Dry year a key factor in 2024 emissions

New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2024 decreased by 0.1 percent compared to 2023, despite a dry year driving up emissions in the energy sector.

This represents an 87.3 kt CO₂e, reduction in gross emissions compared to the previous year, which is about the same as taking around 50,000 of New Zealand’s cars off the road.

New Zealand’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990 – 2024) shows gross emissions (total emissions other than forestry and other land uses) were 75,811.6 kilotonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (kt CO₂e) in 2024.

Forests and other land uses absorbed 27.7 percent of gross emissions in 2024, meaning New Zealand’s net emissions dropped to 54,834.1 kt CO₂e in 2024, a 2.0 percent decrease compared with 2023.

The Inventory is the official report of all the emissions produced and removed by human activities within New Zealand, and is compiled every year by the Ministry for the Environment.