How can we finance permanent removals without slowing down investments that drastically cut emissions?
Date: 3 December 2025 | Time: 10.00 – 12.00 + lunch | Location: Blankspace | Rue d’Arlon 80, 1040 Brussels and online
Background
To successfully tackle climate change, urgent and ambitious emissions reductions remain critical. Complementing this, there is a need to support the development of a sustainable carbon dioxide removal (CDR) capacity to balance out limited residual emissions and achieve and maintain net negativity.
In the EU, currently, financing for removals is focused on voluntary initiatives in the voluntary carbon market and on the potential expansion of the EU Emissions Trading System. The latter was included in the European Commission’s proposal for a 2040 climate target to amend the European Climate Law. Both options carry the risk of slowing down emissions reduction efforts and favouring cheaper CDR methods with limited or no climate and environmental integrity.
In 2025, a coalition of stakeholders from academia, civil society, and industry examined alternative policy instruments for testing and scaling high-quality permanent removals in the EU. Together, they co-created a prototype for an EU CDR Financing Framework, addressing the short-, medium-, and long-term financing needs and principles for permanent removals.
Agenda
- 9.30: Welcome coffee
- 10.00: Introductory remarks – Sabine Frank, Carbon Market Watch
- 10.05: Presentation of the co-created EU CDR financing framework prototype – Fabiola De Simone, Carbon Market Watch
- 10:20: From the inside: experience & output of the CO₂ol Down Process – Alice Evatt, University of Oxford
- 10.30: Panel discussion
Chair: Sabine Frank, Carbon Market Watch
Panel:
– Fabien Ramos, DG CLIMA
– Francesca Battersby, Carbon Gap
– Silke Mooldijk, NewClimate Institute
– Atilla Yucel, Negative Emissions Platform
- 11.30: Q&A
- 11.50: Closing remarks by Carbon Market Watch
- 12.00- 13.00: Lunch and networking
