# Do leaks from CO2 refrigeration systems count in Scope 1?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/co2-refrigerant-r744-leaks-scope-1

Yes, but they are tiny. CO2 as a refrigerant, called R744, has a global warming potential of 1, so a 10 kg leak is 10 kg CO2e. The same leak of a common HFC would count hundreds or thousands of times more. Record top-ups like any refrigerant.

## What still matters

- Electricity use, which is usually far larger than leaks.
- Any HFC used in a cascade system.
- Top-up records from the service contractor.

## Choosing a system

Compare total emissions over the system life, electricity plus leaks, not only the refrigerant GWP.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible reads fuel invoices and electricity bills and applies IPCC 2006 factors and the CEA grid factor (0.710 kg CO2 per kWh), so you can compare Scope 1 and 2 before and after a change from the documents themselves.

- [Low GWP refrigerant choice](https://senseible.earth/answers/low-gwp-refrigerant-choice-new-chiller)
- [Refrigerant top-up to CO2e](https://senseible.earth/answers/refrigerant-top-up-invoice-to-co2e)

Sources: [IPCC AR6 Working Group I](https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/), [GHG Protocol Corporate Standard](https://ghgprotocol.org/corporate-standard), [Ozone Cell, MoEFCC](https://www.ozonecell.nic.in)

Last reviewed 2026-10-23.