Statistics NZ findings, compiled following a 2018 report by the New Zealand Productivity Commission, showed households contributed to 71 percent of New Zealand's carbon emissions in 2017. Transport choice has been the biggest factor in households' contribution to New Zealand's total carbon footprint. Better information on emissions in goods and services may shape consumer choices towards low-emissions options, given the role of households in driving up emissions generated primarily by modes of transport.
Statistics NZ found household transport emissions increased 15 percent between 2011 and 2017, leading to an overall increase in household emissions of 9.1 percent. The direct use of fuel by New Zealand households represented just over half of their total transport carbon footprint, while household utilities, which included the use of electricity, contributed 12 percent. Consumption has been rising since the recovery of the economy after the last global financial crisis in 2008, which accounts for much of this increase.