Pro-Poor Tourism (PPT) is recognized as an effective development approach in China, especially in rural areas. However, with the considerable scale of PPT, the extent to which tourism participation transitioned from traditional livelihoods may impact the natural environment lacks research attention. This study seeks to measure the accumulated carbon emissions during livelihood transitions in PPT. Data was collected from 425 households in 12 villages in the rural area of Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous state of Hubei Province, China. An extended STIPRAT model is adopted to estimate carbon emission differences before and after livelihood transitions. Participants were categorized into five groups based on their reported level of tourism participation. It is found that transforming to tourism-related professions generally produced an increase in carbon emissions. This increase is higher for larger households and lower for households with more diversified livelihoods and higher education levels.