The European Commission aims to have a central registry for EU-certified carbon removal certificates ready by the end of 2028, with a first legal blueprint due in the summer of next year, officials said, Carbon Pulse reports. For project developers and the buyers lining up for units under the EU Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF), the timeline fixes the date when the system gets the infrastructure meant to prevent double counting and anchor claims.
A 2028 target, a blueprint due next summer
The registry timeline is the clearest signal yet of when the certification system’s plumbing will be in place. A first legal blueprint for the registry is due in the summer of next year, the officials said, which would give certification schemes, verifiers and member states a concrete draft to react to well before the end of 2028 deadline.
The sequencing matters. The first CRCF-certified units are expected in 2027, according to CRCFProjects, an overview of the framework built from primary sources. Until a scheme is recognised and verifiers are accredited, no project can complete certification. That means the first certified units are likely to exist before the Union registry does, and will sit in the registries of recognised schemes in the interim.
The regulation the registry will serve
The CRCF is Regulation (EU) 2024/3012, adopted on 27 November 2024 and in force since 26 December 2024, according to CRCFProjects. The Commission writes the acronym out as Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming, and the legal title describes a Union certification framework for permanent carbon removals, carbon farming and carbon storage in products. Taking part is voluntary, but the quality and certification rules are binding, and the detailed rules per activity arrive as delegated acts.
The framework defines four unit types. Permanent carbon removal units, from DACCS, BioCCS and biochar, last centuries and do not expire. Carbon farming sequestration units, from soil and biomass, are temporary and last at least 5 years. The regulation also covers soil emission reduction units and carbon storage in products units, the latter requiring storage of at least 35 years.
Article 12 of the regulation provides for the Union registry and certification registries, answering the question of whether each tonne is counted once. Until the central registry exists, recognised schemes keep their own registries, a transitional arrangement that puts the 2028 date at the centre of the framework’s integrity architecture.
Expert group meets as remaining methodologies take shape
The registry work is proceeding in parallel with the methodology pipeline. The 12th Carbon Removal Expert Group meeting took place on Tuesday 10 November 2026, from 09:00 to 16:45 CET, at the Albert Borschette Conference Centre in Brussels and online, according to the Commission’s event page. The meeting provided updates on several Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming methodologies: carbon storage in buildings, enhanced rock weathering, livestock emissions and forest management. Updates on the Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming registry development were also provided, along with a short information point on blue carbon.
The expert group is where the remaining methodologies are shaped, including improved forest management and livestock, according to CRCFProjects. Each methodology follows the same path: an expert group draft, a public consultation, an opinion, adoption by the Commission as a delegated act, two months of scrutiny by Parliament and Council, publication in the Official Journal and entry into force 20 days later. A methodology that is adopted is therefore not yet in force, a distinction buyers should keep in mind when reading supply forecasts.
What buyers and developers should watch
First, the blueprint. The legal draft due next summer will show how the Commission intends to structure the central registry, and will be the first text market participants can assess in detail.
Second, the interim period. With first certified units expected in 2027 and the Union registry due by the end of 2028, early CRCF supply will rely on scheme registries. Buyers contracting for early units should understand how those registries record issuances and how units will migrate or be reconciled once the central system opens.
Third, the methodology calendar. Which activities can supply certified units, from biochar to carbon storage in buildings and enhanced rock weathering, depends on delegated acts clearing scrutiny. The registry sets the accounting backbone, but the methodology pipeline sets the supply.
