How We Account for Emissions

Overview#

Emissions accounting is essential to understanding oil's environmental impact. This page explains how we measure and report greenhouse gas emissions throughout the site.

Scope Framework#

We use the internationally recognized GHG Protocol scope framework:

Scope 1: Direct Emissions

Emissions from sources owned or controlled by the reporting entity.

• For oil companies: refinery operations, drilling, flaring
• For countries: territorial emissions within borders

Scope 2: Indirect Energy Emissions

Emissions from purchased electricity, heating, cooling.

• Often smaller for energy companies
• Relevant for electrified operations

Scope 3: Value Chain Emissions

All other indirect emissions.

• For oil: primarily downstream product use (combustion)
• The largest category (~85% of oil company footprint)

CO2 Equivalent (CO2e)#

We express all greenhouse gases in CO2-equivalent terms using 100-year global warming potentials (GWP100) from the IPCC:

• CO2: GWP = 1
• Methane (CH4): GWP = 28
• Nitrous Oxide (N2O): GWP = 265

When comparing short-term climate impacts, we note the 20-year GWP (methane = 80).

Data Sources#

Our emissions data comes from:

• IEA for global energy emissions
• EPA for US inventory
• National reporting under UNFCCC
• Company disclosures for corporate data

Uncertainty#

All emissions estimates have uncertainty. We note confidence levels when relevant and prefer ranges over false precision.