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Story: Climate change

Agricultural gases

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Cow in field

New Zealand is unusual among developed nations in that a high proportion – nearly half – of its greenhouse gases come from agriculture. Most of these emissions are methane from burping farm animals, and nitrous oxide from soils and fertilisers. According to estimates published in the 2019 national Greenhouse Gas Inventory, total emissions in 2017 were 23% above 1990 levels. This cow is being monitored for gas emissions.

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by Keith Lassey

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How to cite this page

Brett Mullan, Petra Pearce, Stephen Stuart, Ben Liley and Stacy Mohan, Climate change – Global influences, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/7540/agricultural-gases (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Brett Mullan, Petra Pearce, Stephen Stuart, Ben Liley and Stacy Mohan, published 2 March 2009, updated 20 July 2020.