Natural rubber: Emissions
A tree crop with a modest 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 0.60 t CO2e per t range about 0.5-0.7 across latex concentrate, STR20 and RSS · Thai plantation and factory chain Global emissions per year 9.00 Mt CO2e per year 2024 · 14.83 Mt x 0.6 t CO2e/t, excluding land-use change (calculated, indicative)Per t of processed natural rubber (STR20, RSS or latex concentrate) at factory gate (cradle-to-gate, excluding land-use change). Intensity: Jawjit, Kroeze & Rattanapan 2010, Journal of Cleaner Production (indicative). Global total: FAOSTAT 2024; Jawjit et al. 2010.
Footprint by lifecycle phase
| Phase | Intensity | Share | Main sources of emissions | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extraction | the larger part of the gate total (split not available) | – | nitrogen fertiliser on plantations, field N2O; land clearing excluded here | Including forest conversion would raise the footprint many times. More than 4 million ha of Southeast Asian forest has been lost to rubber since 1993 (Wang et al. 2023, Nature, indicative). | Jawjit et al. 2010; Wang et al. 2023 (indicative) |
| Refining / processing | smaller part of the gate total | – | electricity for crumbing and drying TSR, fuelwood for smoking RSS, ammonia for latex, wastewater methane | Anaerobic wastewater ponds at block-rubber factories emit methane unless covered. | Jawjit et al. 2010 (indicative) |
| Movement | about 0.05-0.1 t CO2/t Laem Chabang to Qingdao by container (calculated, indicative) | – | container shipping | About 4,400 km at 10-20 g CO2 per t-km. Not in the gate total. | calculated; IMO 2020 order of magnitude (indicative) |
| Usage | tyre use phase dominates the tyre life cycle | – | rolling resistance adds to vehicle fuel or electricity use | Industry LCAs put the use phase at most of a tyre's life-cycle emissions (indicative). Natural rubber's low heat build-up helps low-rolling-resistance truck tyres. | tyre industry LCAs, e.g. ETRMA (indicative) |
| Recycling / end of life | recycling input rate 2% in the EU | – | vulcanised rubber cannot become new natural rubber; tyres are burned as fuel, granulated or reclaimed | India made about 1.5 lakh t of reclaimed rubber alongside 8.57 lakh t of natural rubber in 2023-24. | EU CRM 2023; Rubber World, Jan 2025 |
Other environmental impacts
Deforestation in mainland Southeast Asia and West Africa; the EU deforestation regulation covers rubber. Tyre-wear particles are a large source of microplastics.
Levers to cut emissions
- Deforestation-free sourcing under the EU regulation
- Raise yields on existing land (Indonesia 718 kg/ha against 2,281 kg/ha in India) instead of clearing forest
- Cover wastewater ponds and capture biogas at block-rubber factories
- Low-rolling-resistance and retreaded tyres to cut use-phase emissions
- Devulcanisation and reclaim to raise the 2% recycling input rate
India
Kerala's smallholders mostly make ribbed smoked sheet, smoked over rubberwood fires, while expansion is now in the North East (150,915 ha planted) where clearing of forest or shifting-cultivation land would add land-use emissions (Lok Sabha, Aug 2025; indicative).
Emission figures are indicative global averages from the life-cycle studies named; actual footprints vary widely by site, energy mix and method.