A CO2 comprehensive balance within the life-cycle of a photovoltaic energy system requires careful examination of the CO2 sinks and sources at the locations and under the conditions of production of each component, during transport, installation and operation, as well as at the site of recycling. Calculations of the possible effect on CO2 reduction by PV energy systems may be incorrect if system borders are not set wide enough and remain on a national level, as can be found in the literature. For the examples of Brazil and Germany, the effective CO2 reductions have been derived, also considering possible interchange scenarios for production and operation of the PV systems considering the carbon dioxide intensity of the local electricity grids. In the case of Brazil also off-grid applications and the substitution of diesel generating sets by photovoltaics are examined: CO2 reduction may reach 26,805 kg/kW(p) in that case. Doing these calculations, the compositions of the local grids and their CO2 intensity at the time of PV grid injection have to be taken into account. Also possible changes of the generation fuel mix in the future have to be considered: During the operation time of a PV system, different kinds of power plants could be installed that might change the CO2 intensity of the grid. In the future also advanced technologies such as thin films have to be considered. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.