The latest report on New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions shows that the pollutants, mostly from agriculture and the energy sector, increased by more than 20-percent between 1990 and 2013.
However, the Environment Ministry's Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report also shows emissions fell by 1.4 percent in the 2013 year.
The inventory reveals that emissions from agriculture, the single biggest emitter, rose overall by 14 percent between 1990 and 2013, but fell during drought periods due to lower livestock numbers on farms.
The Climate Change Minister, Tim Groser, says New Zealand is on track to meet its 2020 target of reducing emissions to 5 percent below 1990 levels.
He says the report also shows New Zealand is planting more trees, which help to offset greenhouse gas emissons by acting as carbon sinks.
However, the report actually says the average rate of deforestation since 2008 has been running ahead of new forest planting.
