# Cocoa: Emissions

How cleared forests drive chocolate's footprint

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cocoa/emissions/

How cleared forests drive chocolate's footprint What this tab covers The greenhouse-gas footprint of the commodity at a global level, split by lifecycle phase: extraction (or farming), refining and processing, movement, usage, and recycling or end of life. Intensities are per unit of product; the global total combines intensity with world output. Also covers other environmental impacts and the main levers to cut emissions. Emission intensity 18.7 kg CO2e per kg range mean about 47; very wide spread driven by deforestation · global supply-chain breakdown; most emissions come from forest cleared for cocoa

Per kg of dark chocolate (cradle-to-retail, including land-use change). Intensity: Poore & Nemecek 2018, Science, via Our World in Data (indicative). Global total: not published in sources used.

#### Share of footprint by lifecycle phase
 Extraction 96% Refining / processing 3% Movement 1%

#### Footprint by lifecycle phase

| Phase | Intensity | Share | Main sources of emissions | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Extraction** | about 18.0 kg CO2e/kg (land-use change 14.3, farm 3.7) | 96% | clearing tropical forest for new cocoa land; some fertiliser | Low yields (world average 475 kg/ha in 2024) mean more land per tonne. | Poore & Nemecek 2018 via OWID (indicative); FAOSTAT 2024 |
| **Refining / processing** | about 0.6 kg CO2e/kg (processing 0.2, packaging 0.4) | 3% | roasting, grinding, pressing, conching energy; packaging | Sugar and milk powder add more in milk chocolate. | Poore & Nemecek 2018 via OWID (indicative) |
| **Movement** | about 0.1 kg CO2e/kg | 1% | shipping beans from West Africa and Ecuador to Europe | Abidjan to Amsterdam is about 8,000 km; small next to land use. | Poore & Nemecek 2018 via OWID (indicative) |
| **Usage** | not applicable | – | eaten without cooking | Food waste and chilled storage are minor. | qualitative |
| **Recycling / end of life** | not applicable | – | no recycling; shells and pod husks are by-products | Shells are burned for fuel or used as mulch and feed. | content_v2 cocoa methods |

#### Other environmental impacts

Cocoa is a leading driver of forest loss in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. The EU deforestation regulation (from 30 December 2026) bars beans from land deforested after 2020. Child labour is a major social issue on West African farms.

#### Levers to cut emissions

- Zero-deforestation sourcing and plot-level traceability under the EU regulation, targeting the 14.3 kg CO2e/kg land-use share
- Raise yields on existing land: world average 475 kg/ha against 2-2.5 t/ha on good Ecuadorian estates
- Agroforestry with shade trees that store carbon
- Renewable energy at grinding plants and biomass boilers using shells

#### India

India grows only about 30,000 t, intercropped under areca and coconut in Karnataka and Kerala, so its farm footprint has little deforestation. Most Indian demand is met by imports whose footprint depends on West African and Indonesian origin (FAOSTAT 2024; Grant Thornton Bharat).
 Emission figures are indicative global averages from the life-cycle studies named; actual footprints vary widely by site, energy mix and method.

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cocoa/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cocoa/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cocoa/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cocoa/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cocoa/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cocoa/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cocoa/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cocoa/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cocoa/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cocoa/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cocoa/characteristics/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cocoa/links/index.md)