The amount of emissions dropped in Australia. Good news, right? Well, not really. It wasn’t because of emission reducing measures, showing that the country’s efforts were working, it was because of major droughts that kept people from farming. Which is . . . well not great.

Aside from the fact that drought is awful (and also an event that will become more common as climate change gets worse) the fact that it caused reduction in emissions is nothing to get excited over. The number will go back up once the rains come and people can farm again.

It’s important to look at the total picture of the land when reviewing these numbers. This situation is a really good example of how seeing the story from all sides drastically changes your understanding of the situation as a whole. It’s not enough for emissions to simply drop, it’s important that they be dropping due to real, sustained change.