Carbon Emissions Guidelines for Personal Action
Guidelines on Personal Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
(All units Tonne CO2 Equivalent)
National emissions - per-person
New Zealand’s total per person Green-House Gas Emissions is ~ 18.8/year
This includes ~50% agricultural emission, mainly methane.
This can be compared with:
India 1.7/yr
China 5.5/yr
Sweden 7.4/yr
UK 10.6/yr
US 23.5/yr
Australia 26.9/yr ref: 2005 figures – Wikipaedia
Note: these emissions include the emissions generated in producing exports, and arguably should be allocated to the countries in which the products are consumed.
Private Emissions - NZ per person
Average private consumption accounts for 9.9/year
Food represents ~ 1/3 of private emissions, and 1/3 of that is meat (incl poultry and fish)
Transport (Including air) represents ~1/4 of emissions
Based on Motu Consulting research for 2007
Travel Examples
From http://www.carbonzero.co.nz/EmissionsCalc/tourismeditor.aspx
Travel (return, per person) Distance (Km) Emissions Tonne CO2 Eq
Auckland -Wellington air 992 0.290
car (1 person) 1316 0.302
(0.16 small diesel)
coach 1316 0.047
train 1300 0.034
Wellington - Dunedin air 1235 0.362
Auckland-Dunedin air 2130 0.624
Auckland - Sydney air 4325 0.910
Auckland – Tokyo air 17600 3.700
Auckland – Los Angeles air 21000 4.400
Auckland - London air 36700 7.710
Notes:
1. The emissions from a single person driving is similar to flying.
2. The emissions from a return trip to London is ~ 80% of annual personal emissions.
3. Cruise ship estimates vary, but exceed that of air transport, possibly by many times.
4. To generate a financial value, multiply emissions by the carbon price, currently at NZD10/tonne, but some suggest it should be closer to USD60/tonne.(NZD93/tonne)
For more on personal emissions try the Herald emissions calculator prepared by Motu Consulting http://insights.nzherald.co.nz/article/climate-action-tool