Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report Released

Minister for Climate Change Issues Tim Groser welcomes the release of the latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory report by the Ministry for the Environment. The report covers the period since 1990 and provides details about emissions and removals for the 2013 year.

In 2013 New Zealand’s total gross greenhouse gas emissions were 81 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, a decrease of 1.4 per cent over the previous year.

New Zealand is committed to doing its fair share to reduce harmful emissions and has made an unconditional commitment to reduce emissions to five per cent below 1990 levels by 2020.  “We’re well on track to meet our 2020 target, and like other countries, we are considering our national target to reduce emissions after 2020” Mr Groser said.

However, while gross emissions have dropped, the rate of tree-planting has also dropped. “Forestry is an important part of our response to climate change, as forests remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. While afforestation is currently happening slower than deforestation, as the carbon price rises I expect this trend will turn around,” Mr Groser said.

“As production increases we are also getting more efficient. For many years our farmers have been producing more kilograms of meat and milk for export with decreasing emission rates. The Government is investing heavily in research that will support further reductions in agricultural emissions for the benefit of New Zealand and the world. This work will put us in a good position to meet our future targets.”

The annual inventory report is a mandatory requirement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. Each country has its accounts independently reviewed by international panels.

The report is available at http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/climate-change/new-zealands-greenhouse-gas-inventory-1990%E2%80%932013