Life Cycle Upstream Emissions Factors 2024

The IEA is disseminating a new database including life cycle emission factors corresponding to national electricity grids. The database aims to assess and compile reliable data to provide a global harmonized database on an annual basis.

This database complements the IEA Emissions Factors 2024 database which includes emission factors corresponding to direct combustion at the point of electricity generation.

Data is published in an excel format and includes three main sheets with a set of life cycle emission factors corresponding to electricity generation. The factors are described below:

Total upstream emission factors (in CO2eq per kWh, 2015 to 2022; and 2023 (provisional data for selected countries))(Sheet Total upstream factors)

Correspond to the total upstream emissions intensity associated with the national electricity generation. The factors are computed using the overall life cycle footprint of the electricity generation technologies/fuels excluding direct emissions from combustion of the fuels at the generation point weighted by their respective shares in the generation mix.

Fuel-cycle emission factors (in CO2eq per kWh, 2015 to 2022; and 2023 (provisional data for selected countries)) (Sheet Fuel-cycle factors)

Correspond to the fuel-cycle emissions intensity associated with the national electricity generation. The factors are computed using the life cycle emissions intensity corresponding to fossil fuels, uranium and biofuels fuel-cycles weighted by the respective shares of all fuels/technologies in the generation mix. The non-fuel cycle life cycle emissions and the direct emissions from combustion of the fuels at the generation point are excluded.

Life cycle adjustment factors for transmission and distribution losses (in CO2eq per kWh, 2015 to 2022) (Sheet Life cycle T&D factors)

Include the emission intensities associated with the transmission and distribution losses of electricity in the grid developed from a life cycle perspective.

The IEA is welcoming feedback on content, format and methodologies corresponding to this new database.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Important announcement

The IEA is planning to complement the set of emissions factors databases by publishing monthly and quarterly grid emission factors by November 2024. These timely factors are developed by leveraging on data from the IEA Monthly Electricity Statistics, and the upcoming 1st edition will cover data from 2015 up to June 2024 for around 50 countries. 

Important licence information

Single user or multi-user?

Single and multi-user licences can be purchased directly online. These licences are exclusively for a single company or group and do not allow you to do work with third parties or put the data in a model for which the derived data would be visible or available to third parties (see below).

A single user licence is appropriate as long as only one person can access or view the data. If other users were able to view even the results of the calculations in a shared internal tool then you would need a licence to reflect all the users – if they are in different locations then a global licence would be needed. 

We would therefore expect all multinationals to purchase the global licence (unlimited users, multiple locations).

Furthermore, if you intend to publish the results in your Annual Report then an (unlimited users, multiple locations) licence is required.

Do I need a contract or permission?

If you are doing work for clients, i.e. third parties, e.g. calculating or verifying their carbon footprint you need to enter into a separate Agreement and pay a fee as this usage is not permitted under our standard terms and conditions. 

If you intend to use the data in any type of modelling for the purpose of creating derived data or derived products, and any services to distribute or display such derived products you need to sign an Agreement and pay a fee.

If you intend to have such usage, or have questions please contact datasales@iea.org.

The IEA reserves the right to check the customer's compliance with the terms and conditions.