Greenhouse gas emissions statistics include the emissions gas type for both industries and households, the emissions intensity (emissions in relation to GDP/economic output) for industries, and tourism-related emissions.
Industry and household emissions estimates use the latest New Zealand Greenhouse Gas Inventory data from the Ministry for the Environment and show updated production-based gross emissions for the years ended December 2007 through to 2022, on a System of Environmental-Economic Accounts (SEEA) basis.
This release is the first of Stats NZ's greenhouse gas emissions accounts to use updated global warming potentials from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fifth Assessment Report.
Fifth Assessment Report has more information.
This change maintains alignment between Stats NZ's emissions accounts and New Zealand's Greenhouse Gas Inventory produced by the Ministry for the Environment.
Data from 116 industries is available as a downloadable CSV under Download data. In addition, we have added the following two CSVs:
- 'Greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household): Year ended 2022 - NZSIOC - CSV' provides emissions data from 116 industries at the NZSIOC or three-digit level
- 'Greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household): Year ended 2022 - intensity - CSV' provides emissions intensity in indexed units or as kilotonnes per $1 million value added (in constant prices) at a 31-industry level.
Key facts
Year ended December 2022
- Gross greenhouse gas emissions from New Zealand's industries and households were 79,749 kilotonnes (carbon dioxide equivalent). This is a fall of 3.5 percent (2,869 kilotonnes) from 2021.
- The fall was driven by a 3.7 percent decrease (2,736 kilotonnes) in industry-related emissions.
- Household emissions also decreased 1.6 percent (133 kilotonnes) due to a decrease in household transport emissions.
- The largest changes to industry emissions were:
- electricity, gas, water, and waste services, down 1,827 kilotonnes (20.9 percent), driven by electricity and gas supply
- manufacturing, down 969 kilotonnes (9.5 percent), driven by petroleum, chemical, polymer, and rubber product manufacturing
- agriculture, forestry, and fishing, down 773 kilotonnes (1.7 percent), driven by sheep, beef-cattle, and grain farming.
- Emissions from industries were 89.5 percent of the total, with 10.5 percent coming from households.
- Service industries, as a broad industry group, contributed the least to total greenhouse gas emissions (9.8 percent).
- Primary industries contributed the most greenhouse gas emissions (57.2 percent).
- Emissions attributable to tourism in 2022 accounted for 4.8 percent of total emissions.
| Industry | Kilotonnes |
| "Transport | 694 |
| postal | 191 |
| and warehousing" | 30 |
| Mining | 17 |
| Wholesale trade | 13 |
| "Arts | 7 |
| recreation | -4 |
| and other services" | -6 |
| Health care and social assistance | -17 |
| Education and training | -33 |
| Accommodation and food services | -59 |
| Retail trade | -133 |
| Government and defence | -773 |
| "Telecommunications | -969 |
| financial | -1827 |
| rental | |
| professional | |
| and administrative services" | |
| Construction | |
| Households | |
| "Agriculture | |
| forestry | |
| and fishing" | |
| Manufacturing | |
| "Electricity | |
| gas | |
| water | |
| and waste services" |
Comparing 2022 with 2007 (years ended December)
Total greenhouse gas emissions from industry and households were 8.4 percent (7,323 kilotonnes) lower than their 2007 level, which is the start of the time series.
| Year | Industries | Households | Total (industries and households) |
| 2007 | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 |
| 2008 | 1003 | 962 | 1000 |
| 2009 | 960 | 968 | 961 |
| 2010 | 967 | 967 | 967 |
| 2011 | 962 | 967 | 962 |
| 2012 | 993 | 961 | 990 |
| 2013 | 983 | 955 | 980 |
| 2014 | 992 | 976 | 990 |
| 2015 | 986 | 1026 | 989 |
| 2016 | 957 | 1048 | 966 |
| 2017 | 972 | 1089 | 983 |
| 2018 | 980 | 1081 | 989 |
| 2019 | 995 | 1081 | 1003 |
| 2020 | 948 | 1011 | 954 |
| 2021 | 940 | 1036 | 949 |
| 2022 | 905 | 1019 | 916 |
- Industry-related emissions were 9.5 percent (7,482 kilotonnes) lower.
- Household emissions were 1.9 percent higher (159 kilotonnes). The number of households in New Zealand has grown by 23.4 percent over the same 2007‒2022 period.
- Industries with the largest reduction in emissions were electricity, gas, water, and waste services, down 39.3 percent (4,477 kilotonnes, driven by electricity and gas supply); and transport, postal, and warehousing, down 23.3 percent (1,559 kilotonnes).
- The construction industry had the largest increase in emissions, up 95.1 percent (911 kilotonnes).
| Industry | Kilotonnes |
| Construction | 911 |
| Wholesale trade | 190 |
| Households | 159 |
| Government and defence | 90 |
| "Arts | 54 |
| recreation | 20 |
| and other services" | -35 |
| Health care and social assistance | -42 |
| Accommodation and food services | -78 |
| Education and training | -135 |
| Retail trade | -598 |
| "Telecommunications | -841 |
| financial | -983 |
| rental | -1559 |
| professional | -4477 |
| and administrative services" | |
| "Agriculture | |
| forestry | |
| and fishing" | |
| Mining | |
| Manufacturing | |
| "Transport | |
| postal | |
| and warehousing" | |
| "Electricity | |
| gas | |
| water | |
| and waste services" |
The next sections cover emissions intensity, emissions by broad industry group and by gas type, emissions related to tourism, and additional detail on industry-group emissions over time.
Emissions intensity
An industry's emissions intensity is the ratio of greenhouse gas emissions to value added (sometimes referred to as an industry's contribution to GDP). It can tell us how many emissions are produced per dollar added to the economy by the industry. If value added increases at a greater rate than emissions, emissions per unit of value added is less and the emissions intensity decreases. Emission intensity ratios are a standardised measure for each industry and therefore can be used to compare across industries.
Comparing 2022 with 2021 (years ended December)
| Industry | Percent |
| Mining | 27.4 |
| Education and training | 11.3 |
| "Transport | 7.6 |
| postal | 5 |
| and warehousing" | 0.2 |
| "Arts | -0.8 |
| recreation | -1.2 |
| and other services" | -2.8 |
| Wholesale trade | -3.7 |
| Retail trade | -4.5 |
| Health care and social assistance | -5.5 |
| Construction | -7.5 |
| "Agriculture | -10 |
| forestry | -23 |
| and fishing" | |
| Manufacturing | |
| Government and defence | |
| Accommodation and food services | |
| "Telecommunications | |
| financial | |
| rental | |
| professional | |
| and administrative services" | |
| "Electricity | |
| gas | |
| water | |
| and waste services" |
Between 2021 and 2022, emissions intensity for industries fell 5.9 percent. Electricity, gas, water, and waste services had the largest reduction in emissions intensity, dropping 23 percent. Emissions intensity of telecommunications, financial, rental, professional, and administrative service and accommodation and food services fell 10.0 and 7.5 percent respectively.
Emissions intensity of manufacturing over time
Emissions intensity is derived as an industry's emissions divided by its value added. As an example, the emissions intensity for manufacturing industries at the total level has been declining since 2014. This is primarily associated with increases in value added by units in these industries and, to a smaller degree, decreases in emissions by these units.
Note: value added is in constant prices and therefore accounts for inflation.
| Year | Emissions intensity | Value added | Emissions (CO2-e) |
| 2007 | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 |
| 2008 | 1035 | 942 | 975 |
| 2009 | 1078 | 858 | 925 |
| 2010 | 1104 | 898 | 991 |
| 2011 | 1089 | 886 | 965 |
| 2012 | 1117 | 897 | 1002 |
| 2013 | 1180 | 904 | 1067 |
| 2014 | 1258 | 925 | 1163 |
| 2015 | 1233 | 942 | 1161 |
| 2016 | 1151 | 970 | 1117 |
| 2017 | 1128 | 989 | 1115 |
| 2018 | 1094 | 1007 | 1102 |
| 2019 | 1109 | 1018 | 1130 |
| 2020 | 1044 | 974 | 1017 |
| 2021 | 984 | 1015 | 999 |
| 2022 | 940 | 961 | 903 |
The 'Greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household): Year ended 2022 - intensity - CSV' under Download data provides a further breakdown of 31 industries at the ANZSIC or one-digit level, including emissions intensities for nine industries that make up the total manufacturing industry. The five manufacturing industries below produced on average the most emissions within total manufacturing over the timeseries.
| Year | "Food | Wood and paper products manufacturing and printing | "Petroleum | Non-metallic mineral product manufacturing | Metal product manufacturing |
| 2007 | beverage | 0.2 | chemical | 1.5 | 0.8 |
| 2008 | and tobacco product manufacturing" | 0.2 | polymer | 1.5 | 0.8 |
| 2009 | 0.3 | 0.2 | and rubber product manufacturing" | 1.5 | 1 |
| 2010 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1.1 |
| 2011 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1.1 |
| 2012 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 1 |
| 2013 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 1.1 |
| 2014 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 1.1 |
| 2015 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 1 |
| 2016 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 1 |
| 2017 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1 |
| 2018 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1 |
| 2019 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 0.9 |
| 2020 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1 |
| 2021 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1 |
| 2022 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
The emissions intensity of the non-metallic manufacturing industry, for example, has been declining over the time series, and is down 39.6 percent from 2007 levels in 2022. Both decreasing emissions (down 34.0 percent since 2007) and increasing value added (up 9.2 percent since 2007) have contributed to the fall in emissions intensity for this industry.
Gross emissions and GDP contributions in 2022 by broad industry group
Primary industries contributed the most greenhouse gas emissions (57.2 percent) to the 'all industry and households' total but had the smallest contribution to nominal gross domestic product (GDP) (6.5 percent). This group includes agriculture, forestry, fishing, and mining.
Goods-producing industries contributed the second most to both emissions and GDP, at 22.6 percent and 18.3 percent respectively. This group includes manufacturing industries; electricity, gas, water, and waste services; and construction.
Service industries, as a broad industry group, contributed the least greenhouse gas emissions (9.8 percent) to the 'all industry and households' total but contributed the most to nominal GDP (67.1 percent). This group includes wholesale trade; retail trade; transport, postal, and warehousing; government and defence; and many others.
Changes in emissions by gas type
Gross emissions decreased 2,869 kilotonnes between 2021 and 2022 with three gases contributing to the decrease - carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide gases (expressed in carbon dioxide equivalent form).
Carbon dioxide emissions fell the most, dropping 2,171 kilotonnes in 2022, led by electricity and gas supply, which reduced by 1,719 kilotonnes. The largest offsetting increase came from rail, water, air, and other transport, which rose 679 kilotonnes.
Methane emissions fell 279 kilotonnes. The fall was driven by sheep, beef, cattle, and grain farming, which reduced by 289 kilotonnes. This was partly offset by a 104 kilotonne increase in emissions from dairy-cattle farming.
Nitrous oxide emissions fell 340 kilotonnes, driven by dairy-cattle farming (down 198 kilotonnes) and sheep, beef-cattle, and grain farming (down 132 kilotonnes).
Fluorinated gas emissions fell 79 kilotonnes, driven by water, sewerage, drainage, and waste services, which reduced by 72 kilotonnes.
| Gas type | Primary industries | Goods-producing industries | Service industries | Households |
| Carbon dioxide | -6.8 | -2720.3 | 691.9 | -135.8 |
| Fluorinated gases | 0.2 | -71.3 | -12.5 | 4.8 |
| Methane | -225.8 | -54 | 0.3 | 0.7 |
| Nitrous oxide | -349.8 | -9.4 | 21.5 | -2.3 |
The 'Greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household): Year ended 2022 - CSV' under Download data has a further breakdown of gas type by broad industry groups and households.
Tourism-related emissions rise in 2022
Estimates of tourism-related greenhouse gas emissions show the amounts of emissions produced that can be attributed to tourist activity by New Zealand residents, whether domestically or offshore. Tourism includes transport, accommodation, and food and beverage services that relate to tourism activities and other industries that tourists may purchase the outputs from, for example, manufacturing. Tourism-related emissions also include those from households using vehicles for tourist activity.
In 2022, emissions from tourism-related activities increased 598 kilotonnes to 3,838 kilotonnes, on a SEEA basis. The most significant changes in tourism emissions were:
- air and space transport, up 777 kilotonnes (68.8 percent)
- domestic tourism by households, down 191 kilotonnes (12.4 percent).
| Industry and households | Kilotonnes |
| Air and space transport | 777 |
| Total | 598 |
| "Other transport | 21 |
| transport support | 17 |
| and travel and tour services" | 9 |
| "Road | 7 |
| rail | 4 |
| and water transport" | 4 |
| Accommodation | 2 |
| Other | 1 |
| Arts and recreation services | 1 |
| Food and beverage services | 0 |
| Retail trade | -55 |
| Wholesale trade | -191 |
| Education and training | |
| Rental and hiring services | |
| Manufacturing | |
| Domestic tourism |
When compared with total greenhouse gas emissions, tourism-related emissions accounted for 4.8 percent of total emissions produced. This has increased from 3.9 percent in 2021 but is still far lower than the preceding years, which ranged between 6.0 percent in 2013 and 7.1 percent of total emissions in 2017.
Emissions from tourism, tourism's contribution to GDP, and employment from tourism increased from 2021 due to lifting of COVID-19-related travel restrictions in 2022.
| Year | Direct tourism value added as a percentage of total industry contribution to GDP | Number of people directly employed in tourism as a percentage of total employment | Tourism contribution to emissions - carbon dioxide equivalents (percent) (SEEA basis) |
| 2007 | 5.7 | 8.5 | 6.3 |
| 2008 | 5.2 | 8.5 | 6.3 |
| 2009 | 5.2 | 8.2 | 6.1 |
| 2010 | 5.1 | 8 | 6.2 |
| 2011 | 5.1 | 7.6 | 6.1 |
| 2012 | 5.1 | 7.5 | 6 |
| 2013 | 5 | 7.3 | 6 |
| 2014 | 5.6 | 7.8 | 6.1 |
| 2015 | 6.2 | 8.3 | 6.6 |
| 2016 | 5.8 | 8 | 7 |
| 2017 | 5.8 | 8.3 | 7.1 |
| 2018 | 5.6 | 8 | 6.8 |
| 2019 | 5.4 | 8 | 6.6 |
| 2020 | 3.4 | 5.4 | 4.6 |
| 2021 | 3.1 | 4.7 | 3.9 |
| 2022 | 3.7 | 6.7 | 4.8 |
The top tourism-related emissions contributors in 2022 were:
- air and space transport, 49.7 percent (up from 34.8 percent from 2021)
- domestic tourism (households), 35.3 percent (down from 47.6 percent from 2021)
- road, rail, and water transport, 4.7 percent
- manufacturing and other, both 2.4 percent.
Key industry contributions to emissions and average changes since 2007
The table below summarises key industry contributions to total emissions in 2022, the change in industry emissions when compared with 2007 levels, and the average annual growth rates implied by those changes for key greenhouse gases.
Download data has further industry details available in the Excel and CSV files.
Industry (ANZSIC06) and households |
2022 |
2007-2022 |
|||||
Contribution to total CO2-e |
Absolute change in CO2-e |
Key gases |
|||||
CO2-e |
CO2 |
CH4 |
|||||
% of total |
Kt |
Average annual % change |
|||||
Primary industries |
57.2 |
-1,439 |
-0.2 |
-1.0 |
-0.2 |
||
|
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing |
55.6 |
-598 |
-0.1 |
-1.2 |
-0.1 |
|
|
|
Agriculture |
54.7 |
-437 |
-0.1 |
-1.3 |
-0.1 |
|
|
Forestry and logging |
0.5 |
-2 |
0.0 |
1.6 |
-2.7 |
|
|
Fishing, aquaculture and agriculture, |
0.4 |
-159 |
-2.9 |
-2.9 |
-6.0 |
|
Mining |
1.6 |
-841 |
-3.3 |
-0.5 |
-8.9 |
|
Goods-producing industries |
22.6 |
-4,549 |
-1.5 |
-1.8 |
-1.9 |
||
|
Manufacturing |
11.5 |
-983 |
-0.7 |
-0.7 |
1.1 |
|
|
Electricity, gas, water, and waste services |
8.7 |
-4,477 |
-3.3 |
-5.2 |
-2.1 |
|
|
Construction |
2.3 |
911 |
4.6 |
4.5 |
-1.6 |
|
Service industries |
9.8 |
-1,494 |
-1.2 |
-1.3 |
-4.0 |
||
|
Transport, postal, and warehousing |
6.4 |
-1,559 |
-1.8 |
-1.8 |
-7.3 |
|
|
Services excluding transport, postal, |
3.3 |
65 |
0.2 |
0.1 |
-2.8 |
|
Total all industries |
89.5 |
-7,482 |
-0.7 |
-1.5 |
-0.4 |
||
Households |
10.5 |
159 |
0.1 |
0.2 |
-0.2 |
||
Total |
|
-7,323 |
-0.6 |
-1.2 |
-0.4 |
||
Source: Stats NZ |
|||||||
| Note: Contribution to emissions is based on the December 2022 year. CO2-e - carbon dioxide equivalent, CO2 - carbon dioxide, and CH4 - methane. | |||||||
Definitions and metadata
Greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household): Year ended 2022 - DataInfo+ gives information on improvements and revisions made in this release.
Updates to 2024 greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household) statistics provides an overview of the changes we made to this year's Stats NZ emissions accounts, including Greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household): Year ended 2022.
Environmental-economic accounts: Sources and methods (third edition) presents the data sources and methods used for each of Stats NZ's environmental-economic accounts, including Greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household): Year ended 2022.
Technical enquiries
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Next release
Greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household): March 2024 quarter will be released on 23 July 2024.
