Australia’s carbon emission estimates have fallen to their lowest point in the last 30 years, driven primarily by offsets from the nation’s vast lands and forests. Recently released data has shown that land containing forests and other vegetation—which absorb and store carbon dioxide—have played a critical role in directing Australia’s drop in emissions. The data was released as part of the December 2020 quarterly update of Australia’s National Greenhouse Gas Inventory, an annual reporting requirement under the United Nations’ Kyoto Protocol—the world’s only legally binding contract to reduce emissions. Unlike other sectors, management of land—also known as “land use, land-use change, and forestry” (LULUCF)—can allow for the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and act as a carbon “sink.” Since peaking at 638 Mt (megatonnes, or million tonnes) in 2007, Australia’s overall emissions fell by 21.7 percent to a new low of 499 Mt in 2020. Of this decline, …