EBC C-Sink & Global Biochar C-Sink
The European Biochar Certificate (EBC) was the first system to provide a method of certifying the carbon sink potential of biochar. This represented a crucial step towards the sustainable establishment of planetary carbon sinks.
Following an extensive stakeholder process, the new Global Biochar C-Sink standard was published in June 2024. All companies can profit and apply for the new standard from 1st July 2024 onwards. The GBCS Standard gets obligatory from 1st June 2025.
When the EBC C-Sink was published in 2020, it was not only the first certification standard for biochar C-sinks but also for all long-term geological carbon sinks. Since then, hundreds of biochar companies have certified and traded their biochar C-sinks under the EBC, giving rise to an entirely new CDR business sector. In recent years, several minor updates to the biochar standard have been published. However, the time has come for a significant overhaul, leading to the creation of the new Global Biochar C-Sink standard.
The permanent aromatic carbon (PAC) fraction of soil-applied biochar is now recognized as a geological carbon sink. The less persistent fraction of biochar can be employed as a temporary carbon sink to offset methane emissions. Biochar C-Sinks are monitored from the factory gate to the application site, and every C-Sink must be registered in the C-Sink Registry. Emission portfolios for biomass and biochar producers, processors, and traders are created and must be compensated. Carbon and energy efficiency are evaluated. Biochar-based materials are accounted for as temporary C-sinks.
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