Climate & Environment
Temporary Carbon Storage
Definition
Temporary carbon storage is the sequestration of carbon in reservoirs from which it can readily return to the atmosphere: soils, forests vulnerable to fire and harvest, and short-lived products. Unlike geological storage, which is effectively permanent, biological storage requires management over decades to centuries to persist; standards address this through buffer pools, long-term monitoring obligations, ton-year accounting and permanence liability periods (the EU Carbon Removals Certification Framework distinguishes temporary storage classes).
References
This reference provides supporting context for how “Temporary Carbon Storage” is defined and used.
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Overview
How it is used
The concept structures carbon credit methodologies, permanence obligations in certification frameworks, soil carbon schemes and corporate claims policy.
Why it matters
A tonne stored for thirty years is not a tonne stored forever; temporary storage is where carbon accounting meets the calendar.