Potatoes: Emissions
One of the lowest-carbon foods you can eat
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 0.30 t CO2e per t range 0.21 (Clark et al. 2022) to 0.46 (Poore & Nemecek global mean) · cradle-to-retail global median, GWP100 Global emissions per year 120 Mt CO2e per year 2024 · 0.3 t CO2e/t x 390.4 Mt; about 180 Mt at the 0.46 mean (indicative)Per t of potatoes at retail; cradle-to-retail (cooking excluded). Intensity: Poore & Nemecek 2018 (Science), median stage values as tabulated by Our World in Data (indicative). Global total: derived from FAOSTAT 2024 and Poore & Nemecek 2018 (indicative).
Share of footprint by lifecycle phase
Extraction 67% Movement 33%Footprint by lifecycle phase
| Phase | Intensity | Share | Main sources of emissions | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extraction | about 0.2 t CO2e/t | 67% | nitrogen fertiliser and field N2O, diesel, irrigation pumping | No land-use change on average: potatoes give high yields on existing farmland. | Poore & Nemecek 2018 (Science), median stage values as tabulated by Our World in Data (indicative) |
| Refining / processing | about 0 t CO2e/t for fresh potatoes | 0% | washing, grading; storage energy | Frying and freezing add a lot for processed products: Clark et al. 2022 put frozen fries at 0.75 t CO2e/t versus 0.21 for fresh potatoes. Cold storage power is also not captured in a global median. | Poore & Nemecek 2018 (Science), median stage values as tabulated by Our World in Data (indicative); Clark et al. 2022 (PNAS), via Our World in Data |
| Movement | about 0.1 t CO2e/t | 33% | trucking of a bulky, wet crop | Mostly local and by road; frozen fries add reefer shipping. | Poore & Nemecek 2018 (Science), median stage values as tabulated by Our World in Data (indicative) |
| Usage | not in the cradle-to-retail total | – | boiling, frying and baking at home; household waste | Cooking energy can be similar in size to farming for potatoes, but published global averages leave it out. | Poore & Nemecek 2018 boundary (indicative) |
| Recycling / end of life | not applicable as recycling | – | peel and processing waste | Peel and rejects go to animal feed or biogas; landfilled waste emits methane. | indicative |
Other environmental impacts
Low land use (about 0.8 m2 per kg, Clark et al. 2022) and modest water use. Pesticide use is high against late blight. Storage chemicals such as sprout inhibitors are regulated.
Levers to cut emissions
- Higher yields: India's 24.6 t/ha against 50.9 t/ha in the US means more inputs per tonne in India (FAOSTAT 2024)
- Precise nitrogen and inhibitor use to cut field N2O
- Energy-efficient and solar-backed cold stores; cutting storage losses
- Clean seed to cut yield losses to virus diseases
India
India's 40.22 Mt of cold-storage capacity runs largely on grid power at about 0.7 t CO2 per MWh (CEA, indicative), so storage adds a footprint that global medians do not show. At 0.3 t CO2e/t, India's 57.1 Mt crop implies roughly 17 Mt CO2e a year before storage (derived, indicative).
Emission figures are indicative global averages from the life-cycle studies named; actual footprints vary widely by site, energy mix and method.