European businesses are being encouraged to invest in local, nature-based carbon removal projects to address residual emissions while supporting wider climate and economic goals. The request comes from the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), which states domestic projects can help organisations avoid greenwashing risks and deliver tangible environmental and business benefits.
According to CISL, initiatives such as peatland recovery and forest restoration across Europe can strengthen supply chains, enhance resilience, and reduce the cost of achieving net-zero. The Institute’s latest report suggests that carbon removal through Europe-based nature projects can cost as little as $10–$15 per tonne. By contrast, engineered removal technologies often begin at around $60 per tonne and can exceed $1,000 in some cases.
The report also highlights how heavily businesses rely on natural systems that are increasingly under strain from climate change, over-extraction, and land degradation. Europe’s bioeconomy accounted for approximately 5% of EU GDP and 8% of jobs in 2023, yet this contribution is increasingly vulnerable. More than 80% of protected habitats across the continent are considered to be in poor condition, roughly two-thirds of soils are degraded, and one-third of Europeans regularly experience water stress.
While many companies already incorporate nature-based solutions within their net-zero strategies, CISL notes that these investments are not always linked to improving value-chain resilience. The Institute argues that businesses should scale action quickly, emphasising the need to accelerate deployment of carbon dioxide removal projects—particularly because some nature-based interventions take years to deliver measurable results.
To guide credible action, CISL has outlined ten principles for corporate investment in nature-based carbon removal. These stress that emissions reductions must come first, before offsetting residual emissions, and set expectations around transparency, permanence, and robust carbon accounting. The framework was launched last November alongside the COP30 climate summit in Brazil.
Spanish MEP César Luena reinforced the need for stronger corporate engagement, calling for long-term, high-integrity investment supported by transparent reporting and clear environmental outcomes. He also emphasised the role of policy, noting that businesses must align with credible targets while helping finance ecosystem restoration and supporting consistent regulation.
Nature-based solutions already account for more than 99% of the carbon removal capacity worldwide, but CISL says Europe must radically scale investment plans to meet its environmental ambitions. The EU aims to cut net emissions by 90% by 2040, reach climate neutrality by 2050, and restore at least 30% of degraded land by 2030.
The Institute argues that progress toward these goals could drive economic growth and job creation. Adeline Rochet, programme manager at Corporate Leaders Group Europe, said stable policy frameworks are essential to unlocking business investment and scaling solutions. Collaboration between companies and policymakers, she added, can help expand nature-positive initiatives from small projects into economy-wide transformation.
The report follows the EU’s adoption of what it describes as the world’s first voluntary certification standard for permanent carbon removals, an indication of growing policy momentum to support credible carbon markets and nature-based climate action.