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Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Different Fuels

This calculator currently focuses on electricity for a number of reasons. The public's interest in vehicles fueled by electricity is high, and as a result consumers are interested in better understanding the emissions created when electricity is produced. For vehicles that are fueled solely by electricity, tailpipe emissions are zero, so electricity production accounts for all GHG emissions associated with such vehicles. Finally, GHG emissions from electricity production vary significantly by region, which makes a calculator like this one—which uses regional data instead of national averages—particularly useful.

If you want to compare total tailpipe plus fuel production GHG emissions for an electric or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle to those for a gasoline vehicle, you should multiply your gasoline vehicle tailpipe GHG emissions value on the Fuel Economy and Environment Label by 1.25 to reflect the fuel production GHG emissions for gasoline.

Other motor fuels that are currently available or may be available in the future, such as diesel, E85, compressed natural gas, and hydrogen, also have different fuel production GHG emissions characteristics than gasoline. Based on interest from consumers, EPA may add these other fuels to this calculator in the future.

This website is administered by Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the U.S. DOE and the U.S. EPA.