Total Environmental Taxes Rise 14 Percent In 2022

Total environmental taxes for Aotearoa New Zealand increased 14 percent in the year to March 2022, according to figures released by Stats NZ today.

"According to the OECD, environmental taxes encourage action to reduce environmental damage by providing incentives for further efficiency gains, green investment and innovation, and shifts in consumption patterns. Environmental taxes were 5.8 percent of total tax revenue in the year to March 2022," environmental-economic accounts manager Stephen Oakley said.

Environmental taxes from energy use up 19 percent

The increase in environmental taxes in the year to March 2022 was primarily due to a $650 million increase (19 percent) from the energy tax base. This was driven by an increase in taxes on greenhouse gases.

In the same period, total annual greenhouse gases decreased 1.3 percent (1,041 kilotonnes), primarily due to increased use of renewable energy sources for electricity generation as reported in Greenhouse gas emissions (industry and household): September 2023 quarter.

Asset value of renewable sources of electricity generation up 62 percent

An increase in the share of electricity generation from renewables contributed to a 62 percent increase in asset value (the market price of an asset if it were sold) of all sources of renewable inputs to electricity generation. This $7.4 billion increase took the total to $19.4 billion in the year to March 2022. During the same period, the proportion of electricity generation coming from renewable energy sources was 83 percent, up 3 percent from the previous year.

In 2022, 68 percent of the asset value of renewables came from hydrogeneration, 22 percent from geothermal, 7.6 percent from wind, 1.3 percent from wood, 0.7 percent from biogas. Solar at 0.6 percent was the smallest contribution to total renewable asset value in the year to March 2022, but had the largest annual increase in value, up 105 percent as solar generation increased.

Environmental protection expenditure up 10.5 percent

In the year to March 2022, final consumption expenditure on environmental protection by local and central government increased $234 million (10.5 percent) to just under $2.5 billion. Local government contributed nearly two-thirds (65 percent) and central government contributed 35 percent.

Total local government environmental protection expenditure increased $111 million (7.4 percent), representing 21 percent of total local government final consumption expenditure. Total central government environmental protection expenditure increased $123 million (17 percent), representing 1.3 percent of total central government final consumption expenditure.

Update to marine economy statistics

Environmental-economic accounts: Data to 2022 also includes updated statistics covering the marine economy, which values the economic activities that take place in or use the marine environment to produce goods and services.