🇬🇧 Is the CRCF fit for purpose? The UK government thinks so.

🔥 The last few days have been heated in the CDR policy world: two objections were raised in the European Parliament - one from the far right and one from socialists + greens - requesting the outright rejection of the CRCF methodologies (both did not pass).

👁️ On top of this, some civil society actors - most notably Carbon Market Watch - have been rallying the troops against the CRCF for months.

🤔 It is thus not far-fetched to ask whether the CRCF is fit for purpose? Recent developments have understandably caused confusion for those who have been following the subject less closely.

🗞️ Here is a piece of news I’d like to share to provide a counter-perspective. One which I feel has been less well-reported.

📄 A few weeks ago, the UK opened applications for its East Coast Cluster, the second phase of its CCUS carbon contracts for difference. In the application, the government explicitly calls out the CRCF methodologies:

🔎 “In advance of the detailed methodologies in the UK GGR Standard being published, we are inviting applicants to use the methodologies from the EU CRCF framework to support their application to the ECC Teesside Selection Process.”

💪 There you have it. Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (ESNZ), the UK government department in charge of CDR/CCUS (which might well be the most knowledgeable and experienced government department on carbon management in the world) has voluntarily selected the CRCF as its own benchmark.

👏 To me, it speaks volumes that they are directly encouraging applicants to align with the CRCF methodologies, implying not just quality but also that their own GGR (i.e. CDR) Standards will closely follow what has been developed in the EU.

🌍 It is the first example of something I expect will happen frequently in future: the CRCF might become a CDR policy export, replicated or used by jurisdictions all over the world.

🛡️ Is the CRCF perfect? No. In fact, we have the first scheduled revision already this year, and many more will follow. Still, it is the result of years of work by hundreds of CDR experts - from government, to industry, to civil society, to academia. As such, I do believe it is a solid platform to certify high-quality CDR in Europe and beyond.

🙋🏻 Thoughts? From those involved as well as those on the sidelines.

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