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How we track our city emissions

In order to reach our net zero climate action targets, we need to regularly and accurately measure a variety of emissions across the city.

Wellington city’s emissions have reduced by 1.4% between FY20 and FY24, to 1,010 ktCO2-e. (In calculating these figures, we used gross emissions, which means they are not adjusted for any change in forestry.)

Wellington’s gross emissions reduced by 1.6% between 2019/2020 and 2023/2024. In the 20 years before that, gross emissions reduced by 8%, even while the population grew 24%.

We need to continue to reduce our carbon faster rate to reach our commitment of making 57% reduction by 2030 and being net carbon zero by 2050. To do this we need to make significant reductions over the next 6 years.

City emissions inventory

Our city's emissions inventory was periodically conducted for the calendar years 2014, 2016, and 2019. However, starting in 2020, our inventory has been calculated annually for financial years.

In 2024, our city emissions inventory was calculated for financial year 2023/24.

Transport is the largest source of our city’s total emissions (56%) followed by stationary energy such as electricity and natural gas use in buildings (31%). To achieve our city’s 2030 emissions reduction target, we need to make significant reductions in these two key emissions sources over the next 6 years by changing how we live and move around the city.

Pie chart showing the city emissions breakdown. Transport is the largest at 56.2%, Stationary energy 31.2%, Waste 4.4%, Industry 7.1%, Agriculture 1.1%.

Emissions breakdown

In the 2024 reporting year, Wellington City emitted gross 1010 kilo tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e).

  • Transportation is the biggest source of emissions accounting for 56.2% of total gross emissions.
  • Stationary energy is the second largest emitter, 31.2% of total gross emissions.
  • Waste (4.4% of total gross emissions), industry (7.1% of total gross emissions) and agriculture (1.1% of total gross emissions) are the smaller sources of emissions in Wellington City.

What emissions are measured

The Wellington city greenhouse gas emissions inventory aligns with the Global Protocol for Community Scale Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories (GPC).

The report accounts for greenhouse gas emissions of sectors within the city boundaries. These sectors are:

  • Stationary energy – includes emissions from electricity and natural gas.
  • Transportation – includes emissions from on and off-road transportation (petrol and diesel), rail, air, bus electricity, LPG, and port activities.
  • Waste – including waste originating in Wellington City from both solid waste (open and closed landfills) and wastewater.
  • Industry (industrial processes and product use) – including emissions of synthetic gases used in activities such as refrigeration, air-conditioning, fire extinguishers, aerosols, and electrical equipment production.
  • Agriculture – from within the city boundaries.

The gross total is then adjusted to reflect emissions sequestered (removed) through forestry, which provides the net emissions.

Emissions inventory reports

For in-depth details, view the full copies of our emissions inventory reports below.

FY2019 (1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019) Inventory report – Greater Wellington Regional Council commissioned the FY2019 Inventory report, and Wellington City Council received an individual report for the city.

Wellington City FY2019 Emissions Inventory Report (1.7MB PDF)

FY2020 (1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020) Inventory report – Wellington City Council commissioned the FY2020 Inventory report and adopted it as the baseline for the city’s target of a 57% emissions reduction by 2030.

Wellington City FY2020 Emissions Inventory Report (723KB PDF)

FY2020 (1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020) COVID-19 Impact assessment – Wellington City Council commissioned the Covid-19 Impact Assessment report to examine the impact of the COVID-19 restrictions on FY2020 Emissions Inventory results for Wellington city.

FY2020 Emissions Inventory: COVID-19 Impact Assessment (952KB PDF)

FY2021 (1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021) & FY2022 (1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022) Inventory report – Wellington City Council commissioned the FY2021 and FY2022 Emissions Inventory reports together in FY2022. In the FY2022 report, Wellington City’s FY2021 footprint was also calculated, and the FY2019 footprint was recalculated using updated methodologies, data sources, and emission factors to ensure comparability across the FY2019, FY2020, FY2021, and FY2022 footprints.

Wellington City FY2021 and FY2022 Emissions Inventory Report (1.2MB PDF)

FY2023 (1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023) Inventory report – Wellington City Council commissioned the FY2023 Inventory report, and the data for this inventory was collected for a short-list of emission sources, which covered approximately 90% of Wellington city’s emissions. Emissions from the remaining 10% sources were estimated based on the FY2022 inventory report.

Wellington City FY2023 Emissions Inventory Report (1.2MB PDF)

FY2024 (1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024) Inventory report – Greater Wellington Regional Council commissioned the FY2024 Regional Inventory report, and the data for this inventory was collected for a short-list of emission sources, which covered approximately 95% of region’s total emissions. The regional inventory report includes Wellington city’s carbon footprint alongside the other seven cities/districts within the region. Wellington City Council also commissioned an individual report for the city to provide a detailed breakdown of its major emissions sources, ensuring consistency with previous inventory reports. In the FY2024 report, previously published inventory results were recalculated using AR6 Global Warming Potential (GWP) values and updated emissions factors from the Ministry for the Environment. Notably, cruise ship emissions have been included in Wellington city’s inventory for the first time.

Wellington City FY2024 Emissions Inventory Report (894KB PDF)

Greater Wellington Region FY2024 Emissions Inventory Report (1.3MB PDF)

Did you know? Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This is often done by planting trees and forests.

What emissions aren't measured

This inventory does not include emissions from products created outside of Wellington's boundary. For example, car manufacturing is high in emissions, but since cars are made or assembled outside of Wellington and then shipped to the city for Wellingtonians to drive, the emissions associated with car manufacturing wouldn’t be included.

The emissions associated with goods purchased and consumed by Wellingtonians are not included in our inventory.

Find out more about our Te Atakura action areas and initiatives, and five ways to take climate action.

Line graph showing how the city’s emissions have fluctuated over time, and the trajectory we need to get to our 2030 target. This requires a reduction from 1,010 to 441 ktCO2-e (kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent).