An ISO 14067 carbon-source term for carbon contained in fossilized material.
Fossil carbon is carbon contained in fossilized material, separated from biogenic carbon because its source and climate-accounting implications differ. It is not a fuel category by itself and should be tied to a material, fuel, or process flow.
This page follows ISO 14067:2018. The definition supports product carbon-footprint modelling and should not be expanded into a general energy-policy or reserves definition.
ISO 14067:2018 - Greenhouse gases — Carbon footprint of products
carbon that is contained in fossilized material
Reference: 3.1.7.3
This term originates in ISO 14067:2018 and/or ISO 14044 LCA methodology. It is used in EU product regulation — particularly under the EU Battery Regulation (PEF method for carbon footprint) and ESPR (environmental footprint) — because both regulations require lifecycle-based quantification of environmental impacts. Practitioners applying these regulations should be familiar with these LCA/PEF concepts to correctly scope, conduct, and verify product-level environmental assessments.
Implementation records should capture the carbon-source record, fossilized-material link, feedstock or fuel, inventory flow, product-system process, data source, quantity, and distinction from biogenic-carbon flows.
Fossil carbon is a fossil-source classification control: the evidence consequence is that fossil-origin carbon can be traced through materials, fuels, and process emissions without collapsing it into generic carbon language.