Drought trims Australia greenhouse gas emissions, offsets jump from gas trade

FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Dead trees are seen in a drought-affected paddock in New South Wales, Australia, July 21, 2018. REUTERS/David Gray

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia's greenhouse gas emissions were roughly unchanged in the 12 months ended June as a long-running drought hit cattle and sheep farming, shrivelling emissions from agriculture and offsetting sharp increases from the natural gas industry.

Overall emissions edged down 0.1% to 532.0 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2-e) in the year to June 30, the Department of Environment and Energy said in a quarterly update.