Source: Statistics New Zealand
Greenhouse gas emissions (consumption-based): Year ended 2023 (provisional) – information release
9 December 2025
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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 2023:
- total consumption-based emissions were 58,301 kilotonnes, up 1.6 percent from 2022
- household consumption was the largest contributor, accounting for 70 percent (40,764 kilotonnes) of total emissions
- the carbon footprint of households increased the most, by 5.8 percent (2,221 kilotonnes), driven by higher emissions embodied in transport (up 12 percent, 1,502 kilotonnes) and food and non-alcoholic beverages (up 7.6 percent, 793 kilotonnes)
- total emissions embodied in the consumption by tourists (domestic and international) decreased 6.0 percent (408 kilotonnes). Emissions embodied in tourism consumption in 2023 remained 45 percent lower than pre-COVID-19 levels in 2019
- emissions embodied in imports increased 1.2 percent (360 kilotonnes)
- emissions embodied in exports decreased 2.3 percent (1,170 kilotonnes)
- New Zealand was a net exporter of greenhouse gas emissions in 2023, with emissions embodied in exports 70 percent greater than emissions embodied in imports
- emissions embodied in gross fixed capital formation decreased 3.4 percent (441 kilotonnes), driven by a 12 percent (373 kilotonnes) decrease in emissions from plant, machinery and equipment.
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