Workshop: Carbon accounting and wood energy

Carbon accounting refers to the methods for quantifying carbon sinks and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from a sector, products or services, companies, mitigation projects, etc., and is used for calculating and reporting net GHG emissions in national or company inventories, or emissions trading. At all levels and across all sectors, it has become increasingly important to be able to track carbon balances to better plan climate change mitigation strategies.

Wood energy is an important component of the global energy mix; it provides around 6 percent of total primary energy supply, making it the most important single source of renewable energy. Moreover, almost 2 billion people rely on wood energy for their cooking and heating. These factors make wood energy a significant topic in sustainability discussions regarding bioenergy.

The workshop, held at FAO premises and accessible via Zoom, aimed to support understanding of the various carbon accounting methodologies for wood energy, how they are applied in practice and policies, and the data requirements and gaps. The ultimate objective is to contribute to a common vision on carbon accounting for wood energy, and provide a platform for discussion on future directions in this area.