Carbon intensity

An emission intensity is the average emission rate of a given pollutant from a given source relative to the intensity of a specific activity; for example grams of carbon dioxide released per megajoule of energy produced, or the ratio of greenhouse gas emissions produced to gross domestic product (GDP). Emission intensities are used to derive estimates of air pollutant or greenhouse gas emissions based on the amount of fuel combusted, the number of animals in animal husbandry, on industrial production levels, distances traveled or similar activity data. Emission intensities may also be used to compare the environmental impact of different fuels or activities. The related terms emission factor and carbon intensity are often used interchangeably, but "factors" exclude aggregate activities such as GDP, and "carbon" excludes other pollutants. One commonly used figure is carbon intensity per kilowatt-hour, or CIPK, which is used to compare different sources of electrical power.

Emission factors assume a linear relation between the intensity of the activity and the emission resulting from this activity:

Emission_pollutant = Activity * Emission Factor_pollutant

Intensities are also used in projecting possible future scenarios such as those used in the IPCC assessments, along with projected future changes in population, economic activity and energy technologies. The interrelations of these variables is treated under the so-called Kaya identity.

The level of uncertainty of the resulting estimates depends significantly on the source category and the pollutant. Some examples:

A literature review of numerous total life cycle energy sources CO₂ emissions per unit of electricity generated, conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2011, found that the CO₂ emission value, that fell within the 50th percentile of all total life cycle emissions studies were as follows.

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