Yesterday, Initiative 1415 were on site in Brussels at a workshop on the Carbon Removal and Carbon Farming Certification Framework (CRCF). The meeting focused on different types of financing solutions for the EU’s high-quality carbon credits.
First, a brief background:
Methodologies will continue to be developed during 2025 and a national register for Swedish high-quality credits will be launched in 2026. The first certified credits under the CRCF will likely be issued in Q1 2026, for afforestation, followed later in 2026 by credits from Sustainable Forestry (IFM/AFM), and carbon sequestration in long-lived wood products for buildings.
Companies, depending on their size, already need to comply with the EU’s CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive). Pursuant to the Directive, companies must, among other things, report their climate impact (GHG Protocol). The decision to stop the clock temporarily through the Omnibus has been made, but decisions on changes to CSRD, CS3D, CBAM and the Taxonomy will be made by the EU Parliament in October 2025, meaning current accounting requirements will apply until then.
Financing – our analysis:
The amount of government funding to achieve the set climate and environmental goals is not at the level required in Sweden and the EU.
Regarding Sweden: Expenditure area 20 (nature, climate and environment) in the Swedish state budget is set at SEK 18.7 billion for 2025 and then falls to SEK 12.7 billion in 2028. If we add funds allocated from the EU (approx. SEK 4 billion), we come up to around SEK 20 billion, however that is insufficient. The financing requirement demands an additional SEK 20 billion per year until 2050. This means that SEK 500 billion is missing if we are serious about achieving the Swedish climate and environmental goals, and these SEK 500 billion need to come from the business community, most likely via the Polluter Pays Principle.
The CSRD report will form the basis for working with the issue of responsibility, the Polluter Pays Principle, meaning that companies are forced to take responsibility for their reported climate and environmental impact. This is done through companies financing increased carbon dioxide absorption and restoration of biodiversity. Initially to a small extent but with the goal of gradually raising the level. Only when carbon dioxide emissions start to cost will there be a real incentive to reduce, and this also applies to the company’s environmental impact.
If you want to know more, please contact us.
Incidentally, we thought we would mention that Initiative 1415 offer customers consultation on how they should communicate their green commitments in order to comply with “The Green Claims Directive (GCD)”.
Finally, we are very much looking forward to tomorrow, May 22nd – International Day of Biodiversity