Work out your diesel and heating oil emissions
= 51.21 tonnes CO2e in 2026 (Scope 1 (stationary combustion))
Each gallon × 10.24 kg CO2e, the 2026 GHG Emission Factors Hub figure (Cornerstone) for "Distillate Fuel Oil No. 2", CO2, CH4 and N2O combined.
That is one line of your footprint. Want the whole thing done for you?
Carbon Recycling holds every UK government factor for every year, works out each line from your bills, mileage and travel, and writes your Carbon Reduction Plan and SECR report.
No card needed for the trial.
Distillate fuel oil No. 2 (diesel, heating oil): emission factor by Hub edition (per gallon)
From Table 1, Stationary Combustion, row "Distillate Fuel Oil No. 2". The Hub publishes the three gases separately; the kg CO2e column adds them up with the global warming potentials (GWPs) each edition states.
| Edition | kg CO2 | g CH4 | g N2O | GWPs (CH4, N2O) | kg CO2e per gallon | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Cornerstone) | 10.21 | 0.4100 | 0.08000 | 27, 273 | 10.24 | 0.0% |
| 2025 (EPA) | 10.21 | 0.4100 | 0.08000 | 28, 265 | 10.24 | 0.0% |
| 2024 (EPA) | 10.21 | 0.4100 | 0.08000 | 28, 265 | 10.24 | -0.01% |
| 2023 (EPA) | 10.21 | 0.4100 | 0.08000 | 25, 298 | 10.24 | – |
The gases per gallon are the same in every edition; the small changes in kg CO2e come only from the GWPs (2023: CH4 25, N2O 298 (IPCC AR4); 2024: CH4 28, N2O 265 (IPCC AR5); 2025: CH4 28, N2O 265 (IPCC AR5); 2026: CH4 27, N2O 273 (IPCC AR6, non-fossil CH4)). Source: US EPA, GHG Emission Factors Hub (2023-2025 editions, public domain) and Emission Factors Hub 2026, Cornerstone Sustainability Data Initiative, CC BY 4.0.
Per mmBtu
| Edition | kg CO2 | g CH4 | g N2O | kg CO2e per mmBtu | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Cornerstone) | 73.96 | 3.000 | 0.6000 | 74.20 | 0.0% |
| 2025 (EPA) | 73.96 | 3.000 | 0.6000 | 74.20 | 0.0% |
| 2024 (EPA) | 73.96 | 3.000 | 0.6000 | 74.20 | -0.01% |
| 2023 (EPA) | 73.96 | 3.000 | 0.6000 | 74.21 | – |
Worked example
Take a standby generator and boiler using 5,000 gallons a year. 5,000 gallons × 10.24 kg CO2e = 51.2 tonnes CO2e, reported as Scope 1 (stationary combustion). In metric units the factor is 2.706 kg CO2e per litre (one US gallon is exactly 3.785411784 litres).
How to use it
Multiply the fuel burned in the year by the factor and report it as Scope 1 (stationary combustion). The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard asks for Scope 1 and 2 in every inventory, and large customers collecting supplier data (including under California's SB 253) will expect fuel to be in it.
Distillate fuel oil No. 2 is the Hub's row for ordinary diesel and No. 2 heating oil burned in boilers, furnaces and generators. Diesel burned in road vehicles has the same CO2 per gallon in the Hub's mobile combustion table, but its CH4 and N2O depend on the vehicle and are given per mile, so for a fleet the CO2 figure here is the part that matters.
Two mistakes come up again and again. First, US gallons are smaller than imperial gallons (3.785 litres against 4.546), so a UK team must not apply these per gallon figures to imperial gallons, or the other way round. Second, these factors cover combustion only. The Hub has no well-to-tank figure for the emissions from extracting, refining and delivering the fuel; if you report those under Scope 3 Category 3, you need a separate source.
UK companies with sites, staff or shipments in the US can use these figures for that activity, and the UK government factors for activity in the UK (see the UK government factor for the same activity). Say in your methodology which set you used for which activity. In Carbon Recycling, every line keeps the factor and source it was worked out with.
Where to find your gallon figure
Fuel delivery tickets or supplier invoices, which give US gallons delivered. If you keep tank readings, use the gallons burned in the year (deliveries plus the change in tank level).
Who publishes the 2026 figures
The GHG Emission Factors Hub was published by the US EPA's Center for Corporate Climate Leadership every year up to the January 2025 edition, as a US government work in the public domain. The 2026 edition, last updated 26 May 2026, was published by the Cornerstone Sustainability Data Initiative, not by EPA, under a CC BY 4.0 licence (doi:10.5281/zenodo.20403776). It keeps EPA's table layout and its footnotes cite the same sources, such as 40 CFR Part 98 and EPA's Inventory of US Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks. EPA has not endorsed it.
Related emission factors
- Natural gas: 0.05450 kg CO2e per scf
- Propane: 5.741 kg CO2e per gallon
- Motor gasoline: 8.812 kg CO2e per gallon
- All US fuel, vehicle, travel and freight factors
- US electricity factors by eGRID subregion
- United States grid electricity average (every year since 2000)
- All emission factors