Source: Statistics New Zealand
Greenhouse gas emissions (consumption-based): Year ended 2022 (provisional) – information release – 6 December 2024 – Consumption-based greenhouse gas emissions statistics link the emissions from production, whether domestic or overseas, that become embodied in goods and services – including the extraction, manufacturing, and transport activities that take place throughout the entire supply chain – to the final consumer.
Emissions are reported by the domestic final consumption groups of households, government, non-profit institutions serving households, and investment in physical assets. Consumption-based emissions are often referred to as a nation’s carbon footprint. Values are in carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2-e), based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fifth Assessment Report.
Key facts
In the year ended December 2022:
- total consumption-based emissions were 57,254 kilotonnes, down 4.4 percent from 2021 and 7.7 percent (4,777 kilotonnes) lower than pre-COVID-19 levels in 2019
- household consumption was the largest contributor, accounting for 67 percent (38,592 kilotonnes) of total emissions
- the carbon footprint of households decreased the most, by 1,401 kilotonnes (3.5 percent), driven by lower emissions embodied in housing and household utilities (down 16 percent, 878 kilotonnes)
- total emissions embodied in the consumption of international tourists increased 1,717 kilotonnes, as border restrictions eased
- emissions embodied in imports increased 1.0 percent (275 kilotonnes)
- emissions embodied in exports was largely unchanged
- New Zealand was a net exporter of greenhouse gas emissions in 2022, with emissions embodied in exports 79 percent greater than emissions embodied in imports
- emissions embodied in gross fixed capital formation decreased 2.7 percent (352 kilotonnes), driven by a 3.6 percent (138 kilotonnes) decrease in emissions from residential buildings.
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