IEA

The International Energy Agency (IEA) provides electricity and heat emission factors that are widely regarded as the global reference for energy-related carbon accounting. If you need consistent, internationally comparable emission factors for electricity consumption across many countries, particularly in regions where local government data is limited or unavailable, IEA is the source to use.

We offer IEA data through our Estimate Endpoint, Excel add-in, and Google Sheets extension. IEA factors are also used by our Energy endpoint and PCF API when included in your plan.

Overview of the IEA Database

The IEA publishes annual emission factors for electricity and heat generation covering virtually every country in the world. The 2025 edition available through Climatiq includes over 3,600 emission factors across 207 regions, with a time series going back to 1990 for most countries (we provide data from 2018 onwards in Climatiq).

The database consists of two complementary datasets:

IEA Emission Factors provide CO2 and other gases emission factors from electricity and heat generation at the point of combustion. This is the core dataset, covering electricity generation. It also includes correction factors for transmission and distribution (T&D) losses and for electricity trade between countries.

IEA Life Cycle Upstream Emission Factors complement the core dataset by adding the upstream emissions associated with electricity generation (fuel extraction, processing, and transport to the power plant). This allows for a more complete scope 3 assessment. Data is available from 2015 onwards for up to 150 countries.

When IEA adds value

IEA electricity factors are the right choice when you need:

• Consistent multi-country coverage. If your organization operates across many regions and you need electricity emission factors from a single, methodologically consistent source rather than stitching together dozens of national datasets.
• Location-based scope 2 in regions without local data. For countries where no local government source publishes electricity grid factors, IEA fills the gap. This is particularly relevant for developing economies and smaller countries.
• Scope 3.3 T&D and WTT emissions estimates (for OECD countries).
• Electricity factors for PCFs. Our PCF API uses IEA data for manufacturing electricity calculations when premium IEA data is part of your plan, providing high-resolution regional factors.

Local alternatives

For several major economies, local government sources provide electricity factors that may be more appropriate for domestic regulatory reporting:

This table is not comprehensive; other data sources exist and can be used in the context of domestic regulatory reporting.

These local sources are all included as standard data in our platform. IEA becomes essential when local data is unavailable for your region, or when you need a single consistent source across many countries.

Methodology

What IEA factors measure

IEA emission factors express the carbon intensity of electricity (and heat) generation in a given country and year, measured in gCO2 (or gCO2e) per kWh. They are calculated by dividing total CO2 emissions from electricity and heat generation by total electricity (and heat) output.

The core dataset reports direct combustion emissions only (CO2 at the power plant). The Life Cycle Upstream dataset adds the upstream emissions from fuel extraction, processing, and transport. Combined, these provide a comprehensive picture of the full lifecycle emissions associated with grid electricity.

Types of factors available

We provide calculations of emissions from electricity using IEA data.

The table below shows the emission factors that are used in the calculation endpoints.

Provisional and projected factors

IEA provides the full set of electricity emission factors for two years prior to the publication year (i.e. the latest emission factors released in 2025 are for 2023).

The IEA also publishes provisional factors based on preliminary electricity generation data for OECD countries and selected non-OECD countries. These are CO2 only and do not include trade adjustments. As trade adjustments can have a significant impact, it is best practice to use trade-adjusted numbers; these provisional factors are not used by default in Climatiq endpoints.

IEA does not publish projected (future) emission factors as part of the Emission Factors database. Projected data is available through separate IEA publications (such as the World Energy Outlook), but these are not included in Climatiq’s database.

Update frequency

IEA releases a new edition of the Emission Factors database annually, typically in September. The 2025 edition covers data up to 2023 (complete) and 2024 (provisional for OECD and selected countries). Usually, IEA publishes complete data for two years ago and provisional data for the previous year, which is adjusted the following year. We integrate new IEA editions into our database as they become available.

Region definition

IEA covers individual countries (over 150) plus regional and global aggregates. In our platform, we provide IEA factors for 207 regions, including country-level data as well as multi-country aggregations (for example, “Other Africa”, “Other Asia”).

Starting with recent data releases, we also provide country-specific factors for countries within multi-country IEA regions. For example, if a country is grouped under “Other Africa” in the IEA dataset, we list that country separately in the database and assign it the emission factor for “Other Africa”.

Scope 2 and Scope 3 calculations in Climatiq

IEA factors are integrated into our Energy endpoint. The Energy endpoint returns both location-based and market-based results. IEA factors are used directly for the location-based consumption calculation and for the transmission and distribution (T&D) loss component on both the location-based and market-based sides. The market-based consumption calculation itself uses other sources such as AIB residual mix or supplier-specific factors, but IEA still contributes to the T&D portion of the market-based result.

IEA provisional values are blocked by default (see above) unless you set allow_iea_provisional to true in your API query. See the Energy endpoint reference for details.

IEA factors are also used by our PCF API for manufacturing electricity calculations when IEA data is included in your plan, providing higher regional resolution than core sources alone.

Advantages of using IEA

• Broadest geographic coverage for electricity. Covers virtually every country, with a consistent methodology. No other single source provides this level of global electricity emission factor coverage.
• Methodologically consistent. All factors are calculated using the same approach, making cross-country comparisons reliable. This is critical for multinational organizations reporting across many jurisdictions.
• Two layers of depth. The core dataset covers direct combustion emissions; the upstream lifecycle dataset adds fuel-cycle emissions. Together, they support both scope 2 and scope 3 FERA reporting.
• Long time series. Data from 1990 onwards allows historical trend analysis and tracking of grid decarbonization over time.
• Updated annually. New editions incorporate the latest available electricity generation and emissions data from IEA statistics.
• Integrated into our Energy endpoint. Our Energy API uses IEA factors automatically when available in your plan. IEA factors are used for location-based consumption calculations and for T&D loss calculations on both the location-based and market-based sides.

Limitations

• Raw factors access. Through Climatiq, you can use IEA for your calculations, but due to licensing terms and conditions, it is not possible to access the raw factors provided by IEA. The database is only available through calculations.
• Premium license required. IEA data requires a separate license through us. It is not included in standard Climatiq plans.
• Partial factors for the latest year. Provisional factors for the most recent year are CO2-only and may be revised. The quality flag “Partial factor” in our Data Explorer indicates when CH4 and N2O are not included.
• Annual granularity. The standard IEA dataset provides annual average emission factors. It does not provide hourly, daily, or seasonal variation.
• No sub-national resolution. IEA provides country-level factors only. It does not provide state-level, grid-level, or sub-regional data. For sub-national resolution in the US, use EPA eGRID; for Australia, use DISER; for Canada, use Government of Canada factors. These are all available as standard data.
• Licensing restrictions on display. IEA raw factors cannot be displayed or shared with customers or end-customers. If you are building a customer-facing tool that displays emission factors, check the licensing terms.

Best Practices

Use IEA for consistent multi-country electricity reporting. If you operate in 20+ countries and need a single, comparable source for electricity emission factors, IEA is the best choice. It avoids the methodological inconsistencies that arise from stitching together dozens of different national sources.

Prefer local government sources for domestic regulatory reporting. If you only report in one or two countries where strong local sources exist (US, UK, EU, Australia, Canada, France, Germany), use those sources for regulatory compliance. They are often required or recommended by local frameworks and provide higher resolution.

Combine IEA with local sources where appropriate. A common and defensible approach is to use local government factors for your major operating countries and IEA for the rest. For example, use EPA eGRID for the US, BEIS/DEFRA for the UK, and IEA for all other countries. Document which source you used for each region.

Use the upstream lifecycle dataset for scope 3.3 FERA. When reporting fuel and energy-related activities (scope 3.3), the IEA Life Cycle Upstream Emission Factors provide the upstream component of electricity generation that the core dataset does not include. Our Energy endpoint combines both layers automatically.

Check for partial factor flags. When using the most recent year’s data, verify whether the factor is CO2-only (provisional) or includes full GHG coverage. Our Data Explorer and API flag this with the “Partial factor” quality indicator. In practice, CH4 and N2O emissions from electricity generation tend to be insignificant compared with CO2, but it is worth checking for your particular regions.

Document the edition year. IEA releases a new edition annually. Record which edition you used (for example, “IEA Emission Factors 2025”) in your reporting documentation for reproducibility and audit readiness.

Browse IEA emission factors in the Data Explorer . For more on how we use IEA data in energy calculations, see our Energy endpoint documentation and our guide on picking an approach for scope 2 emissions.

For licensing and access, visit the data licensing page  or contact us .