Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, whether her Department holds data on the amount of carbon dioxide emitted per one tonne of (a) biomass and (b) coal when burned; and if she will make a statement.

The 1990-2014 Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventory provides estimates of the emissions from burning fuels. There is variation between different types of biomass and coal in their carbon dioxide emissions. The emissions of carbon dioxide from burning 1 tonne of wood in an average UK biomass fuelled power station is 1.055 tonnes. The emissions of carbon dioxide from burning 1 tonne of coal in an average UK coal fired power station is 2.248 tonnes

Emissions of carbon dioxide from biomass combusted in the energy sector are not reported within the national totals in the GHG inventory as the change in carbon stock they represent is by convention reported in the land use change and forestry sector.