Canada vs United Kingdom: Lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity

Canada
190.72 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour
in 2025
United Kingdom
217.41 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour
in 2025
Canada rank
161st
United Kingdom rank
159th

Lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity over time

  • Canada
  • United Kingdom
200400600800199020072025

How they compare

United Kingdom currently reports 217.41 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour against 190.72 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour in Canada, a difference of 26.69 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour.

That makes United Kingdom's figure about 1.1 times Canada's.

Across all 26 years both countries report, United Kingdom has been ahead every year.

Canada ranks 161st and United Kingdom ranks 159th of 213 countries.

United Kingdom has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Canada United Kingdom Difference Ahead
2000s 232.05 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour 535.44 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour 303.38 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour United Kingdom
2010s 186.83 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour 411.14 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour 224.3 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour United Kingdom
2020s 173.02 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour 239.03 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour 66.01 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour United Kingdom

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity, Canada or United Kingdom?
United Kingdom, at 217.41 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour against 190.72 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour in Canada as of 2025.
What is the difference in lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity between Canada and United Kingdom?
26.69 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour, with United Kingdom ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Canada and United Kingdom?
26 years are reported by both, from 2000 to 2025.
How do Canada and United Kingdom rank globally for lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity?
Canada ranks 161st and United Kingdom ranks 159th of 213 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Ember (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity
Unit
grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour
Source
Ember (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
213 places, 5,691 data points, 1990–2025
Last refreshed

Greenhouse gases emitted per unit of generated electricity, measured in grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour.