New Zealand's Greenhouse Gas Inventory is the official annual estimate of all human-generated greenhouse gas emissions and removals that have occurred in New Zealand since 1990. This page links to the the latest findings.
Links to inventory publications (released April 2018) and emissions tracker
- Snapshot – Summary of New Zealand's Greenhouse Gas Inventory 1990–2016
- Full report - New Zealand’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory 1990-2016 including supporting tables and files
- Interactive greenhouse emissions tracker - Use the interactive tool to access and manipulate data from the latest inventory to see how New Zealand’s emissions have changed over time
- Infographic - New Zealand’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions 1990-2016 [PDF, 4.4 MB]
Key findings of the inventory
- New Zealand’s gross emissions have increased 19.6 per cent since 1990.
- Methane from dairy cattle digestive systems and carbon dioxide from road transportation have contributed the most to this increase.
- Between 2015 and 2016, gross emissions decreased by 2.4 per cent mainly from a decrease in the use of thermal fuels (coal and gas) and a decline in the number of sheep.
- In 2016 the agriculture and energy sectors were the two largest contributors to New Zealand’s gross emissions, at 49.2 per cent and 39.8 per cent respectively.
- The Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector offsets nearly one third of New Zealand’s gross emissions
- Net emissions have increased by 54.2 per cent since 1990 because of more trees being cut down and an increase in gross emissions.
- In 2016, approximately 5099 hectares of new forest was planted and 4945 hectares deforested.
New Zealand’s emissions profile in 2016
The graph shows how much each sector contributed to our greenhouse gas emissions.
Note: The Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector removes more carbon dioxide than it emits, so the net emissions from this sector are expressed as a negative number.