Find out how much CO₂ your lifestyle produces each year — and how you compare to the global average.
A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases — primarily carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane — generated by our actions. It's measured in tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e) per year and covers everything from the fuel in your car to the food on your plate.
We use established emissions factors from sources including the EPA, IPCC, and Our World in Data. Car emissions are based on average fuel economy and CO₂ per mile. Flight emissions include a radiative forcing multiplier to account for the additional warming effect of high-altitude emissions. Diet figures are based on lifecycle analysis of food production emissions.
For most people in developed countries, transport — especially flying and driving — accounts for the largest share of personal emissions. A single long-haul return flight can produce more CO₂ than several months of driving. Diet is the second largest factor, with beef and dairy production being particularly emissions-intensive.
The highest-impact changes are: flying less, switching to an electric vehicle or using public transport, reducing beef and dairy consumption, and switching to renewable energy at home. Small changes like recycling and turning off lights, while positive, have a much smaller impact than these structural choices.
To limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, the world needs to reach net-zero emissions by around 2050. This means the average person needs to reduce their footprint to approximately 2 tonnes of CO₂e per year — a dramatic reduction from today's global average of 4.7 tonnes.