What would it take for non-geological removals to become compliance-grade?

Governments and standard setters are looking more closely at whether non-geologically stored carbon removals, such as biochar and nature-based removals, could have a role in compliance markets like the EU and UK ETS, and in net-zero frameworks such as SBTi and ISO. Done well, this could widen the pool of removals, lower costs and help scale CDR this decade. But these removals can’t simply be treated as equivalent to BECCS or DACCS.

This roundtable asks a practical question: under what conditions could their risks around carbon accounting, additionality and permanence be managed to a compliance-grade standard?

Key Topics:

The integrity bar: under what conditions could non-geologically stored removals reach the level of climate integrity needed for compliance-grade recognition?

The risk-management package: what combination of tools would create those conditions and keep them in place over time? This covers independent assessment, risk-adjusted crediting, monitoring, insurance and replacement mechanisms.

From tools to policy: how should governments and standard setters turn that package into eligibility rules, crediting approaches, liability arrangements and ongoing oversight?