Australia’s new government on Monday blamed the previous administration’s inaction on climate change for an increase in the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions last year.
Australia emitted 488 million metric tons (538 million U.S. tons) of carbon dioxide and equivalent gases in the last calendar year, up 0.8%, or 4.1 million metric tons (4.5 million U.S. tons), from 2020, according to the government’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory update for the December quarter released on Monday.
