Carbon180 Defines Responsible Carbon Removal with Industry-First Shared Framework

New framework builds the foundation for a maturing industry, codifies shared standards for increasing public trust and scaling programs safely

Carbon180, the first and leading non-profit working across every carbon removal pathway, today unveiled a first-of-its-kind framework for responsible carbon dioxide removal (CDR). The Community-Informed, Open Access, Reviewed, and Evaluated (CORE) Carbon Removal Framework sets a clear precedent for equitable and community-centered climate action, shaping CDR interventions to deliver meaningful outcomes for climate, ecosystems, and communities.

The CDR industry is moving fast, with nearly $12 billion in funding and dozens of projects breaking ground worldwide. Clear definitions for how programs are built, evaluated, and held accountable don’t yet exist. That leaves a critical piece of the carbon removal process unclear just as it begins to scale. The CORE framework is designed to fill that gap, setting firm expectations for how CDR policies, funding programs, and projects engage communities and deliver durable, measurable results.

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“Carbon removal is being built right now, in real places, around real people,” said Ugbaad Kosar, Director of Equity and Justice at Carbon180. “CORE is about making sure the communities living next to these projects have actual power over what happens. That's what it takes to build something people can trust.”

“We're at the point in carbon removal where the decisions we make now are going to shape the field for decades to come. It’s a short window, and we don't get a do-over,” said Noah McQueen, Director of Science and Innovation at Carbon180. “CORE gives developers, funders, and policymakers a shared set of expectations to work from, so the projects and programs getting built today are the ones we'll still be proud of decades from now.”

CORE outlines 8 fundamental values and 11 operational practices to guide the full CDR life cycle. Backed by scientific research and years of community wisdom, these standards strengthen the justice, equity, transparency, accountability, and impact of carbon removal. Key elements include:

• Community Agency Mechanisms: Promoting the power of affected communities to organize, actively participate, express their voice, and influence decision-making and outcomes.

• Community Benefits Mechanisms: Co-identifying and delivering benefits that address the wants or needs of communities, land and ocean stewards, and ecosystems involved.

• Full System Carbon Accounting: Measuring, verifying, and disclosing all emissions connected to a carbon removal activity to demonstrate collective net negativity.

• Environmental Health: Safeguarding and enhancing the resilience and integrity of ecosystems, species, and natural resources across all activities.

• Enforcement Mechanisms: Ensuring interventions deliver on their full set of commitments and are backed by transparent oversight and binding remedies for non-compliance.

Alongside the framework, Carbon180 has created an interactive resource hub with case studies, templates, and recommendations that put CORE into action for policymakers, developers, community members, purchasers, and funders, helping them navigate carbon removal with ease.

“Every fast-moving industry eventually has to answer the question of what it stands for,” said Erin Burns, Executive Director of Carbon180. “Carbon removal is answering that question now, on its own terms, before anyone else answers it for us. CORE is our contribution to that answer.”

To learn more about the CORE framework, visit here. For more on Carbon180, visit here.

About Carbon180

Carbon180 is a new breed of climate non-profit on a mission to fundamentally rethink carbon. Alongside policymakers, scientists and businesses around the globe, Carbon180 develops policy, promotes research, and advances solutions to build a world that removes more carbon than it emits. Across the full portfolio of land-based and technological solutions, Carbon180 is building an industry around carbon removal to scale solutions equitably for decades to come. Find Carbon180 at Carbon180.org, on Instagram @Carbon180, or on Twitter @Carbon_180. See our research here.