Greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household): Year ended 2022

Greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household): Year ended 2022

Definitions and metadata

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.

System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA)

The SEEA production-based emissions estimates transform New Zealand’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory data to be consistent with economic classifications and concepts by changing the analysis approach (from process-based, for example, energy and waste, to a production-based methodology consistent with the system of national accounts (SNA). Using the same industrial classification as the SNA, (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).

The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by industry and households are compiled using the SEEA framework, and show the contributions made by industry and household to emissions. These emissions estimates are aligned to economic statistics, allowing us to compare emissions with economic output and derive emissions intensity for each industry.

Emissions included in the accounts

The GHG emissions by industry and household accounts include the gross emissions from resident New Zealand industries and households, regardless of where the emission occurs. This is different to the Ministry for the Environment’s data in New Zealand’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory which records gross and net emissions on the domestic territory only. This difference in scope generally results in higher emissions being recorded in the greenhouse gas emissions by industry and household account, due to the deduction of emissions from non-residents operating on the domestic territory and addition of emissions from residents operating overseas. For more information please refer to Environmental-economic accounts: Sources and methods – Greenhouse gas emissions section.

Emissions are calculated for 116 industries, households, and tourism (a cross-cutting industry), for the following gas types:

• carbon dioxide equivalents (CO₂-e)
• carbon dioxide (CO₂)
• methane (CH₄)
• nitrous oxide (N₂O)
• fluorinated gases (F gases)
• sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆)

Industries are classified according to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification 2006 (ANZSIC06), and align with economic statistics, such as GDP and employment.

Emissions are expressed in carbon dioxide equivalents, which are the emissions of greenhouse gases weighted by their 100-year global warming potential.

Updates and improvements 2022

When updates/improvements are made to the methodology or input data used to compile the emissions estimates changes to the time series may occur. Methodology improvements are applied to the entire timeseries, which means that data in the most recent version of the account is not comparable to figures published in previous releases. Input data revisions (e.g. from national accounts, or MBIE etc.) usually occur in the most recent years.

The Greenhouse gas emissions (industry and households): Year ended 2022 account contains improvements made to the greenhouse gas inventory input data. The main change this year is to global warming potentials (GWPs) from the International Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC's) Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) global warming potentials (GWPs) to updated GWP values from the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report (AR5). Additional methodological improvements include those for the agricultural sector in the greenhouse gas inventory, improvements to manufacturing emissions measurement, and minor presentational changes. Please see Updates to 2024 greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household) statistics for more information.

For specific information on updates made to the Greenhouse gas inventory, which flow through to the SEEA estimates, see Planned methodological improvements for Aotearoa New Zealand’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory 1990–2022.

Relationship between annual and quarterly greenhouse gas emissions accounts

The annual GHG emissions account incorporates the latest New Zealand’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory data with comparable economic production data, to show industry and household emissions contributions.

Our quarterly GHG emissions account uses the annual emissions account as a base and, using indicators, projects future quarters, giving more timely emissions estimates. Quarterly greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household): Sources and Methods for more information on the sources and methods used to create quarterly estimates.

Reference periods

Greenhouse gas emissions accounts are produced for a year ended December. This aligns with the Greenhouse Gas Inventory reference period.