Statistics NZ says greenhouse gas emissions fell 2.7% in the March quarter, the largest quarterly decrease since the agency started tracking emissions in 2010

Statistics New Zealand is reporting the largest quarterly decline in greenhouse gas emissions since the agency started tracking emissions 14 years ago.

Emissions fell by 2.7% in the March quarter, according to a Stats NZ release on Tuesday.

Stats NZ said the 2.7% fall was equivalent to 541 kilotonnes and was driven by lower agriculture, forestry, and fishing emissions.

“This is the largest quarterly decrease since the beginning of our time series in March 2010, excluding the pandemic years,” Stats NZ’s environmental-economic accounts manager Stephen Oakley said.

Agricultural, forest and fishing emissions fell by 1.4% or 154 kilotonnes in the March quarter.

Oakley said quarterly emissions for this sector were down 8.1% from their peak in March 2019, and currently at their lowest level since Stats NZ’s emissions series had begun.

The manufacturing industry had the second largest fall in emissions during the March quarter, shrinking by 4% or 88 kilotonnes. 

Stats NZ said this is the third quarter in a row manufacturing emissions have fallen.

The sector with the largest increase in quarterly emissions went to the electricity, gas, water, and waste services industry, with emissions rising 7.7% or 126 kilotonnes in the three months to March.

“The increase in electricity, gas, water, and waste services emissions was due to an increase in natural gas used for electricity generation. This follows an 18% decrease in emissions from this industry in the previous quarter,” Oakley said.

Even though emissions had big falls on a quarterly level, emissions rose 0.5% in the 12 months to March 2024.

This was mainly driven by the transport, postal, and warehousing industry which had annual emissions shoot up by 20% or 1,116 kilotonnes.

Emissions from the electricity, gas, water, and waste services industry also rose by 3.4% or 227 kilotonnes in the year ended March.

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing industry emissions went in the other direction and had the largest annual decrease of 1.9% or 839 kilotonnes, which Stats NZ said was mostly due to falls in agriculture emissions.

Last week, the Government publicly released documents on its second emissions reduction plan which revealed New Zealand is set to narrowly meet its first and second emissions budgets for 2022-25 and 2026-30.

However, the country is set to go over budget with the 2031-35 budget by 17 million tonnes of carbon emissions. 

Climate Change Minister Simon Watts said in the plan’s consultation document the Government was still confident New Zealand can achieve and sustain the target of net zero emissions by 2050.

“Our success will rely on our ability to sustainably transition to a low-emissions economy,” he said.

The Government’s second emissions reduction plan is set to be published at the end of this year. According to last week’s consultation document, energy, transport, agriculture, forestry and waste will be the Government’s biggest focus.

The Government launched a climate adaptation inquiry in May, tasking Parliament's Finance and Expenditure Committee with developing objectives and principles to address the risks and costs of future extreme weather events.

Last week, the Committee heard public submissions from organisations and agencies about their concerns and suggestions for the climate inquiry in a select committee meeting last week.

The Insurance Council of New Zealand told the FEC that rising natural hazards are affecting the cost and availability of reinsurance and impacting general insurance costs and availability nationwide.