Carbon Direct has released what it describes as one of the first globally applicable frameworks for sourcing agricultural residues as feedstock for carbon dioxide removal projects, developed in collaboration with Microsoft and Stripe among other buyer signatories.
The guide addresses a gap that has opened as biomass-based carbon removal has scaled rapidly: agricultural residues such as corn stover, wheat straw and rice husks are attractive feedstocks as by-products of existing food systems, but diverting them without clear safeguards carries ecological, social and economic risks for the communities they come from.
Biomass-based CDR pathways accounted for more than 95% of high-durability carbon removal contracted in 2025.
The framework is designed to give project developers and buyers practical, contractable guidelines for responsible sourcing diligence, applicable across diverse geographies and varying levels of governance capacity, land tenure systems and data availability.
Carbon Direct says sourcing decisions made using the guide are intended to hold up as formal certification frameworks continue to develop.
Carbon Direct publishes agricultural biomass sourcing guide
