# Natural rubber: Emissions

A tree crop with a modest footprint

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

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.

## Other sections

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