Rapeseed: Emissions
Weighing the carbon in a litre of rapeseed oil
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 3.77 t CO2e per t range about 2.5 (Alcock et al. 2022 median) to 3.8 (Poore & Nemecek mean) · cradle-to-retail, GWP100 Global emissions per year 138 Mt CO2e per year 2025/26 · 3.77 t CO2e/t x 36.6 Mt of rapeseed oil (indicative; the median intensity would give about 91 Mt)Per kg (or t) of refined rapeseed oil at retail; cradle-to-retail. Intensity: Poore & Nemecek 2018 (Science), via Our World in Data (indicative); Alcock et al. 2022, Science of the Total Environment 829:154539 (median 3.81 kg CO2e/kg refined oil across oil crops; rapeseed 2.49, soybean 4.25). Global total: derived from USDA PSD (36.6 Mt oil from 90.1 Mt crush) with Poore & Nemecek 2018 (Science), via Our World in Data (indicative).
Share of footprint by lifecycle phase
Extraction 65% Refining / processing 29% Movement 6%Footprint by lifecycle phase
| Phase | Intensity | Share | Main sources of emissions | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extraction | about 2.4 t CO2e/t oil | 65% | nitrogen fertiliser manufacture and field N2O; diesel | conventional tillage in Canada gave more than twice the emissions of no-till systems in one study | Poore & Nemecek 2018 (Science), via Our World in Data; stage shares approximate (indicative); Popular Science summary of published studies |
| Refining / processing | about 1.1 t CO2e/t oil (crushing, refining and packaging) | 29% | steam and hexane in solvent extraction; bottles and packaging | part of the crop burden is allocated to the meal | Poore & Nemecek 2018 (Science), via Our World in Data; stage shares approximate (indicative) |
| Movement | about 0.2 t CO2e/t oil | 6% | rail to Vancouver; bulk shipping | Poore & Nemecek 2018 (Science), via Our World in Data; stage shares approximate (indicative) | |
| Usage | not in the boundary | – | cooking; biodiesel (EU's main biodiesel feedstock) and renewable diesel | combustion CO2 in biodiesel is biogenic | not quantified |
| Recycling / end of life | not applicable as recycling | – | meal and mustard cake to feed and manure; used cooking oil to biodiesel | used cooking oil biodiesel saves roughly 80-90% against fossil diesel | EU Renewable Energy Directive II default values (indicative) |
Other environmental impacts
Rapeseed is a heavy user of nitrogen and insecticides. Little recent deforestation is linked to it, because it grows in temperate farmland.
Levers to cut emissions
- No-till and reduced tillage on the Canadian prairies
- Precision nitrogen and nitrification inhibitors
- Lower-carbon fertiliser and renewable energy at crush plants
- Higher yields in India's rain-fed mustard belt
India
India grows rabi mustard on about 9-10 Mha of rain-fed or lightly irrigated land with modest fertiliser, at about 1.44 t/ha (FAOSTAT 2024); it is India's main domestic oilseed and replaces imported oil with a land-use-change-free footprint.
Emission figures are indicative global averages from the life-cycle studies named; actual footprints vary widely by site, energy mix and method.