Canada is working to develop policies that will allow its domestic carbon removal companies to participate in international carbon markets, a move advocates say will help spur investment in new technologies and deepen the country’s economic links with the EU and Asia.
The government announced Thursday it will develop a policy framework under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which allows countries to cooperate in meeting their national climate targets through measures such international carbon markets and the trading of verified emissions reduction or removal credits.
Canada is home to a burgeoning carbon removal industry including Deep Sky, the first North American company to deliver verified removal credits from direct air capture technology, which removes excess carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere. The domestic pool of carbon removal buyers is small relative to the scale of investment the sector needs, according to industry group Carbon Removal Canada. An Article 6 framework would establish clear accounting and authorization rules so that Canadian carbon removal projects will be able to produce credits that become international assets, opening them up to more demand.
The demand will help get new projects off the ground, Carbon Removal Canada said, adding Canada currently has approximately 11 mega tonnes of carbon removal capacity through announced projects that are awaiting construction.
The EU already has a carbon removal certification framework and several Asian countries have also expressed interest in cross-border carbon removal supply.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is seeking to deepen economic links with the EU and Asia in order to bolster his country’s economy in the face of a trade war with the US, Reuters reports.
Alex Shishlo, Editor in Chief of the European Bureau, Rough&Polished
