28th April 2026

International Carbon Removal Credits for the EU’s 2040 Climate Target

The European Commission has proposed allowing up to 5% of the EU’s 2040 climate target to be met through international carbon credits. Together with four other organisations, we call for one thing: high-quality carbon dioxide removal (CDR) must be clearly prioritised from the outset.

In its Impact Assessment for the EU’s 2040 climate target, the European Commission proposed that the EU could meet up to 5% of the 2040 target through international carbon credits – meaning emission reductions or CO₂ removals that take place outside the EU. This is politically significant because EU climate policy has so far been strongly focused on domestic emission reductions within Europe. International credits have not previously been a clearly established component of the EU’s long-term climate targets.

The target itself remains unchanged: a 90% net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 compared to 1990 levels. However, up to 5 percentage points of this could in future be accounted for through international credits. Put simply, this means that around 85% would still need to be achieved through emission reductions and measures within the EU, while up to 5% could be covered by high-quality international carbon credits.

Now is the time to prioritise carbon dioxide removal

While emission reductions must remain the priority, the scientific evidence is clear: carbon dioxide removal is necessary to address unavoidable residual emissions and to achieve net zero by 2050. The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report confirms that all 1.5°C-compatible pathways rely on carbon dioxide removal to counterbalance hard-to-abate emissions and to enable net-negative emissions after mid-century.

Many conventional carbon credits stem from avoided emissions or emission reductions, often with challenging measurement, reporting and verification (MRV). This is exactly where our joint policy recommendation begins: if the EU allows international credits, genuine carbon dioxide removal with high integrity, robust measurability and long-term storage must be prioritised.

Together with five other CDR organisations (AFEN, Carbon Gap, Carbon Business Council, Negative Emissions Platform and The Global South), we call on the European Commission to clearly anchor high-quality carbon removal credits within this framework.

Our core recommendations:

• Prioritise high-quality carbon removal credits

A meaningful share of the international credits used by the EU should consist of high-quality CDR credits from the outset. This share should gradually increase in line with science-based net-zero pathways. This direction should be reflected in the implementing legislation in order to provide predictable demand and investment certainty for project developers and financiers.

• A pilot phase must explicitly include carbon removal credits

If a pilot phase for the use of international credits is introduced, it should explicitly include high-quality carbon removal credits from the very beginning. A start around 2031 would provide sufficient time for global CDR supply to scale, for verification infrastructure to mature, and for Article 6 accounting mechanisms to become operational.