GHG Protocol Delays Land Sector Guidance to Mid-2024 Amid Technical Review

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol has pushed back the publication of its final Land Sector and Removals Guidance to mid-2024 to allow 11 technical sub-groups to resolve complex accounting questions. Companies setting FLAG targets under the SBTi are required to commit to no-deforestation by 31 December 2025 regardless of the guidance delay.

The GHG Protocol's Technical Working Group identified 11 key topics requiring resolution before the final Land Sector and Removals Guidance can be published, including biogenic emissions, geologic storage, land boundary and traceability, forestry and cropland emissions, and permanence of carbon removals. Eleven sub-groups have been convened to address these topics over the course of a dedicated period, with an in-person workshop planned to address six overlapping topics including land boundary, forestry, cropland, land use change, product storage and removals.

The delay has direct implications for the SBTi's Forest, Land and Agriculture guidance. With the change in timeline, the SBTi has announced that companies with existing science-based targets must add a FLAG target within six months after the final GHG Protocol guidance is published. Companies setting their first target, or updating existing ones after 30 April 2023, must set a FLAG target at the time of submission. This sequence ties corporate deforestation commitments to the finalisation of credible accounting methods.

Sub-group membership reflects efforts to ensure diversity across organisation types including corporations, academia, government and civil society, with preference for increased representation from the Global South. The GHG Protocol is collaborating closely with the SBTi throughout the guidance development process to ensure alignment between land sector accounting and the FLAG framework. Finalisation is anticipated before a follow-up stakeholder review and advisory committee sign-off process is completed.

Key figure — December 31, 2025 — no-deforestation commitment deadline for FLAG target companies