Why are emissions from the burning of biomass not included in Scope 1, 2 or 3? How should I report them?
Due to the biogenic differences between fossil fuels and biomass, they are categorized differently in national inventories. Emissions of CO2 from the combustion of biomass are reported for informational purposes, but not included in national totals. This is because any net additions of CO2 to the atmosphere resulting from biomass combustion should be captured by analyzing land-use, land-use change activities and their associated effects on terrestrial biomass carbon stocks. In other words, the “emissions” are counted when the trees are cut, not when they are burned. If, at the national level, biomass harvests exceed growth and regeneration, the resultant depletion of national biomass stocks result in a net “emission” (flux to the atmosphere).
