The mainstream methods of calculation and verificationfor carbon emission was introduced, and calculation of carbon emission for a typical 660 MW coal-fired unit, 365 MW gas-fired unit and 660 MW oil-fired unit was introduced. Under given conditions, the total carbon emissions of the three types of thermal power plants are 2 303 751 t, 573 945 t and 1 988 626 t/a respectively, and the ratios of carbon emissions to electricity generation are 0.827 9,0.373 0 and 0.714 7 t/a respectively. Gas units emit the lowest carbon emissions per unit of electricity generation, only 45 percent of that of coal-fired units. Accordingly, oil-fired units emit 86% of the carbon emissions of coal-fired units. The burning of fossil fuels commonly accounts for more than 99% of the total carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants. The proportion of carbon emission from desulfurization process is related to the sulfur content in coal. The smallest proportion of carbon emissions is generated by net electricity purchases. In order to effectively regulate and reduce carbon emissions, it is suggested to comply with the development trend of high parameter and large capacity of coal-fired units, and actively deploy low-carbon and zero-carbon energy such as photovoltaic, wind power, nuclear power and hydropower.It is necessary to promote carbon sequestration methods such as technological and ecological carbon sequestration, develop green financial products, and standardize carbon emission trading markets.