# Does switching between Afghan, imported and local coal change a Pakistani cement plant's CO2?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/pakistan-cement-coal-source-emissions

Per unit of heat the difference is modest, since most bituminous and subbituminous coals sit near 95 kg CO2 per GJ; per tonne it can be large, because heat content varies. Work out CO2 from each lot's tonnes and lab tested heat value or carbon content, not from a single factor per tonne.

## Why per tonne misleads

A tonne of high ash local coal and a tonne of imported coal give very different heat. A per tonne factor overstates one and understates the other.

## What to keep

- Tonnes per lot from weighbridge and invoices.
- Lab gross calorific value, ash and moisture per lot.
- Carbon content if tested.

## Lignite

Thar lignite has a higher CO2 per GJ than bituminous coal. Treat it as its own fuel.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible reads fuel, raw material and electricity invoices into a dated, fingerprinted record per plant, so the clinker and cement figures can be traced back to the documents behind them.

- [Coal factor by GAR and NAR](https://senseible.earth/answers/imported-coal-gar-nar-emission-factor)
- [Chakwal clinker CO2](https://senseible.earth/answers/chakwal-cement-plant-coal-kiln-co2)
- [Indian coal by GCV](https://senseible.earth/answers/indian-coal-emissions-by-gcv)

Sources: [IPCC 2006 Guidelines, Volume 2: Energy](https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/vol2.html), [IPCC 2006 Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories](https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/)

Last reviewed 2026-10-21.