Petrol (Automotive Gasoline)
Reviewed by Afonso Firmo, Co-Founder & Director · Updated 7 July 2026
Petrol burned in cars and light commercial vehicles emits 2.3126 kg CO₂-e per litre (NGA Factors 2025). Worked examples, calculator and NGER guidance.
Emission Factor Value
2.3126 kg CO₂-e/litre
Try it with your own numbers
Estimated emissions
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Petrol burned in vehicles your organisation owns or controls is Scope 1. Calculated as litres × 2.3126 kg CO₂-e/L (NGA Factors 2025, Table 9). Add 0.5882 kg CO₂-e/L separately for upstream Scope 3.
Official Source & Citation
This emission factor is sourced from the Australian National Greenhouse Accounts Factors 2025 , Table 9 — Fuels used for transport energy purposes, published by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW).
Citation: DCCEEW (2025). Australian National Greenhouse Accounts Factors 2025. Commonwealth of Australia. Available at: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/climate-change/publications/national-greenhouse-accounts-factors-2025
Notes
Derived from NGA Factors 2025 Table 9 (cars and light commercial vehicles): energy content 34.2 GJ/kL × combined Scope 1 emission factor 67.62 kg CO₂-e/GJ = 2,312.6 kg CO₂-e/kL, i.e. 2.3126 kg CO₂-e per litre. Petrol in stationary equipment uses 67.8 kg CO₂-e/GJ (2.3188 kg/L). The upstream (Scope 3) factor is 17.2 kg CO₂-e/GJ (0.5882 kg CO₂-e/litre), reported separately.
Calculation Example
If a passenger car used 1,600 litres of petrol during the year:
| Working | Result |
|---|---|
| 1,600 L × 2.3126 kg CO₂-e/L = 3,700.2 kg CO₂-e | 3.70 tonnes CO₂-e (Scope 1) |
Petrol is the fuel most Australians burn without thinking about it, and for organisations with pool cars, vans or sales fleets it quietly accumulates into a material Scope 1 figure. Converting litres at the bowser into tonnes of CO₂-e takes one multiplication — provided you use the current factor.
Everything below is drawn from the NGA Factors 2025 for the 2025–26 reporting year. Apply it manually, or run your fuel card data through a Scope 1 and 2 calculator to automate the whole exercise.
Quick Verdict
Petrol (automotive gasoline) used in cars and light commercial vehicles in Australia emits 2.3126 kg CO₂-e per litre, reported under Scope 1. The factor is derived from petrol’s energy content of 34.2 GJ/kL and the combined emission factor of 67.62 kg CO₂-e/GJ in Table 9 of the NGA Factors 2025. It applies to any organisation with petrol vehicles under its operational control; employee-owned and contractor vehicles fall to Scope 3 instead. Upstream fuel-supply emissions add a further 0.5882 kg CO₂-e per litre under Scope 3, and the ethanol share of blends like E10 is calculated separately at 0.0094 kg CO₂-e/L.
How to Calculate Petrol Emissions
Emissions (kg CO₂-e) = Litres of petrol × 2.3126
Or in NGA energy terms: E (t CO₂-e) = kL × 34.2 GJ/kL × 67.62 kg CO₂-e/GJ ÷ 1,000.
Worked Example 1: Single Passenger Car
A pool car uses an assumed 1,600 litres of petrol over the year — around the Australian passenger-car average.
1,600 L × 2.3126 = 3,700.2 kg CO₂-e
3.70 tonnes CO₂-e (Scope 1)
Worked Example 2: Business Van
A courier van consumes an assumed 2,200 litres of petrol.
2,200 L × 2.3126 = 5,087.7 kg CO₂-e
5.09 tonnes CO₂-e (Scope 1)
Worked Example 3: Sales Fleet
A company runs 25 petrol cars at roughly 1,600 litres each — 40,000 litres in total.
40,000 L × 2.3126 = 92,504 kg CO₂-e
92.50 tonnes CO₂-e (Scope 1)
How Petrol Compares to Other Transport Fuels
| Fuel (transport use) | Scope 1 factor (kg CO₂-e/L) |
|---|---|
| Diesel (cars & LCVs) | 2.7178 |
| Aviation turbine fuel | 2.5837 |
| Petrol | 2.3126 |
| Aviation gasoline (avgas) | 2.2395 |
| LPG (transport) | 1.5982 |
| Biodiesel | 0.0865 |
| Ethanol | 0.0094 |
All values from NGA Factors 2025, Table 9.
NGER and AASB S2 Reporting
Fleet petrol is Scope 1 fuel combustion under the NGER scheme, reported in litres converted to energy and emissions using the Table 9 factors. Under AASB S2, it sits inside your mandatory Scope 1 disclosure, with employee and contractor fuel captured in Scope 3 where material — an activity-based emissions calculator can handle the split automatically.
Related Emission Factors
Frequently Asked Questions
Disclaimer
This page is provided for general information, not professional or compliance advice. The factor shown is reproduced from the official publication cited above, and while we work to keep it current, government factors change — the publication is always the authoritative source.
- Before using this value in any formal reporting — including under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 — confirm it against the current official publication and the methods specified by the Clean Energy Regulator.
- NetNada is independent of the Australian Government, DCCEEW, and the Clean Energy Regulator. Government data is Crown copyright, Commonwealth of Australia.