Lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity in India
India: Lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity was 670.13 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour in 2025. ▼ Falling
Lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity in India, 2000–2025
Source: Ember (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour.
Analysis
India recorded 670.13 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour for lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
The figure is down 5.0% on the previous year and down 10.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity in India peaked at 758.01 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour in 2003 and was at its lowest, 670.13 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour, in 2025.
That places India 23rd out of 213 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 737.76 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | 717.87 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | 758.01 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | 10 |
| 2010s | 739.26 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | 722.11 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | 751.87 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | 10 |
| 2020s | 703.17 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | 670.13 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | 715.34 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour | 6 |
Countries ranked near India
- 20 Indonesia 680.25 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour compare
- 21 Hong Kong 675.48 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour compare
- 22 Niger 673.68 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour compare
- 24 East Timor 666.67 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour compare
- 24 Gambia 666.67 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour compare
- 24 Grenada 666.67 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour compare
- 24 Western Sahara 666.67 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour compare
More climate change data for India
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 14.8% (2100)
- Population growth 0.9% (2025)
- Population, total 1.46 billion (2025)
- Urban population growth 1.8% (2025)
- Urban population 522.44 million (2025)
- Urban population 35.7% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 2.2 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 66.07 billion tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 2.2 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 2.2 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity in India?
- Lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity in India was 670.13 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour in 2025, according to Ember (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 758.01 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour in 2003.
- What is the lowest lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 670.13 grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour in 2025.
- How does India rank for lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity?
- India ranks 23rd out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this India data come from?
- The figures come from Ember (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Lifecycle carbon intensity of electricity. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Greenhouse gases emitted per unit of generated electricity, measured in grams of CO₂ equivalents per kilowatt-hour.