Groups ask EU to drop carbon removal from climate plans

BERLIN (AP) — Scores of environmental groups have issued a joint appeal for the European Union to drop carbon removal methods from its climate plans. They argued Monday that some of those methods rely on untested technology while others may not absorb as many greenhouse gas emissions as claimed. The EU’s executive Commission has proposed creating a system for certifying so-called offsets — carbon absorbed through nature or with technological means — which could be bought by polluters to reduce their emissions balance. But some 170 groups argue that plans to use fields, forest or machines for future large-scale removal of carbon from the atmosphere are a “greenwashing fantasy.” They’ve instead called for the Commission to commit to gross cuts in emissions.