East Asia & Pacific · High income · 2023
New Zealand: smaller EDGAR inventory · 16.27 t per person
In 2023, New Zealand emitted 85 MtCO₂e (16.27 t per person, 0.34 t per $1K GDP) - agriculture led at 49% and methane dominated the gas mix at 43%. EU EDGAR v8.0, excludes land use.
Corpus placement
New Zealand ranks only #46 of 51 by absolute total in 2023, far behind its per-capita rank of #7 — a small overall footprint carried by a comparatively high per-person rate.
- #46 / 51
- Absolute Mt rank
- #7 / 51
- Per-capita rank
- #35 / 51
- GDP intensity rank
According to EU EDGAR v8.0 totals, World Bank population, and GDP denominators at 2023. Excludes LULUCF.
Based on per-capita emissions, GDP intensity, methane share, and the multi-year emissions trend, benchmarked against the 51-country EDGAR corpus, not a judgment of policy effort, development stage, or overall climate risk. See the benchmark table and methodology.
EDGAR inventory roll
Roll NZL · 2023 85 Mt · 16.27 t per person
New Zealand sits in the lower absolute-Mt tercile among 51 tracked EDGAR economies (85 Mt in 2023) - absolute, per-capita, and GDP-intensity ranks on one roll.
- ABS 85 Mt
- PC 16.27 t
- INT 0.34
- RANK-A #46 / 51
- RANK-P #7 / 51
- RANK-I #35 / 51
- SECTOR 49% Agriculture
- GAS 43% Methane
- PHOTO Singapore
- BOOK 51 econ
Photo-finish absolute-Mt peer: Singapore (76 Mt · Δ 9 Mt vs New Zealand)
Absolute-Mt neighbourhood
2023 EDGAR totals · nearest inventories to New Zealand
Year-to-year inventory change
What changed between 2022 and 2023
- New Zealand's EDGAR greenhouse-gas total rose from 83.8 MtCO₂e in 2022 to 84.6 MtCO₂e in 2023 in the EU EDGAR v8.0 (2024) extract, a change of +0.82 MtCO₂e (+1.0%).
- New Zealand's methane total fell from 36.6 MtCO₂e in 2022 to 36.2 MtCO₂e in 2023 in the EU EDGAR v8.0 (2024) extract, a change of −0.38 MtCO₂e (−1.0%).
- New Zealand's agriculture total fell from 42.2 MtCO₂e in 2022 to 41.8 MtCO₂e in 2023 in the EU EDGAR v8.0 (2024) extract, a change of −0.42 MtCO₂e (−1.0%).
New Zealand ranks only #46 of 51 by absolute total in 2023, far behind its per-capita rank of #7 — a small overall footprint carried by a comparatively high per-person rate. How we place countries.
New Zealand vs all tracked economies by EDGAR greenhouse-gas total
Where New Zealand's 2023 EDGAR MtCO₂e sits among every tracked economy with live rows (inventory mass, not per-capita responsibility)
85 10th percentile more MtCO₂e than 10% of 51 economies
Tracked economies, banded by EDGAR MtCO₂e (AR6 GWP100)
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more economies. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source EU EDGAR v8.0 · 2023
New Zealand 2023 emissions by IPCC sector
EU EDGAR v8.0 · MtCO₂e · AR6 GWP100
Source: EU EDGAR v8.0 (Joint Research Centre) EDGAR GHG · 2023
New Zealand emissions trend (1970–2023, MtCO₂e)
Annual greenhouse-gas totals, EU EDGAR v8.0
Data from EU EDGAR v8.0 (2024 release)
New Zealand 2023 gas inventory, methane-weighted
EU EDGAR v8.0 · MtCO₂e · AR6 GWP100
Methane-heavy profile
Per-person intensity signaturePer-person intensity is the standout for New Zealand: 16.27 t per person (upper tercile, ≥9.59 t) alongside 85 Mt absolute.
New Zealand's 2023 total of 85 MtCO₂e carries an unusually high methane share (43% of CO₂e). That pattern usually marks agriculture- and fuel-system methane alongside CO₂ from energy, not a CO₂-only industrial ledger. Within East Asia & Pacific, it ranks #2 of 12 economies on a per-person basis.
Source: EU EDGAR v8.0 (Joint Research Centre) Country totals (AR6 GWP100, excl. LULUCF) Country figures for NZL exclude LULUCF; verify policy-critical totals against the Joint Research Centre EDGAR country table.
Other East Asia & Pacific economies in EDGAR
Methodology
New Zealand (NZL) is in the lower third of live EDGAR country mass (85 MtCO₂e in 2023). Rows are aggregated from EU EDGAR v8.0 by IPCC sector and gas for 2023, excluding LULUCF. See the methodology page for GWP100 factors and the full pipeline. Full methodology.
Source: EU EDGAR v8.0 (Joint Research Centre) 2024 Global bottom-up inventory, CC BY 4.0.
FAQ
How do New Zealand's absolute and per-capita ranks compare?
New Zealand ranks #46 of 51 by absolute total and #7 by per-capita emissions in 2023, with GDP intensity at #35.
How much CO₂-equivalent did New Zealand emit in 2023?
New Zealand's 2023 total is 85 MtCO₂e per EU EDGAR v8.0 (AR6 GWP100, excludes LULUCF).
Why is methane prominent in New Zealand's inventory?
Methane contributes about 43% of New Zealand's 2023 CO₂e total, above the rough one-sixth global average, which usually signals agriculture, waste, or fugitive fuel emissions in the EDGAR breakdown.
Data vintage: EU EDGAR v8.0 (2024 release), 2023 data year. Country emissions summed from EDGAR records for the focal year; LULUCF excluded on ranked surfaces.