Which grid emission factor should we use for electricity at a supplier's plant in China?
Use the latest national average grid factor published by China's environment ministry, which has been somewhere between 0.5 and 0.6 kg CO2 per kWh, or a regional factor if your buyer asks for one. It matters for footprints, cement and fertilisers, not for steel or aluminium CBAM figures.
Where the factor comes from
China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment publishes a national average grid emission factor and updates it as the power mix changes. International databases such as the IEA's also publish country figures; state which one you used and its year.
When it matters
- Scope 2 and product carbon footprints asked for by buyers.
- CBAM indirect emissions for cement and fertiliser goods.
- Not the charged CBAM figure for iron, steel or aluminium, which counts direct emissions only.
Regional differences
A plant in a hydro-heavy province draws on a cleaner grid than one in a coal-heavy province. A regional factor can be more accurate, but use it only if it is published and your buyer accepts it.
What Senseible does here
Senseible reads fuel, electricity and production documents into dated, fingerprinted plant records, so the monthly intensity behind a figure can be traced to its source.
Sources: GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance, International Energy Agency, CBAM Regulation (EU) 2023/956, consolidated
Last reviewed 2026-10-22.