Environmental-economic Accounts: Data To 2023

Environmental-economic accounts show how our environment contributes to our economy, the impacts of economic activity on our environment, and how we respond to environmental issues.

Stats NZ's environmental-economic accounts show the interactions between the environment and the economy to provide a clearer understanding of environmental-economic pressures, dependencies, trade-offs, and impacts. It is done within the United Nations' System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) framework, which specifies how environmental data can be integrated coherently with economic data from the System of National Accounts.

All accounts are expressed in monetary units and in current prices for the year to March.

Key facts

In the year to March 2023:

• Total environmental taxes were $5.2 billion, most of which were transport (51 percent) and energy (45 percent) taxes. From 2022-2023, environmental taxes decreased 21 percent ($1.4 billion).
• Marine economy contributed $4.6 billion to New Zealand's gross domestic product (GDP). This was an increase of 7.9 percent compared with 2022. The contribution of the marine economy to GDP in 2023 was 1.2 percent.
• The total asset value of renewable energy was $13.7 billion. Hydro generation made up 69 percent of total asset value, followed by geothermal (21 percent).
• Central and local government expenditure on environmental protection (on a final consumption basis) increased 15 percent ($381 million) to total $2.9 billion. Local government contributed 68 percent ($1.9 billion) to this total, and central government 32 percent ($904 million).

Environmental protection expenditure

Environmental protection expenditure includes expenditure by central and local government on activities that prevent, reduce, and eliminate pollution as well as other forms of environmental degradation.

General government final consumption expenditure on environmental protection (central and local government together) increased 15 percent ($381 million) in the year to March 2023. Total central government environmental protection expenditure increased 5.1 percent ($44 million), representing 1.2 percent of total central government final consumption expenditure. Total local government environmental protection expenditure increased 21 percent ($335 million), representing 21 percent of total local government final consumption expenditure.

Environmental taxes

Environmental taxes include the amount of energy, transport, pollution, and resource taxes paid to government for something that has a proven scientific negative impact on the environment.

In the year to March 2023, environmental taxes decreased 21 percent ($1.4 billion) to a total of $5.2 billion, making up 4.0 percent of total revenue from taxes and social security contributions. The key movements were:

• energy base, down 34 percent ($1.2 billion)
• transport base, down 10 percent ($290 million)
• pollution base, up 63 percent ($38 million).

The decrease in environmental taxes in the year to March 2023 was primarily from a $1.2 billion decrease (down 34 percent) from the energy tax base. Contributing to the decrease was a drop in taxes on greenhouse gases due to the implementation of an updated Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) taxes methodology (2024 preview of national accounts improvements) and the removal of some taxes associated with the closure of the Marsden Point oil refinery. Auctioning of New Zealand units as part of the ETS was introduced in the first quarter of 2021. Taxes from the energy base comprised 45 percent of environmental tax take during the year to March 2023, down from 54 percent during the previous year.

Decreases in taxes from the transport base are from taxes associated with vehicle and road use (road user charges). During the March 2023 year, road user charges and petrol excise duty were reduced for a limited time, in a Government policy response to the higher cost of living. Taxes from the transport base comprised 51 percent of environmental tax take in the year to March 2023.

Increases in taxes from the pollution base are from taxes associated with the waste disposal levy. Taxes from the pollution base comprised 1.9 percent of environmental tax take in the year to March 2023. The two remaining environmental tax bases (the 'other' and the 'resources' bases) collectively comprised 2.0 percent of environmental tax take in the year to March 2023.

In the year to March 2023, industry contributed 57 percent of total environmental taxes collected, households contributed 16 percent, and the remaining 27 percent were unallocated. The decrease in the proportion of industry taxes from 76 percent in 2022 is associated with the increase in unallocated taxes. Unallocated taxes include the fuel duties portion of customs imports duties. Taxes on petroleum products that were classified to industry prior to the closure of the refinery are now classified as import duties and unallocated to industry.

Marine economy

The marine economy account values the economic activities that take place in or use the marine environment to produce goods and services.

In the year ended March 2023, the marine economy directly contributed $4.6 billion to New Zealand's gross domestic product (GDP). This was an increase of 7.9 percent compared with 2022, though the overall contribution of the marine economy to total GDP remained at 1.2 percent.

In 2023, 69 percent of the asset value of renewables came from hydro generation, 21 percent from geothermal, 7.5 percent from wind, 1.1 percent from wood, 0.8 percent from solar, and 0.7 percent from biogas. Solar was the only generation type to show an asset value increase in the March 2023 year, up 1.2 percent on the previous year.

Definitions and metadata

Environmental-economic accounts: Data to 2023 - DataInfo+ presents the data sources and methods used for the compilation of each of the environmental-economic.

Environmental-economic accounts: Sources and methods (third edition) presents the data sources and methods for the entire suite of accounts produced by Stats NZ under the System of Environmental Economic Accounting framework.

Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification 2006 (ANZSIC06) is used to classify industries so that they align with economic statistics, such as GDP and employment.

Technical enquiries

Jane Harkness
04 931 4312
[email protected]

ISSN 2624-0777

Next release

Environmental-economic accounts: Data to 2024 is scheduled for release in March 2026.