Greenhouse gas emissions in New Zealand
New Zealand: Greenhouse gas emissions was 81.92 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
81.92 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
Change on year
down 0.4%
World rank
68th
of 199 countries
All-time high
136.19 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 1980
All-time low
16.61 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 1858
Years of data
175
1850–2024
Greenhouse gas emissions in New Zealand, 1850–2024
Source: Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes of CO₂ equivalents.
Analysis
The most recent figure for greenhouse gas emissions in New Zealand is 81.92 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.4% on the previous year and down 9.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, greenhouse gas emissions in New Zealand peaked at 136.19 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 1980 and was at its lowest, 16.61 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents, in 1858.
New Zealand ranks 68th of 199 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 175 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 18.93 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 16.61 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 24.20 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1860s | 18.06 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 17.11 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 19.74 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1870s | 21.26 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 19.44 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 22.59 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1880s | 32.21 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 28.01 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 34.72 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1890s | 41.69 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 38.47 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 45.37 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1900s | 41.83 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 39.75 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 43.40 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1910s | 48.43 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 46.80 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 49.94 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1920s | 50.56 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 48.87 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 55.37 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1930s | 51.18 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 48.29 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 54.03 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1940s | 57.18 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 52.82 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 61.68 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1950s | 86.78 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 70.24 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 95.98 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1960s | 77.77 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 73.56 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 82.63 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1970s | 101.69 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 77.85 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 125.35 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1980s | 94.87 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 84.71 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 136.19 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1990s | 85.24 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 82.47 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 92.46 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2000s | 96.74 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 87.99 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 113.84 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2010s | 89.96 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 86.62 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 91.84 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2020s | 85.77 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 81.92 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 91.36 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 5 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
- 65 North Korea 89.80 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 66 Finland 87.95 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 67 Czechia 84.45 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 69 Guinea 78.53 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 70 Central African Republic 68.66 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 71 Austria 68.25 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
More climate change data for New Zealand
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.1% (2100)
- Population growth 0.7% (2025)
- Population, total 5.32 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 0.7% (2025)
- Urban population 4.47 million (2025)
- Urban population 84.0% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 6.23 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 2.01 billion tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 6.23 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 6.23 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is greenhouse gas emissions in New Zealand?
- Greenhouse gas emissions in New Zealand was 81.92 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024, according to Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest greenhouse gas emissions recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 136.19 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 1980.
- What is the lowest greenhouse gas emissions recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.61 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 1858.
- How does New Zealand rank for greenhouse gas emissions?
- New Zealand ranks 68th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is greenhouse gas emissions rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Greenhouse gas emissions. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 175 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Greenhouse gas emissions are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalents over a 100-year timescale.