Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Year Ended 2022 6 December

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.

Consumption-based emissions for New Zealand residents adjust production-based emissions by accounting for emissions associated with imports and exports, allocating them to final use categories. On the production side, emissions from domestic industries and households are consistent with those reported in Greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household): Year ended 2022.

Text alternative for Flow of greenhouse gas emissions from production to consumption, 2022.

Carbon footprint of New Zealand households

Household consumption emissions were 38,592 kilotonnes in 2022, down 1,401 kilotonnes (3.5 percent) from the previous year. These emissions are categorised by Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP).

Significant downward drivers were:

• housing and household utility emissions, down 878 kilotonnes (16 percent)
• food and non-alcoholic beverage emissions, down 584 kilotonnes (5.3 percent)
• recreation and culture emissions, down 295 kilotonnes (14 percent).

A significant upward driver was:

• transport emissions, up 1,066 kilotonnes (9.0 percent).

Despite the drop in household consumption-based emissions in 2022, households remained the largest contributor to New Zealand's carbon footprint, accounting for 67 percent of total emissions.

Transport consumption-based emissions showed the biggest increase, up by 1,066 kilotonnes (9.0 percent) in 2022, but remained below the pre-COVID-19 level. Transport was the largest contributor to household consumption-based emissions at 33 percent.

Transport emissions are composed of direct emissions (emissions from personal vehicle use), which were down 112 kilotonnes (1.5 percent) in 2022; and indirect emissions (emissions embodied in transport expenditure, such as air travel and the emissions embodied in the production/extraction of fuels), which were up 1,178 kilotonnes (28 percent).

Food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed 27 percent to total household consumption emissions in 2022. Consumption emissions from this expenditure category decreased 584 kilotonnes (5.3 percent).

Housing and household utilities was the third-largest contributor to household consumption emissions at 12 percent, falling 878 kilotonnes (16 percent) from 2021. Over the 2007-2022 period, housing and household utilities emissions fluctuated, reflecting changes in energy sources used for electricity generation.

Total household consumption emissions (carbon footprint) have largely remained flat over much of the period, where falling emissions intensity (emissions in relation to expenditure) offset increases driven by population growth and higher expenditure per capita.

Gross fixed capital formation

Gross fixed capital formation includes the consumption emissions embodied in capital expenditure. Emissions embodied in gross fixed capital formation decreased 352 kilotonnes (2.7 percent) in 2022, with the following key movements:

• residential buildings, down 138 kilotonnes (3.6 percent)
• plant, machinery, and equipment, down 100 kilotonnes (3.1 percent)
• other (including software, research and development, and land improvements), down 85 kilotonnes (10 percent).

The emissions embodied in building include those from harvesting and extracting building materials, the processing and transporting of materials, and construction activity.

Government and non-profit institutions serving households

Emissions embodied in government expenditure fell 326 kilotonnes (6.3 percent) in 2022.

Central government, the largest component of government emissions, was the main driver of this reduction, down 334 kilotonnes (8.0 percent). This was slightly offset by local government emissions, which increased 8 kilotonnes (0.8 percent).

Emissions from non-profit institutions serving households, which include most charities, sports clubs, and religious institutions, increased 30 kilotonnes (6.5 percent) in 2022.

Overseas trade emissions

Consumption-based emissions are estimated by subtracting estimates of emissions embodied in exports from production-based emissions and adding estimates of emissions embodied in imports. Therefore, the difference between production- and consumption-based emissions is the difference between emissions embodied in exports and imports, or the net emissions embodied in trade.

In 2022, emissions embodied in exports were 79 percent greater than emissions embodied in imports, resulting in New Zealand being a net exporter of greenhouse gas emissions, and therefore New Zealand's consumption-based emissions being lower than the production-based estimates.

Emissions embodied in exports remain largely unchanged

Flow of greenhouse gas emissions (kilotonnes CO₂-e) from production to consumption, 2022 shows how production-based emissions can ultimately become embodied in our exports for consumption by non-residents. These production-based emissions can be associated with either resident industries, recorded in Greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household): Year ended 2022, or non-resident industries, recorded in the production-based emissions of other countries.

In 2022, emissions embodied in exports remained largely unchanged. The key industry movements were:

• transport, postal, and warehousing, up 547 kilotonnes (37 percent)
• electricity, gas, water, and waste services, down 362 kilotonnes (21 percent)
• manufacturing, down 316 kilotonnes (5 percent).

Of all the emissions embodied in our exports, 68 percent came from the agriculture, forestry, and fishing industry, representing 78 percent of this industry's production-based emissions.

An additional 11 percent came from manufacturing, representing 62 percent of this industry's production-based emissions.

Emissions embodied in imports increased

Emissions embodied in imports are the production-based emissions that become embodied in the goods and services supplied to New Zealand from overseas industries, as either inputs into domestic production or for consumption by final users.

Emissions embodied in imports increased 275 kilotonnes (1.0 percent) in 2022. Key industry movements in import emissions were:

• transport, postal, and warehousing, up 878 kilotonnes (115 percent)
• manufacturing, down 329 kilotonnes (1.5 percent).

In 2022, 78 percent of all emissions embodied in imports were supplied by non-resident manufacturing industries.

Imports and exports by gas

In 2022, greenhouse gas emissions embodied in exports comprised:

• methane 30,047 kilotonnes CO₂-e (59 percent)
• carbon dioxide 15,143 kilotonnes (30 percent)
• nitrous oxide 5,455 kilotonnes CO₂-e (11 percent)
• fluorinated gases 346 kilotonnes CO₂-e (0.7 percent).

Methane emissions embodied in exports increased by 252 kilotonnes (0.8 percent) in 2022, largely due to the increase in exports of biological methane emissions from the agriculture, forestry, and fishing industry.

Greenhouse gas emissions embodied in imports comprised:

• carbon dioxide 19,271 kilotonnes (68 percent)
• methane 7,741 kilotonnes CO₂-e (27 percent)
• nitrous oxide 1,082 kilotonnes CO₂-e (3.8 percent)
• fluorinated gases 403 kilotonnes CO₂-e (1.4 percent).

Tourism consumption-based emissions

Consumption-based emissions of tourism estimate the carbon footprint of the demand side of New Zealand tourism. The activity considered from a consumption perspective is the emissions embodied in the consumption of goods and services supplied by resident tourism industries. Additionally, it includes the emissions associated with the use of private vehicles by domestic (resident) and international (non-resident) tourists. Tourism consumption-based emissions can be broken down by domestic and international tourists consistent with the Tourism satellite account.

The consumption-based emissions of tourists can be broken down into direct and indirect emissions . Direct emissions result from the use of fuel in private vehicles. Indirect emissions are the emissions embodied in the goods and services consumed (purchased) from tourist industries such as electricity use and heating/cooling in accommodation, and the fuel use of air travel, as well as the emissions associated with producing and transporting the fuel used in private vehicles.

In 2022, the total carbon footprint of New Zealand tourism was 7,372 kilotonnes (up 15 percent). This follows a decrease of 1,115 kilotonnes (15 percent) in 2021 due to COVID-19-related border restrictions.

The biggest increase to tourism consumption-based emissions in 2022 was from the indirect emissions of international tourists, up 1,619 kilotonnes (406 percent), resulting from a significant increase in the number of international tourists as border restrictions eased. The biggest decrease to tourism consumption-based emissions in 2022 was from domestic indirect emissions, down 575 kilotonnes (13 percent).

Total international tourist consumption-based emissions increased 1,717 kilotonnes (388 percent) in 2022. As a result, international tourists contributed 29 percent (2,159 kilotonnes) to total consumption-based tourism emissions in 2022, after contributing only 6.9 percent (443 kilotonnes) in 2021.

Text alternative for Flow of greenhouse gas emissions from production to consumption, 2022

Image is of a Sankey chart, a type of flow diagram where the width of an arrow is proportional to the flow quantity. This chart shows how emissions from the production of goods and services (from the emissions production account) shown on the left side of chart, align (flow) to consumption emissions (emissions generated as a result of what we consume), on the right side. The industries that produce emissions are listed on the left: agriculture, forestry, and fishing; mining; manufacturing; electricity, gas, water, and waste services; construction; transport, postal, and warehousing; services excluding transport, postal, and warehousing. Households also produce emissions directly, for example, through cars burning fuel, and are also included on the production side. We also consume imports. Imports are included on the left as an input to consumption emissions. Final users/consumers of what we produce and import are listed on the right: households; government; non-profit institutions serving households, gross capital formation; and exports/foreign consumers.

Definitions and metadata

Greenhouse gas emissions (consumption-based): Year ended 2022 (provisional) - DataInfo+ gives information on the methodology underlying the data and outlines revisions made in this release.

Consumption-based greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household): Sources and methods - DataInfo+ presents the data sources and methods used for producing this account.

Technical enquiries

Malcolm Gray
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Next release

Greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household): September 2024 quarter will be released on 5 February 2025.