Decarb

Most carbon calculators stop at diet and transport. They skip the category that often surprises people most: where your money sits.

A $10,000 savings account at a major fossil-fuel-financing bank carries an estimated 1.4 tons CO₂e per year in financed emissions — before you've bought a single thing. That figure is based on the PCAF Global GHG Accounting Standard v3, which attributes a share of a bank's lending portfolio emissions to depositors proportionally.

The actual figure varies by bank depending on their lending portfolio. But for most large commercial banks with significant fossil fuel exposure, the order of magnitude is real.

Switching to a fossil-free institution removes that allocation entirely. One decision, no lifestyle change required.

Decarb includes finance in the footprint calculation — one of very few calculators that does. Try it free at decarb.co/calculator

Source: PCAF Global GHG Accounting Standard v3, 2023

Eating a cheeseburger every day adds an estimated 0.9 tons CO₂e to your annual footprint. Beef produces roughly 50 kg CO₂e per 100g protein — around 30 times more than lentils.

The −98% difference isn't a rounding error. It's the result of land use, methane, and feed production adding up across the supply chain.

Frequency matters more than brand or sourcing. Grass-fed beef still emits 43–55 kg CO₂e per 100g protein — the label changes, the order of magnitude doesn't.

The single highest-leverage food change isn't going fully plant-based. It's reducing beef specifically.

Calculate your full food footprint at decarb.co/calculator

Source: Poore & Nemecek, Science 2018

One transatlantic round trip emits roughly the same CO₂e as an entire month of driving. Most people know flying is emissions-intensive — fewer know the actual number for their specific route.

NYC → London RT: 0.57t CO₂e. LA → NYC RT: 0.26t. NYC → Miami RT: 0.08t. All economy class, ICAO methodology, radiative forcing excluded.

A few things the calculator is honest about: — There's no dollar savings figure. Flying cheaper doesn't reduce emissions. — Including radiative forcing roughly doubles each figure. The calculator shows both. — Route matters far more than airline choice for the same route.

Calculate your specific route at decarb.co/flight-calculator

Source: ICAO ICEC methodology · UK DESNZ radiative forcing factors

A typical 6 kW rooftop solar system eliminates an estimated 1.8 tons CO₂e per year from your electricity bill — and saves around $1,400 annually at average US electricity prices.

The two figures don't always move together:

Hawaii: high electricity prices mean high dollar savings (~$2,800/yr), and the grid is oil-heavy so CO₂e displacement is also significant.

Pacific Northwest: lower dollar savings (cheaper electricity), and lower CO₂e displaced — because hydro already makes the grid relatively clean. Installing solar there still makes financial sense in some cases, but the emissions case is weaker.

The calculator uses NREL PVWatts irradiance data and eGRID 2023 state grid factors, so both outputs reflect your actual state rather than a national average.

Calculate your rooftop solar saving at decarb.co/solar-calculator

Source: eGRID 2023 · NREL PVWatts · EIA electricity prices 2024

Switching from a 25 MPG petrol car to an EV saves an estimated 1.5 tons CO₂e per year on the average US grid — and around $1,200 in annual fuel costs.

Both figures vary significantly by state, and it matters:

CO₂e saved: Vermont ~2.4t (clean grid), Texas ~1.1t (gas-heavy grid), national average ~1.5t. The saving tracks your state's grid carbon intensity from eGRID 2023.

Dollar saved: depends on local electricity price vs gas price. Hawaii has expensive electricity but no local oil refining — the numbers shift accordingly.

The calculator takes three inputs — your car's MPG, annual miles, and state — and returns both figures specific to your situation. It also shows a payback note if you enter the EV price premium.

Calculate your EV saving at decarb.co/ev-calculator

Source: eGRID 2023 · EPA fuel economy data · EIA fuel prices 2024

Three new calculators — each designed to answer one specific question in under a minute, with two outputs: the CO₂e figure and the dollar saving.

Flight emissions calculator (decarb.co/flight-calculator)
Enter any route and get the estimated CO₂e per passenger — economy or business, with or without radiative forcing. No dollar savings figure: flying cheaper doesn't reduce emissions, and the calculator is honest about that.

EV vs petrol calculator (decarb.co/ev-calculator)
Enter your current car's MPG, annual miles, and US state. Get the estimated tons CO₂e saved per year and the estimated fuel cost saving — both adjusted for your state's grid and local energy prices.

Solar PV savings calculator (decarb.co/solar-calculator)
Enter your state and monthly electricity bill. Get the estimated CO₂e avoided and annual bill saving for a rooftop system — using NREL PVWatts irradiance data and eGRID 2023 grid factors.

All three are free, no account required, and link through to the full footprint calculator if you want the complete picture.

Source: ICAO ICEC · eGRID 2023 · NREL PVWatts · EIA 2024

A cheeseburger carries an estimated 3.5 kg CO₂e. The beef patty accounts for ~90% of that. Swipe to see the full breakdown — component by component, protein by protein, and what frequency reduction actually saves.

Calculate yours → https://decarb.typeform.com/to/hKcrdP?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post

Buying local food is widely seen as one of the best climate choices you can make in a grocery store. For most products, transport accounts for less than 10% of lifecycle emissions. Production method dominates — not distance. Swipe to see what the data actually shows.

Calculate yours → https://decarb.typeform.com/to/hKcrdP?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post

Grass-fed beef is widely perceived as a low-emission alternative. The data doesn't support it.

Grass-fed cattle take longer to reach slaughter weight — more methane per kg of beef. Any soil carbon benefit offsets at most 20–60% of total emissions, and those offsets aren't permanent. The meaningful comparison isn't grass-fed vs feedlot. It's beef vs everything else.

Calculate yours → https://decarb.typeform.com/to/hKcrdP?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post

Turning off lights all year saves an estimated 0.05 tons CO₂e. One fewer transatlantic flight saves 1.5–2.5 tons. That's a 30–50× difference from a single decision. We judge impact by how visible an action feels — not what the data shows.

Calculate yours → https://decarb.typeform.com/to/hKcrdP?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post