International: All stories

Universal method to report carbon in buildings and infrastructure launched
1 Dec 2021
An international coalition of construction experts has published the world’s first universal standard for reporting carbon dioxide emissions used in the building and lifecycle of structures – also known as ‘embodied and operational carbon’ within the industry.

A powerful and underappreciated ally in the climate crisis? Fungi
1 Dec 2021
If we want to tackle the climate crisis, we need to address a global blindspot: the vast underground fungal networks that sequester carbon and sustain much of life on Earth.

Think climate change is messy? Wait until geoengineering
1 Dec 2021
Someone's bound to hack the atmosphere to cool the planet. So we urgently need more research on the consequences, says climate scientist Kate Ricke.

A way to reduce air pollution deaths as climate change mitigation goals are set
1 Dec 2021
A team of researchers from China and the U.S. has found that it should be possible to dramatically reduce deaths due to air pollution over the coming decades if climate mitigation strategies are designed with short-term health improvements in mind.

$22-trillion time bomb’ ahead unless banks drop high-carbon investments: Moody’s
30 Nov 2021
Financial institutions are facing a US$22-trillion time bomb due to their investments in carbon-intensive industries, Bloomberg News reports, citing a study last week by Moody’s Investment Services.

Asset owners have little impact in reducing carbon footprints of companies: report
30 Nov 2021
The world’s largest stewards of capital are struggling to move the needle on companies’ carbon footprints and emissions reduction efforts, according to research conducted by EDHEC-Risk Institute.

UN shipping body agrees voluntary measures to cut black carbon in the Arctic
30 Nov 2021
Ship operators have been urged to switch to cleaner fuels in the Arctic, under a resolution to cut black carbon emissions at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) last week.

Climate 'overwhelming' driver of Australian bushfires: study
30 Nov 2021
Climate change is the "overwhelming factor" driving the country's ever-more intense bushfires, Australian government scientists believe -- directly contradicting claims by the country's political leaders.

Is the climate crisis really on the WTO’s agenda?
30 Nov 2021
Member states are pushing the climate crisis on the trade agenda at the upcoming Ministerial Conference in Geneva. But looking at the World Trade Organization’s track record, it could be too late before real change is seen.

UN shipping talks fail to speed up faster carbon exit
29 Nov 2021
Further shipping talks are scheduled for next year after delegates at a U.N. agency meeting that sought to speed up decarbonization of the sector failed to make progress, officials said on Friday.
Film of polar bear eating reindeer seen as evidence of climate change
29 Nov 2021
Rare footage of a polar bear chasing a reindeer into the water and killing it could be another stark indication of climate change.
No accountability for US carbon bootprint
29 Nov 2021
Why are some emissions entirely absent in climate negotiations? This is not simply a matter of whether to address them — but whether they are accounted for at all.

The Arctic Ocean began warming decades earlier than previously thought
26 Nov 2021
The Arctic Ocean has been warming since the onset of the 20th century, decades earlier than instrument observations would suggest, according to new research.

How to cope in a world of climate disasters, trauma and anxiety: Yale psychologist
26 Nov 2021
Climate change is changing how human beings live on the earth as floods, wildfires and extreme weather change the land and destroy property.

China's carbon emissions fall for first time since COVID lockdowns: report
26 Nov 2021
China's CO2 emissions fell in the third quarter for the first time since the country reopened from COVID-19 lockdowns, research published Thursday showed, in what experts said could mark a carbon "turning point" for the country.

Is Norway a climate hypocrite?
26 Nov 2021
In many ways, Norway is exceptionally green. About 95% of its electricity comes from hydropower, and nearly all the rest from other renewables such as thermal and wind.

Australian climate activists battling increased repression and surveillance
26 Nov 2021
A new report has highlighted the escalating threats and harsh penalties facing those calling for climate action in Australia.
Decomputerise to decarbonise - a debate we can't avoid: opinion
26 Nov 2021
It’s time to talk about technologies seen as clean that may be causing our planet significant harm

The fight to dismantle a shadow court system threatening climate goals
25 Nov 2021
The Energy Charter Treaty is not widely known, yet it’s feared the influence of this international agreement could be enough by itself to derail hopes of capping global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

How a new global carbon market could exaggerate climate progress
25 Nov 2021
Nations are poised to begin building an international carbon market, after finally adopting the relevant rules at the UN climate conference in Glasgow earlier this month.

Pledges not enough to keep warming below 2 degrees
25 Nov 2021
In the aftermath of the United Nations’ annual climate conference earlier this month, scientists have a sobering message: The world still is not on track to meet its international climate goals.

Free green services can reduce harmful emissions
25 Nov 2021
New research led by the University of Leeds has found that using carbon tax revenue to fund free green electricity and public transportation could significantly reduce households’ greenhouse gas emissions. Providing green services for free can help decrease home energy emissions by 13.4 percent and motor fuel emissions by 23.8 percent.

Europe’s social climate fund too small to make a difference: critics
25 Nov 2021
The European Commission proposed a “social climate fund” to protect vulnerable people from changes brought by the energy transition. Still, it is not fit for purpose, according to researchers and policymakers in the European Parliament.

Climate change causing albatross divorce: study
25 Nov 2021
When relationships end it might be because the spark has disappeared, or maybe you just can't make time for one another.

What's next for the Fed on climate change
24 Nov 2021
The Federal Reserve is poised to increase its climate focus even as President Biden's nomination of Chairman Jerome Powell to a second term disappointed advocates of policies to tilt the economy away from fossil fuels.

ECB warns most EU banks have no 'Paris' climate plan
24 Nov 2021
The European Central Bank (ECB) has warned that most commercial banks it supervises do not have concrete plans to start preparing for climate change.

Big climate change job awaits WTO
24 Nov 2021
From laying down the law on fossil fuel subsidies to promoting low-carbon supply chains, there is no shortage of ways in which the World Trade Organisation could be at the forefront of the global fight against climate change.

Why oil industry's pivot to carbon capture isn't a solution
24 Nov 2021
After decades of sowing doubt about climate change and its causes, the fossil fuel industry is now shifting to a new strategy: presenting itself as the source of solutions. This repositioning includes rebranding itself as a "carbon management industry."

Canada’s tar sands challenge the existence of land and people
24 Nov 2021
The first mine opened when Jean L’Hommecourt was a young girl, an open pit where an oil company had begun digging in the sandy soil for a black, viscous form of crude called bitumen.

Farmers drive tractors through Dublin as they protest government plans
23 Nov 2021
A convoy of around 100 tractors and farm vehicles rolled through Dublin city centre on Sunday, as Irish farmers protested against government climate change plans.

China creates vast research infrastructure to support ambitious climate goals
23 Nov 2021
China, the world’s top carbon emitter, has for the first time published plans broadly outlining how it might achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2060, and a peak of emissions before 2030 — promises it made in 2019.

Nigeria commits to annual carbon budgets to reach net zero under climate law
23 Nov 2021
Nigeria has become the first major developing country to commit to set annual carbon budgets to plot its path to cutting emissions to net zero.

Canadian steelmakers embrace 'green steel' as carbon taxes set to rise
23 Nov 2021
The Canadian steel industry is at a crossroads, with government policies like carbon pricing designed to combat climate change hitting manufacturers' bottom lines and international pledges likely to seek further concessions from companies that burn

UN hails nuclear as the lowest carbon electricity source
23 Nov 2021
A new report by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) that examined the lifecycle carbon produced by all technologies suggests that nuclear power generates less carbon dioxide emissions over its lifecycle than any other electricity source.

Climate warming forecasts may be too rosy: study
23 Nov 2021
UN projections of how much current climate policies and national pledges to cut carbon pollution will slow global warming are more uncertain than widely assumed.

US climate pledge faces test in Senate with global impact
22 Nov 2021
After talking the climate talk at U.N. negotiations in Scotland, the Biden administration now tests whether a divided United States can walk the climate walk: push a massive investment for a new era of clean energy through the narrowest of margins in the Senate.

Polluters face price pain as global carbon trading system moves forward
22 Nov 2021
A Cop26 breakthrough means emissions trading schemes can work together worldwide with less fear of being gamed.

Mining Bitcoin is putting communities on the frontline of the climate crisis at risk: experts
22 Nov 2021
The rise of cryptocurrencies could disproportionately impact those most vulnerable to the climate crisis, a new paper has found.

What role can nuclear energy play in Africa’s climate transition?
22 Nov 2021
African states should not be denied the opportunity to use nuclear energy, but it should be a solution of last resort, argues arms control expert Olamide Samuel.

Coffee prices could spike due to climate change and supply chain issues
22 Nov 2021
On top of weather limiting the supply of beans, many suppliers are dealing with issues of logistics fueled by a shortage of shipping vessels and containers.

Who will ensure compliance with the Glasgow climate commitments?
19 Nov 2021
The news from Glasgow includes positive announcements, in particular agreements to curb deforestation, cut methane emissions, “phase down” coal use and, next year, more aggressive emissions reduction targets. But a disturbing history of broken global climate promises — going back decades — compels us to ask: Will countries comply with their commitments, and what happens if they don’t?

Climate change deniers are over attacking the science. Now they attack the solutions
19 Nov 2021
A new study charts the evolution of right-wing arguments.

How a carbon price could gut animal agriculture without taxing farmers
19 Nov 2021
Even a very modest carbon price would offer most farmers and ranchers more revenue than they make raising animals for slaughter, according to the scientist who founded Impossible Foods.

Toyota bets big on hydrogen as an alternative route to carbon neutrality
19 Nov 2021
Toyota is betting big on hydrogen and is collaborating with Kawasaki, Subaru, Mazda and Yamaha on the production, transportation and use of hydrogen.

Standards needed to stop private equity cashing in on dirty assets: tax expert
19 Nov 2021
Tax expert professor Richard Murphy argues that without a comprehensive accounting standard for climate change private equity will have a field day exploiting dirty assets for short term gain.

Coming off climate talks, US to hold huge crude sale in Gulf
18 Nov 2021
The U.S. Interior Department on Wednesday will auction vast oil and gas reserves in the Gulf of Mexico estimated to hold up to 1.1 billion barrels of crude, the first such sale under President Joe Biden and a harbinger of the challenges he faces to reach climate goals that depend on deep cuts in fossil fuel emissions.

Don’t be too critical on China for changing pledge on coal: EU climate chief
18 Nov 2021
The EU’s climate chief told CNBC that he “wouldn’t be too critical of China” when it comes to assessing negotiations at the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow, Scotland.

Why women’s participation is essential to achieve global climate targets
18 Nov 2021
We are engineers and scientists. We happen to be women, but first and foremost we are citizens of this planet who believe that immediate action is imperative to address the climate emergency.

Knesset committee calls for climate change to be seen as a national security issue
18 Nov 2021
Members of Israel's foreign affairs defence committee have called for the government and security services to take the issue of climate change more seriously and to consider it a national security issue in light of the clear threats posed by global warming.

‘Greenflation’: Could climate action overheat the economy?
18 Nov 2021
Going green could save the world, but we’re all going to have to pay up for it.