Electricity Carbon Intensity Calculator
See how clean a country's electricity grid is, and what that means for an EV.
Source: Ember (yearly electricity data); World Bank (CO2 emissions per capita) · Ember 2025; World Bank 2024 · last verified 2026-09-12
How this is calculated
Grid intensity (gCO₂/kWh) and low-carbon share come from country-level generation-mix data. Your optional weekly usage is annualized and multiplied by the intensity for a personal estimate, and the same intensity is applied to a typical 18 kWh/100km EV for a charging-emissions comparison.
Grid intensity is one of the most consequential single inputs to a country-specific carbon footprint, since it multiplies through both home electricity use and EV charging — see the Carbon Footprint calculator for a fuller footprint that combines this with transport, diet, and flights. To compare an EV against a petrol car using this same grid data, see the EV vs Petrol Cost calculator, and for what a given electricity usage actually costs (rather than emits), see the Home Electricity Cost by Country calculator.
Frequently asked questions
- How is the EV equivalent calculated?
- Assuming a typical EV consumption of 18 kWh per 100km, multiplied by the country's grid carbon intensity — showing the emissions from charging, not the vehicle itself.
- What counts as "low-carbon"?
- Nuclear, hydro, wind, solar, and other renewable generation — anything that doesn't burn fossil fuels for electricity.
- How is this different from the Home Electricity Cost calculator?
- That tool estimates your monthly bill in local currency. This one focuses purely on the carbon intensity of the grid itself — how "clean" each kWh is, regardless of price.
- What is grid carbon intensity?
- Grid carbon intensity measures how many grams of CO₂ are emitted for each kilowatt-hour of electricity generated on a given grid (gCO₂/kWh). It reflects the mix of generation sources — fossil fuels, nuclear, hydro, wind, solar — feeding into that country's electricity supply.
- Why does it vary so much between countries?
- It comes down almost entirely to generation mix. Countries with a large share of nuclear or hydro power (like France or Norway) have very low intensity, while countries still heavily reliant on coal or gas-fired generation have much higher intensity — often 5–10× higher gCO₂/kWh than the cleanest grids.
- What is a low-carbon grid?
- A low-carbon grid draws most of its generation from nuclear, hydro, wind, solar, or other sources that don't burn fossil fuels — typically defined here as anything other than coal, oil, and natural gas generation.
- How does carbon intensity affect EV emissions calculations?
- An electric vehicle's "tailpipe" emissions come entirely from charging, so the grid's carbon intensity directly determines how clean an EV really is in a given country — the same EV can be nearly emissions-free in a low-intensity country and still meaningfully carbon-intensive in a coal-heavy one.
- Which countries have the cleanest electricity grids?
- Countries with large shares of nuclear or hydro generation — such as France, Sweden, Norway, and Switzerland — consistently post some of the lowest grid carbon intensities globally, often below 50 gCO₂/kWh, compared to several hundred gCO₂/kWh in coal-reliant grids.