Understanding GHG Removals in New Zealand GHG Reporting
- william3629
- Sep 2
- 3 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
When businesses think about emissions, most focus on what goes out. But what about what comes back in? That’s where GHG removals come in.
Including removals in your reporting may help tell the full story of your climate impact.
What are GHG removals?
Greenhouse gas (GHG) removals are processes where carbon dioxide and other gases are withdrawn from the atmosphere.
The ISO 14064-1 standard defines this as the “withdrawal of GHG from the atmosphere by GHG sinks”.
Removals happen in nature through growing healthy forests and enriching soils. They can also come from technology, like direct air capture, that pulls carbon straight out of the air, or biochar.
Why Include GHG Removals in Your Inventory?
Including removals in your GHG inventory gives you a better picture of your net emissions. It’s important to Include removals in GHG reporting because it allows organisations to demonstrate their (net climate) impact more comprehensively.
This can support your claims toward net-zero or carbon neutrality - but only if they are done credibly.
Both the GHG Protocol and ISO 14064-1 guidance allow for their inclusion under certain conditions. Generally, these standards say:
Removals can be reported alongside emissions in your inventory.
They must be transparently disclosed, including type, method, and quantification approach.
Removals must be permanent, measurable, and additional (i.e., they wouldn’t have happened otherwise and not double counted).
How to Measure and Report GHG Removals
1. Identify the Removal Activity
Common examples include:
Reforestation/afforestation
Wetland restoration
Soil carbon sequestration (via regenerative agriculture)
Mangrove restoration
Seagrass or kelp restoration
Agroforestry or shelterbelt planting
Compost or biochar application to soils
Engineered removals like BECCS or DAC
2. Determine the Applicable Scope
Removals can occur within Scope 1 (direct control), Scope 3 (value chain).
If you are aligning with the SBTI (science-based targets initiative) then check their sector specific criteria, as removals cannot be used for emission reduction in some sectors.
3. Choose a Credible Methodology
Use IPCC guidelines or other recognised methodologies (e.g., Verra, Gold Standard) to calculate, or
Quantity of CO₂-equivalent removed
Duration of carbon storage
Risk of reversal (e.g. tree burning, soil degradation)
Ministry for the Environment (MfE) provides guidance (in the link below) for measuring carbon once the size of the forest is known, and we have developed lookup tables in Excel to calculate carbon.
Get in touch if you want us to walk you through them!
Ministry for Primary Industry (MPI) also has a program called "Maximising Forest Carbon" which focuses on improving methods to measure, recognise, and reward carbon storage in native and exotic forests
It explores how forest management activities, such as silviculture and controlling browsing animals, can increase carbon storage in pre-1990 forests. This research may lead to updates in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to better account for such removals.
4. Report Transparently
Report emissions and removals separately in your GHG inventory, and when you are marketing your progress. Avoid double-counting; you cannot also sell them in the ETS and claim a reduction.
Be upfront about uncertainties. Share your assumptions, keep your estimates conservative, and explain how you tested your data. Transparency builds trust.
If you later sell stocks in the ETS, you must update your historical GHG statements.
5: Monitor
Implement a monitoring plan to ensure stored carbon remains sequestered. This might include ongoing surveillance and periodic sampling to verify sequestration levels.
Key Takeaways
GHG removals are a valuable part of GHG reporting if you follow proper guidance.
Both ISO 14064-1 and the GHG Protocol allow for their inclusion with caveats.
To be credible, removals must be real, measurable, verifiable, and reported separately from emission reductions.
Businesses aiming for net-zero must clearly define how removals contribute to their targets and back up claims with evidence.
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