Measuring our emissions helps us understand how we’re creating them, and manage, report on and reduce them.

New data for the 2018/2019 financial year shows that our district’s total gross greenhouse gas emissions were 2.72 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2-e), or 7.1 tCO2-e per person, 2.2% higher than two years ago.

Where Christchurch greenhouse gas emissions come from.

Where Christchurch greenhouse gas emissions come from. 

Christchurch greenhouse gas emission inventories for financial years 2018/2019 and 2016/2017(external link) – AECOM report, published October 2020.

To reach our greenhouse gas emission reduction targets we will need to change the way we travel, increase the use of renewable energy, improve the energy efficiency of our buildings, reduce waste and support regenerative agriculture.

Christchurch City Council’s greenhouse gas emissions

As an organisation, Christchurch City Council has a resource efficiency and greenhouse gas emission policy and a programme of work to deliver on this policy. We measure and report on greenhouse gas emissions across our operations and have set a target to be net carbon neutral by 2030 for our activities.

During the 2018/2019 financial year, the Council emitted a total gross of 21,862 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e).

Please note the contribution of agricultural GHG emissions is likely to be overestimated because of the way Statistics New Zealand estimates stock numbers for the Christchurch district. New methods to measure Christchurch district’s greenhouse gas emissions are being investigated.