Sugar: Emissions
Land clearing and the true cost of a sugar cube
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 0.55 t CO2e per t range 0.45-0.63 · cradle-to-mill-gate; Thailand (0.55) and four Mexican mills (0.45-0.63). Including land-use change and the supply chain to retail, Poore & Nemecek put cane sugar at about 3.2 and beet sugar at about 1.8 kg CO2e per kg Global emissions per year 100 Mt CO2e per year 2026/27 · 185 Mt of sugar x 0.55 t CO2e/t at mill gate; excluding land-use change, ethanol and shipping (calculated, indicative)Per t of raw or plantation white cane sugar at mill gate (cradle-to-gate, excluding land-use change and shipping). Intensity: Yuttitham, Gheewala & Chidthaisong 2011, J. Cleaner Production; Garcia 2016 (UNAM, RCN conference); Poore & Nemecek 2018 via Our World in Data (indicative). Global total: USDA PSD; Yuttitham et al. 2011.
Share of footprint by lifecycle phase
Extraction 89% Refining / processing 11%Footprint by lifecycle phase
| Phase | Intensity | Share | Main sources of emissions | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extraction | about 0.49 t CO2e/t sugar | 89% | nitrogen fertiliser manufacture and field N2O, diesel for tillage and haulage, pre-harvest cane burning | Farming was 59-74% of emissions at Mexican mills. Land-use change, excluded here, is the biggest addition in Poore & Nemecek's cradle-to-retail figure. | Yuttitham et al. 2011; Garcia 2016 |
| Refining / processing | about 0.06 t CO2e/t sugar at a cane mill | 11% | fossil fuel top-up in boilers, lime and chemicals; bagasse supplies most steam and its CO2 is biogenic | Industrial stage 14-30% at Mexican mills. Destination refining of raws adds fossil energy, because standalone refineries have no bagasse. | Yuttitham et al. 2011; Garcia 2016 |
| Movement | about 0.08-0.13 t CO2/t for Santos to Indonesia by bulk carrier (calculated, indicative) | – | trucking cane to the mill, bulk shipping of raws | Calculated as about 16,700 km at 5-8 g CO2 per t-km for bulk carriers (IMO Fourth GHG Study 2020 order of magnitude). Not included in the mill-gate total. | Calculated; IMO 2020 (indicative) |
| Usage | not applicable as direct emissions | – | sugar is eaten; food waste is the main use-phase impact | Where cane goes to ethanol, combustion CO2 is biogenic. The US EPA classes Brazilian cane ethanol as an advanced biofuel, meaning at least 50% lower life-cycle GHG than petrol. | US EPA Renewable Fuel Standard (indicative) |
| Recycling / end of life | not applicable | – | no recycling; by-products are reused | Bagasse fuels mills and exports power; molasses goes to ethanol and feed; vinasse and press mud return to fields, where they can emit N2O and methane if stored badly. | content_v2 sugar methods |
Other environmental impacts
Cane is water-intensive and pre-harvest burning causes local air pollution. Land-use change is the largest extra impact in cradle-to-retail studies. Vinasse lagoons can emit methane.
Levers to cut emissions
- Green (unburnt) mechanised harvest: Sao Paulo state legislated a phase-out of cane burning from 2002 (indicative)
- Cut nitrogen use and N2O with vinasse and filter cake as fertiliser substitutes, since farming is 59-89% of mill-gate emissions
- High-pressure bagasse cogeneration to export more renewable power from each tonne of cane
- Biogas from vinasse to replace diesel and avoid lagoon methane
- Ethanol diversion: India diverted 3.4 Mt of sugar equivalent to ethanol in 2025-26, displacing petrol
India
Indian mills burn bagasse for steam and power, so most of the footprint sits in the field, from urea N2O, irrigation pumping and residue burning. India diverted 3.4 Mt of sugar equivalent to ethanol in 2025-26 to support its petrol blending programme (ISMA 2025-26).
Emission figures are indicative global averages from the life-cycle studies named; actual footprints vary widely by site, energy mix and method.