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Total emissions and removals

New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors for 2005 totalled 77.2 Mt CO2-e. Emissions are now 25 per cent higher (15.3 Mt CO2-e) than the 1990 level of 61.9 Mt CO2-e (figure 1).

Removals of greenhouse gases in the Land Use, Land-use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector (figure 1) amounted to 24.5 Mt CO2-e in 2005. This is an increase of 29 per cent above removals in 1990 (19.0 Mt CO2-e).

Growth of plantation forests is the major carbon dioxide sink in New Zealand. The inventory reports emissions and removals from all forests, not just “Kyoto forests” (or forests planted since 1990).

Figure 1: New Zealand’s total greenhouse gas emissions and removals: 1990–2005

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Emissions by gas

Inventory reporting under the UNFCCC covers six direct greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride, perfluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons. Other greenhouse gases are included in inventory reporting but not in national totals. These indirect gases include carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, and non-methane volatile organic compounds. Figure 2 indicates the contribution of each direct greenhouse gas to total emissions in 2005. Trends in emissions by gas over the period 1990–2005 are shown in figure 3.

Removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is reported in the LULUCF sector.

  • Carbon dioxide contributed the largest share of all 2005 emissions at 47 per cent (35.9 CO2-e). Emissions increased by 41 per cent (from 25.4 Mt CO2-e) between 1990 and 2005.

  • Methane contributed 35 per cent of total emissions (27.3 Mt CO2-e). Methane emissions have grown by 7 per cent since 1990 (from 25.5 Mt CO2-e).

  • Nitrous oxide contributed 17 per cent of emissions in 2005 (13.3 Mt CO2-e). Emissions have increased by 27 per cent (10.4 Mt CO2-e) since 1990.

  • PFCs, SF6 and HFCs contributed the remaining 1 per cent (0.8 Mt CO2-e). Emissions of PFCs have reduced from 0.5 Mt CO2-e to 0.1 Mt CO2-e, or 84 per cent over the period, while emissions of SF6 have grown from 0.01 Mt CO2-e to 0.02 Mt CO2-e, or 77 per cent since 1990. No HFCs were used in New Zealand in 1990. In 2005, 0.7 Mt CO2-e of HFC emissions were produced.

Figure 2: New Zealand's total greenhouse gas emissions by gas: 2005

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Figure 3: New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions by gas: 1990–2005

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