24Earth climate tool
CO₂ Equivalency Converter
Turn an abstract CO₂e amount into everyday comparisons—from driving and electricity to flights, fuel, and tree growth.
Your amount
How much CO₂e?
Enter an emissions amount or choose a quick example.
Private by design. Your amount is calculated locally and is not saved.
One useful comparison
1 metric tonne of CO₂e is approximately equivalent to
4,098 kilometres driven
by an average gasoline passenger vehicle.
Read each result separately. Every card represents the same CO₂e amount in a different way. Do not add the cards together. These are communication estimates—not offsets, carbon credits, avoided emissions, or an emissions inventory.
Equivalent to
Everyday comparisons
Approximate values based on published reference factors.
Gasoline consumed
426 litres
113 US gallons
Average gasoline vehicle
4,098 km driven
2,547 miles
US household electricity
2,541 kWh
2.5 months for an average US home
Passenger flights
5.36 short-haul flights
1.26 long-haul flights
Economy passenger, one way: 1,484 km / 6,799 km
Smartphone charging
80,847 full charges
Using the EPA US grid estimate
Excludes phone manufacture, networks, and data centres
Urban tree seedlings growing
16.5 seedlings
Why this is not an instant offsetBarrels of oil consumed
2.32 barrels
Petroleum products combusted
Coal burned
504 kg of coal
1,111 pounds
Tree comparison, with context
Trees do not remove this carbon instantly
The EPA comparison represents carbon accumulated by an initially planted tree seedling in a US urban or suburban setting over ten years. It is a growth scenario—not a promise that planting that many seedlings immediately cancels an emission.
- 10 yearsCarbon is taken up gradually during growth.
- 68% / 59%The model assumes probability-weighted survival of 68% after year 5 and 59% after year 10.
- Not permanentDeath, removal, fire, or decomposition can return stored carbon to the atmosphere.
- UncertainSpecies, climate, planting site, care, and actual growth all change the result.
For climate action: prioritize reducing emissions at the source. Treat tree planting as a long-term ecological commitment with monitoring and replacement—not a simple one-for-one offset. This urban-tree factor is not suitable for reforestation projects.
Transparent by design
Assumptions and sources
View conversion factors
| Comparison | Factor represented | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Gasoline | 8.887 kg CO₂ / US gal | EPA |
| Driving | 0.39269 kg CO₂e / mile | Average gasoline passenger vehicle, EPA |
| Electricity | 0.39353 kg CO₂ / kWh | US delivered electricity, EPA |
| Flights | 186.63 / 795.75 kg CO₂e | Representative short-/long-haul economy passenger flights, one way, DESNZ 2026 |
| Phone charging | 0.012369 kg CO₂ / charge | Full charge using US grid electricity, EPA |
| Urban seedlings | 60.477 kg CO₂ / 10 years | Probability-weighted growth and survival, EPA |
| Oil / coal | 431.926 kg / barrel; 0.90024 kg / lb | EPA |
Flights: DESNZ factors include an 8% route-distance uplift and a 1.7 radiative-forcing treatment for aviation’s non-CO₂ effects. Both are already applied once; DESNZ notes significant uncertainty. Upstream fuel emissions are excluded.
Fuels: The gasoline, crude-oil, and coal comparisons cover combustion. Extraction, refining, distribution, and equipment manufacture are outside their scope.
EPA core constants reflect its October 2024 live factor update; aviation uses DESNZ 2026 data. Results are rounded for readability. Real-world emissions vary with vehicle efficiency, fuel blend, electricity supply, aircraft, route, device, tree species, climate, and other conditions. EPA describes these equivalencies as approximate and not suitable for formal inventories or analysis.
