Climeworks Solutions has launched a service to help organisations buy carbon removals that satisfy specific regulatory frameworks, a sign that demand is shifting from voluntary corporate pledges towards policy-driven compliance obligations.
The carbon removal market has run largely on goodwill. Companies bought credits to meet voluntary net-zero pledges, and the buyer decided what counted as credible. That is starting to change. Climeworks Solutions, the portfolio arm of the Swiss direct air capture firm Climeworks, has launched a service aimed at buyers who face legal obligations.
The offering, announced on 23 July, helps organisations source carbon removals that meet the rules of specific compliance regimes. It combines removal sourcing, framework-specific due diligence and continuous policy monitoring, so buyers can build portfolios that hold up in a named jurisdiction.
Three frameworks in the frame
Climeworks Solutions is starting with three regimes where compliance demand is emerging. The first is CORSIA, the UN aviation offset scheme run by the International Civil Aviation Organization, which airlines can use to meet their obligations. The second is Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, which lets governments transfer mitigation outcomes between each other under bilateral deals. The third is the European Union’s Carbon Removal and Carbon Farming Certification Framework, or CRCF.
Each regime carries different rules on what qualifies and how it is checked. The CRCF matters most for the bloc’s long-term direction. The European Commission has proposed it as the certification standard for bringing permanent removals into the EU Emissions Trading System, which would give removals a formal place in Europe’s main carbon market.
Why the timing works
Several policy threads have converged. The Commission proposed a removals pathway into the ETS in July. CORSIA’s second phase, which extends mandatory obligations to most international flights, begins in 2027. Meanwhile Article 6.2 has gained traction as more bilateral agreements between governments take effect.
Adrian Siegrist, chief commercial officer at Climeworks, framed the launch around customer confusion. “Organizations are increasingly asking us how to navigate a rapidly evolving policy landscape and which carbon removals fit specific compliance requirements,” he said. The new service, he added, builds on the company’s portfolio work by pairing removal sourcing with policy and market knowledge.
A market growing up
Climeworks Solutions was launched in 2024 and now serves more than 200 clients worldwide, including JPMorgan, BCG, Schneider Electric and NTT DATA. Its parent has worked on carbon removal for more than 17 years, helping to shape methodologies and standards along the way.
The shift it is betting on is a familiar one in environmental markets. Demand that begins as voluntary tends to harden into regulation, and the buyers change with it. If permanent removals do gain a foothold in the EU ETS and in aviation rules, the firms that can match credits to specific legal tests will hold an early advantage. Climeworks says it plans to extend the offering to further frameworks and jurisdictions as the policy picture develops.
