Second assessment of the draft technical specifications for certification under the EU CRCF

This document provides an assessment of the revised draft technical specifications for the certification of permanent carbon removals through biochar under the EU CRCF provided by the European Commission, dated 12 March 2025. In some areas, the revised methodology has been improved, in particular by referring to relevant EU legislation to provide safeguards in the production and use of biochar. However, the methodology could still lead to no actual removals or significant overestimation of the amount of removals, as some key areas were not addressed. We provide recommendations for further improving the certification methodology.