WELLINGTON, April 8 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were down 4.8 percent in the year ended December 2020, largely driven by a fall in transport emissions, reflecting the impact of COVID-19 throughout the year, the statistics department Stats NZ said on Thursday.

Despite the strong rebound in emissions in the September 2020 quarter, overall annual emissions fell due to decreases in total emissions in the March, June, and December quarters last year, Stats NZ said.

"The fall in emissions in the December quarter mirrors the fall in economic activity which followed the September rebound," environmental economic accounts manager Stephen Oakley said in a statement.

Emissions were down 1.7 percent in the December 2020 quarter, compared with gross domestic product (GDP) which was down 1 percent, Oakley said.

"On the whole, transport, postal, and warehousing services emissions were down but domestic aviation and road transport emissions picked up slightly in the second half of the year, as national restrictions eased," Oakley said.

Direct emissions from households saw a 5.7-percent drop over the year ended December 2020. However, after a 23-percent drop in household emissions in the June 2020 quarter during the national lockdown, emissions increased in both the September and December 2020 quarters, he said.

"With international borders closed and overseas travel restricted, households' use of road transport picked up at the end of 2020, increasing their emissions," Oakley said.

Other industries such as manufacturing also saw falls in emissions in 2020, he said. Enditem

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