Refineries prove a key contributor to global GHG emissions, responsible for 1.2 gigatonnes of CO2e each year
Emissions from the refining sector
19 May 2026
Refineries prove a key contributor to global GHG emissions, responsible for 1.2 Gt of CO2e each year
Refinery emissions are not a peripheral concern. At 1.2 gigatonnes of CO2e per year, they represent a substantial share of the oil and gas sector's direct emissions footprint, and the pressure to account for them, facility by facility, is growing.
Regulatory frameworks such as the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism are shifting the conversation from sector-level targets to asset-level accountability. For refiners, traders and energy companies operating across borders, that shift has real financial consequences.
Rystad Energy's latest whitepaper, Emissions from the refining sector, draws on our global refinery emissions database covering more than 1,000 facilities to examine:
Where emissions are concentrated, and why Asia's share exceeds its production volume
How refinery complexity drives significant variation in emissions intensity
Why the US and China lead in absolute terms, but tell very different stories on a per-barrel basis
What a consistent, asset-level emissions dataset means for decarbonisation planning and competitive positioning