Personal Carbon Footprint Calculator: Yearly CO₂e

Annual personal carbon footprint: how it is calculated

The tool adds six items in tonnes of CO₂e per year: car (km per week × 52 × engine factor), flights (0.23 t per flight hour), diet, electricity (60 g per kWh), heating and a fixed 1.2 t baseline for goods and digital use. With 150 km of petrol driving a week, 10 flight hours, a moderate-meat diet, 250 kWh a month and electric heating, the total comes to 7.92 t CO₂e a year.

The six items

• Car: km per week × 52 × factor (petrol 0.21 kg/km, diesel 0.19, hybrid 0.12, electric 0.05).
• Flights: flight hours per year × 0.23 t.
• Diet, flat yearly amount: heavy meat 3.3 t, moderate meat 2.3 t, little meat 1.7 t, vegetarian 1.5 t, vegan 1.1 t.
• Electricity: kWh per month × 12 × 60 g, the average carbon content used for the French grid.
• Heating, flat yearly amount: electric 0.3 t, wood or pellets 0.4 t, gas 1.5 t, heating oil 2.4 t.
• A fixed 1.2 t baseline (purchases, digital, services).

Worked example

150 km a week in a petrol car: 7,800 km × 0.21 = 1.64 t. 10 flight hours: 2.30 t. Moderate meat: 2.30 t. Home: 250 × 12 × 0.06 = 0.18 t plus 0.3 t of electric heating, i.e. 0.48 t. With the 1.2 t baseline the total is 7.92 t CO₂e a year. The same person driving 50 km a week electric, not flying, vegetarian and heating with wood drops to 3.41 t.

Reading the result

The tool places the total in four bands: up to 2.5 t (in line with the Paris Agreement goal), up to 6 t, up to 10 t (around the French average), above that "high".

Limits

• All factors are rough figures set in the tool with no database version cited: indicative values, not verified. For comparison, ADEME publishes 142 g CO₂e/km for an average combustion car and 67.4 g/km for an electric car, manufacturing included, where the tool uses 210 and 50 g.
• The diet and heating amounts do not depend on floor area or household size.
• The French average shown ("~8.2 tonnes") is the 2024 carbon footprint per person estimated by Insee and the French ministry's statistics service (SDES), imports included, against 9.5 t in 2019.

To compare one business trip with a video call, use the meeting carbon footprint comparison instead.

Sources and dates: ADEME reference factors published on Impact CO2, combustion car and electric car (2025 car footprint model); Insee Première No. 2077, Greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint of France in 2024 (October 2025, Insee and SDES) (checked 15/10/2026)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average carbon footprint of a French resident?

According to Insee and SDES (October 2025), France's carbon footprint was 8.2 t CO₂e per person in 2024, imports included, against 9.5 t in 2019. The tool shows this benchmark in its 6 to 10 t band.

How much does one flight hour add?

The tool counts 0.23 t CO₂e per flight hour. Ten hours a year add 2.3 t, as much as the diet of a moderate meat eater.

Does going vegetarian cut the footprint much?

In the tool, switching from a moderate-meat diet (2.3 t) to vegetarian (1.5 t) removes 0.8 t a year. A vegan diet goes down to 1.1 t.

What target matches the Paris Agreement?

The tool shows the "Paris Agreement" band up to 2.5 t CO₂e per person per year. It is an order of magnitude: the fixed 1.2 t baseline for goods and digital use already takes almost half of it.

Is this tool really free?

Yes, all tools on Kristools are 100% free and accessible without registration.

Is my data protected?

Yes. All processing is performed directly and securely inside your browser. No personal data is sent to our servers.