GHG Protocol Land Sector and Removals Update

Closing the Land Emissions Gap

Agriculture, forestry, and other land use account for roughly 22-25% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, yet corporate reporting under the GHG Protocol long lacked standardized rules for these sources, particularly in Scope 3 value chains where food, beverage, apparel, and biofuel companies source commodities linked to deforestation and soil management.

The release of the Land Sector and Removals Standard on January 30, 2026, after years of drafts, pilot tests with nearly 100 companies, and input from over 300 reviewers, establishes the first dedicated requirements for accounting land-sector emissions and CO₂ removals. It supplements the existing Corporate and Scope 3 Standards, addressing emissions from land use change, land management, biogenic products, and select technological removals like direct air capture with geologic storage.

The timing matters because major disclosure frameworks and target-setting initiatives, including the Science Based Targets initiative's FLAG (Forest, Land and Agriculture) sector guidance and CDP reporting, are poised to reference or require alignment with this standard. Companies with material land-related emissions—often 20% or more of total inventories—now have a clear benchmark, but face immediate preparation demands ahead of the January 1, 2027, effective date.

Stakes are high for affected sectors: inaccurate or incomplete reporting risks greenwashing accusations, regulatory scrutiny under emerging mandatory disclosure rules, and challenges in meeting net-zero commitments that increasingly demand verifiable removals. Food giants and retailers sourcing palm oil, soy, beef, or cocoa could see Scope 3 figures rise sharply if land conversion emissions are fully incorporated, while claims of carbon neutrality via removals must meet robust safeguards to avoid overstatement.

Non-obvious tensions include the exclusion of comprehensive forestry accounting in this version 1.0—due to unresolved debates over separating anthropogenic from natural carbon fluxes—potentially limiting applicability for some timber-linked chains. Traceability requirements vary by data availability, creating trade-offs between supplier-specific precision and jurisdictional or statistical averaging methods that may dilute individual responsibility. The 20-year assessment period for land use change emissions spreads impacts across production years, raising questions about fairness in allocating historical conversions to current buyers.