Seasonally adjusted greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from industries and households fell by 11 percent in the September 2021 quarter, following a 4.7 percent increase in the June 2021 quarter, Stats NZ said today.
The September 2021 quarter fall in gross emissions was largely due to a reduction in coal use for electricity generation. COVID-19 alert level restrictions and nationwide/regional lockdowns also contributed to the drop in emissions this quarter.
Emissions decreased across all industry groupings in the September 2021 quarter, as COVID-19 restrictions took hold in the second half of the quarter.
The largest industry contributors to this decrease were electricity, gas, water, and waste services, down 33 percent (969 kilotonnes); manufacturing, down 10 percent (273 kilotonnes); and transport, postal, and warehousing, down 17 percent (156 kilotonnes).
“After reaching a quarterly timeseries high in June 2021, the electricity, gas, water, and waste services industry decreased emissions by 33 percent. This is mainly due to a switch from coal use to hydro generation,” environmental economic accounts manager Stephen Oakley said.
In the September 2021 quarter, 84 percent of our electricity was generated from renewable sources compared with 75 percent in the previous quarter, MBIE reported in their New Zealand Energy Quarterly.
Manufacturing and transport, postal, and warehousing industries also saw large emissions decreases of 10 and 17 percent respectively, due to continuing COVID-19 restrictions resulting in lower economic activity.
In the year ended September 2021, total emissions (industry and household) decreased 0.4 percent (346 kilotonnes) to reach a total of 81,137 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents. During the September 2021 year, the June 2021 quarter saw the largest increase in emissions, up 4.7 percent (965 kilotonnes), and the September 2021 quarter saw the largest decrease in emissions, down 11 percent (2,405 kilotonnes).
| Quarter | Quarterly |
| Dec-15 | -0.2 |
| Mar-16 | -0.8 |
| Jun-16 | -0.7 |
| Sep-16 | 0.3 |
| Dec-16 | -2.5 |
| Mar-17 | 2 |
| Jun-17 | 2.5 |
| Sep-17 | -0.2 |
| Dec-17 | 0.3 |
| Mar-18 | -0.7 |
| Jun-18 | 0.2 |
| Sep-18 | 0 |
| Dec-18 | 1.4 |
| Mar-19 | 1.4 |
| Jun-19 | -0.3 |
| Sep-19 | 0.2 |
| Dec-19 | -1 |
| Mar-20 | -1.8 |
| Jun-20 | -8.4 |
| Sep-20 | 8.8 |
| Dec-20 | -1.8 |
| Mar-21 | 1.1 |
| Jun-21 | 4.7 |
| Sep-21 | -11.2 |
| Quarter | Annual |
| Dec-15 | 0.2 |
| Mar-16 | -0.9 |
| Jun-16 | -1.4 |
| Sep-16 | -1.7 |
| Dec-16 | -2.3 |
| Mar-17 | -2 |
| Jun-17 | -1 |
| Sep-17 | -0.3 |
| Dec-17 | 1.9 |
| Mar-18 | 2.7 |
| Jun-18 | 2.1 |
| Sep-18 | 1.6 |
| Dec-18 | 0.6 |
| Mar-19 | 1 |
| Jun-19 | 1.6 |
| Sep-19 | 2.3 |
| Dec-19 | 2.1 |
| Mar-20 | 0.4 |
| Jun-20 | -2.6 |
| Sep-20 | -4 |
| Dec-20 | -5.1 |
| Mar-21 | -4.6 |
| Jun-21 | 0.6 |
| Sep-21 | -0.4 |
Household emissions drop in the September 2021 quarter
Total household emissions decreased by 12 percent (297 kilotonnes) in the September 2021 quarter, mostly due to a decrease in household transport emissions, down 13 percent (300 kilotonnes). Household heating/cooling, a component of total household emissions, was the only category to show an increase this quarter – up 1.5 percent (3 kilotonnes, seasonally adjusted). The decrease in household transport and increase in household heating/cooling reflects more home-based activity due to COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions.
In the year ended September 2021, total household emissions rose 8.9 percent, driven by higher-than-normal transport emissions in the December 2020 quarter.
Year ended September 2021 – industry emissions still below pre-COVID-19 levels
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, our economy has faced significant upheaval. This has flowed through to our greenhouse gas emissions.
In the year ended September 2021, New Zealand’s industries and households emitted 81,137 kilotonnes of greenhouse gases (actual series), down 4.4 percent when compared with the pre-COVID-19 September 2019 year value of 84,840 kilotonnes.
| Industry | Emissions | GDP |
| “Agriculture | -1.7 | 2.9 |
| forestry | -13.6 | 5.9 |
| and fishing” | -9.1 | 0.1 |
| Mining | 12.2 | -0.4 |
| Manufacturing | -3 | 5 |
| “Electricity | -44.8 | -11.1 |
| gas | -1 | 5.2 |
| water | -5 | 3.5 |
| and waste services” | ||
| Construction | ||
| “Transport | ||
| postal | ||
| and warehousing” | ||
| “Services excluding transport | ||
| postal | ||
| and warehousing” | ||
| Total all industries |
Total industry emissions fell 5.0 percent, compared with a 3.5 percent rise in gross domestic product (GDP) over the same three-year period (year ended September 2019 to year ended September 2021).
Emissions from the transport, postal, and warehousing industry (largely from international aviation) continue to be the most impacted due to COVID-19 border/travel restrictions, down 45 percent (2,650 kilotonnes) in this period.
Other industries that saw large annual decreases in the September 2021 year (when compared with the year ended September 2019) included manufacturing, down 9.1 percent (1,062 kilotonnes); agriculture, forestry, and fishing, down 1.7 percent (733 kilotonnes); and mining, down 14 percent (220 kilotonnes).
Feedback
Stats NZ welcomes feedback on the methodology used to produce these new experimental estimates as it is the intention to develop them into official statistics. If you would like to provide feedback, or have an enquiry, please email:
Experimental emissions data is available in graphical form on the COVID-19 data portal under the ‘Environmental’ tab.
About the data
Stats NZ quarterly emissions estimates can be used to track gross emissions in a timely fashion and show how these change in relation to economic activity. The estimates use data from Stats NZ’s Greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household): Year ended 2019, which draws on New Zealand’s greenhouse gas inventory, New Zealand’s official source of emissions and removals, reported annually by the Ministry for the Environment (MfE) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
This experimental release on quarterly production-based emissions is done within the SEEA framework to track emissions in relation to economic activity. The SEEA production-based emissions estimates transform the greenhouse gas inventory data to be consistent with economic classifications and concepts by changing the unit of analysis (from a process-based approach, for example, energy and waste, to a standard production-based industrial classification, for example, ANZSIC06) and applying the residency principle. This means deducting emissions from non-residents operating on the domestic territory (for example, international tourists driving vehicles) and adding emissions from residents operating overseas (for example, international aviation or shipping companies).
The Greenhouse Gas Inventory is based on the territory principle. It is best suited for understanding New Zealand’s greenhouse gas profile (in both gross and net terms) and identifying the source processes that generate emissions within the territory. It is also the basis on which progress towards targets are determined.
The latest annual benchmarks used in the September 2021 quarter estimates are from the December 2019 year.
The greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household) quarterly series is available from the March 2014 quarter.
As seasonally adjusted data are not additive, industry and household contributions to total emissions are based on the actual series.
Greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household): September 2020 quarter – methodology and results has more information on the sources and methods used to produce these statistics.
Due to the experimental nature of the data, revisions are expected as Stats NZ refines the methodology and gradually improves the quality of the series. Quarterly emissions estimates are based on information available at the time of compilation. Revisions to the time series will also result from the incorporation of updated annual benchmarks and quarterly indicators.
See previous greenhouse gas emissions releases:
- Greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household): June 2021 quarter
- Greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household): Year ended 2019
- Greenhouse gas emissions by region (industry and household): Year ended 2019
- Greenhouse gas emissions (consumption-based): Year ended 2019 (provisional)
