsetting, calling for companies to start buying high-durability CDR today, with removals reaching 100% of credit purchases by the global net zero date (2050 at latest).

• The European Commission releases its proposal for a 2040 climate target, including a 90% net emissions reduction, which would require up to 75 megatons of permanent CDR.

March

• The U.S. federal government announces the Voluntary CDR Purchase Challenge, encouraging corporates to match the USD 35 million Department of Energy commitment to purchase CDR (with a total of USD 70 million matching so far from Google and Meta).

April

• The Government of Japan announces its intention to accept international CDR credits as part of its GX-ETS, an emissions trading system which will transition from a voluntary to a compliance scheme in 2026.  

May

• Climeworks becomes the first DAC company to receive third-party certification under the Puro Standard.

• The U.S. federal government announces 24 semi-finalists, including Climeworks, for the CDR Purchase Pilot Program.

• The UK government releases its proposal for the integration of CDR into the UK Emissions Trading System (ETS), with potential for integration as early as 2028.

• The U.S. federal government releases Principles for High-Integrity Voluntary Carbon Markets, signaling its support in advancing carbon markets, including by acting as a buyer of carbon credits.

June

• The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) announces first high-integrity Core Carbon Principle (CCP)-approved carbon credits under its integrity framework.

• The government of Canada’s Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) Investment Tax Credit becomes law, with up to 60% of CapEx covered for DAC+S projects.

• The government of Denmark announces a EUR 9.5 billion (DKK10 billion) subsidy scheme for biochar production and storage until 2045.

August

• BeZero assigns the market’s first AAA rating to Climeworks for its Orca plant in Iceland; of the nearly 500 projects rated by BeZero, fewer than 50 have received A or AA ratings.

• The Swedish Energy Agency opens BECCS reverse auction, with a total of EUR 3.1 billion (SEK 36 billion) of subsidies to be distributed from 2026–2046.

September

• The Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) examines the role for permanent CDR in its revision of the Corporate Net-Zero Standard, reflecting the need for near-term CDR targets in addition to the existing requirement to neutralize residual emissions in the net-zero target year.

October

• The government of Canada commits to purchase USD 7 million (CAD 10 million) of permanent CDR through the Low-Carbon Fuel Procurement Program, an initiative to reduce emissions from federal air and marine operations.

November

• The EU adopts Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming Framework (CRCF), setting the foundation for an EU regulatory framework on carbon removals.

• The Parties to the Paris Agreement reached agreement on Article 6 at COP29 in Baku, including approval of a carbon removal standard under Article 6.4.

• U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and Lisa Murkowski introduce the bipartisan CDR Investment Act, a tax credit for CDR in the U.S. at USD 250 per ton of CO2.

• CORSIA, aviation’s compliance market, approves first CDR methodologies for use under the current phase, with expansions expected for further methodologies in 2025.

• ICVCM approves the first CCP-eligible CDR program and methodology, with additional programs and methodologies expected in 2025.

Looking forward to 2025

• The Science Based Targets Initiative’s (SBTi) draft Corporate Net-Zero Standard 2.0 is expected to be published in Q1 2025, including anticipated requirements that companies secure permanent CDR in the near-term.

• The final Greenhouse Gas Protocol Land Sector and Removals Guidance is to be released at the start of 2025, providing clarity for corporate accounting of CDR.

• The EU to consider a policy proposal for an interim 2040 target to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040 compared to 1990 levels, which may for the first time include separate targets for emissions reductions and CDR.

• Switzerland to open funding applications as part of the Climate and Innovation Act, which will allocate €1.3 billion (CHF 1.2 billion) over 6 years for up to a 50% subsidy for permanent CDR.

• The government of Canada to seek feedback on CDR’s role in achieving a clean and sustainable economy.

• Further CDR methodologies are expected to be approved as ICVCM Core Carbon Principles (CCP) - Approved and CORSIA eligible during 2025 assessment cycles.