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Abstract Biomass has often been regarded as a promising renewable energy resource to mitigate climate change. However, what will be the impact on global surface temperature if biomass replace fossil fuel remain unclear. This paper, through a case study in Uttar Pradesh, India address this issue by assessing biomass resource potential to reduce fossil fuel demand and mitigate climate change. Impact of biomass power related GHG emissions on global surface temperature is estimated using the Absolute Global Temperature change Potential (AGTP) climate metric. Uttar Pradesh can produce 71 Mt surplus biomass annually, equivalent to 7298 MW power. Power density of biomass range between 0.10 and 0.25 Wm-2. Significant amount of GHG emissions reduction is possible if biomass replace fossil fuel as a power source in the region. Annual GHG emissions associated with 1 MWh of power derived from coal, natural gas and biomass would cause 4.10 × 10−7, 2.40 × 10−7 and 1.25 × 10−7 mK rise in global surface temperature, 100 years after an initial emission, indicating potential of biomass power to mitigate climate change. Variation in spatio-temporal distribution and low power density could be delimiting factors in large-scale deployment of biomass power. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Biomass resources and power potentials are assessed for Uttar Pradesh, India. • GHG emissions from biomass power is assessed and compared with fossil fuels. • Climatic impact of power generation is assessed via novel climate metric. • Biomass power can mitigate climate change by replacing fossil fuels. • Spatio-temporal variability and low power density are limitations of biomass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]