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Emission factor specification

Retrieved 2026-08-25

Light-Duty Truck

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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Emission factor
0.456982
kgCO₂e/vehicle-mile
Data grade
Secondary
Edition
—
Source
US EPA
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Source: CO2, CH4, and N2O emissions data for highway vehicles are from Table 2-13 of the EPA (2024) Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990–2022. Vehicle-miles data for on-road vehicles are from Tables A-71 - A-73 of the EPA (2024) Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990–2022 (Annexes). "Notes: The factors represented in the table above represent combustion emissions only (tank-to-wheel) and do not represent upstream emissions or well-to-wheel emissions. A Passenger cars are automobiles used primarily to transport 12 people or less for personal travel, and are less than 8,500 lbs in gross vehicle weight. B Light-duty trucks are vehicles that primarily transport passengers such as sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and minivans. This category also includes vehicles used for transporting light-weight cargo which are equipped with special features such as four-wheel drive for off-road operation. The gross vehicle weight normally ranges around 8,500 pounds or less. C Intercity rail: Amtrak long-distance rail between major cities. Northeast Corridor extends from Boston to Washington D.C. Other Routes are all routes outside the Northeast Corridor. D Commuter rail: rail service between a central city and adjacent suburbs (also called regional rail or suburban rail). E Transit rail: rail typically within an urban center, such as subways, elevated railways, metropolitan railways (metro), streetcars, trolley cars, and tramways." Passenger-miles data for buses are from Table VM-1 of the Federal Highway Administration Highway Statistics (2024): 2022 data. Fuel consumption data and passenger-miles data for rail are from Tables A.14 - A.16, 10-10, and 7.3 - 7.4 of the Transportation Energy Data Book: Edition 40 (2022): 2019 data. Fuel consumption was converted to emissions by using fuel and electricity emission factors presented in the tables above. Intercity Rail factors from communication with Amtrak, December 2024, based on 2023 data. Air Travel factors from 2022 Guidelines to Defra / DECC's GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting. Version 2.0 June 2022. Defra air travel emission factors held constant from 2022 release (2018 activity data) to more accurately reflect the current state of business travel as the 2023 and 2024 Defra release reflects significantly reduced load factors during COVID-19. " "Notes: The factors represented in the table above represent combustion emissions only (tank-to-wheel) and do not represent upstream emissions or well-to-wheel emissions. A Passenger cars are automobiles used primarily to transport 12 people or less for personal travel, and are less than 8,500 lbs in gross vehicle weight. B Light-duty trucks are vehicles that primarily transport passengers such as sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and minivans. This category also includes vehicles used for transporting light-weight cargo which are equipped with special features such as four-wheel drive for off-road operation. The gross vehicle weight normally ranges around 8,500 pounds or less. C Intercity rail: Amtrak long-distance rail between major cities. Northeast Corridor extends from Boston to Washington D.C. Other Routes are all routes outside the Northeast Corridor. D Commuter rail: rail service between a central city and adjacent suburbs (also called regional rail or suburban rail). E Transit rail: rail typically within an urban center, such as subways, elevated railways, metropolitan railways (metro), streetcars, trolley cars, and tramways.

1Factor specification

Values are per kgCO₂e/vehicle-mile

Product
Light-Duty Truck
Factor value
0.456982 kgCO₂e/vehicle-mile
Unit basis
vehicle-mile
GWP
AR4
Calculation approach
AR4 GWP100
Method
Activity-Specific Tank-to-Wheel (TTW)
Data period
2019
Year published
2022
Region
USA · USA
Dataset edition
2022

2Where it sits in the industry spread

21.1% of 42 · larger than the median

US EPA · 단위 vehicle-mileMiddle 50% band
0.186437Median 0.389951.47033

Compared against 42 factors in the same unit (vehicle-mile). Product families may be mixed, so treat it as indicative only. Measuring concrete and steel sheet with the same ruler says little.

3Breakdown by gas

4 items provided by the source

CO₂e total
0.456982
CO₂
0.454
CH₄
0.0003
N₂O
0.002682

4Factors to compare

0 under the same product · 6 with a similar value

Product · manufacturerRelationEditionFactor (kgCO₂e/vehicle-mile)vs this factor
Motorcycle · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySimilar value—0.383264▼ 16.1%
Motorcycle · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySimilar value—0.375468▼ 17.8%
Passenger Car · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySimilar value—0.346753▼ 24.1%
Passenger Car · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySimilar value—0.346753▼ 24.1%
Passenger Car · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySimilar value—0.343609▼ 24.8%
Passenger Car · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySimilar value—0.343609▼ 24.8%

Notes

  1. 1)The value is as published by US EPA; we do not alter it. EPA Emission Factors Hub
  2. 2)Factor values in the table are unified to kgCO₂e for comparison. The original unit is in "Factor specification".
  3. 3)Even with several editions the value often stays the same. "Checked and unchanged" is an answer too.
  4. 4)One of 13,844 factors from public sources. ecoinvent, EXIOBASE and IEA factors bar redistribution, so they aren't here. See why
Source: US EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), Dataset edition 2022, retrieved 2026-08-25. View original