International: All stories
Net-zero transition will cost $275 trillion globally by 2050: McKinsey
26 Jan 2022
The net-zero transition will cost $275 trillion globally by 2050 as low-emission activities are ramped up and high-emissions activities decrease, according to a new report from consultancy McKinsey & Company.
Rich countries could slash agricultural emissions by 62% by eating less meat
26 Jan 2022
A move to reduce meat consumption could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture by 62% across the world’s 54 richest countries and free up enough land to store 100 billion tonnes of carbon, a new study concludes.
Norway underpaid Indonesia for forest protection results: study
26 Jan 2022
Norway’s scheme to reduce emissions from deforestation in Indonesia made only a tiny dent in meeting the nation’s climate target – but the forest nation deserved to have been paid more for it, a study has found.
The rise of voluntary carbon markets
26 Jan 2022
The voluntary carbon markets (VCMs) are poised for explosive growth in 2022. At the conclusion of COP26 in Glasgow, 632 of the world's largest 2000 public companies by revenue had announced plans to achieve Net Zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Texas and New Mexico methane leaks casuing as much climate pollution as 500,000 cars
26 Jan 2022
A survey of oil and gas facilities in Texas and New Mexico revealed 30 so-called “super-emitters,” which are leaking as much heat-trapping pollution as roughly half a million cars, according to a new report from Carbon Mapper and the Environmental Defense Fund.
Carbon capture: savior or a boondoggle?
26 Jan 2022
While much of President Joe Biden's climate change agenda has stalled in Congress, there is one nascent — and controversial — technology for reducing carbon emissions that has received billions in public funds in 2020 and 2021: Carbon capture.
'Fragile win' at COP26 summit under threat: Sharma
25 Jan 2022
COP26 President Alok Sharma has warned that progress made during the summit is at risk of "withering on the vine".
Shipping emissions rise 4.9% in 2021
25 Jan 2022
GLOBAL shipping’s carbon dioxide emissions posted year-on-year gains of 4.9% in 2021 and were higher than 2019, according to Simpson Spence & Young.
China's national carbon market records brisk trading
25 Jan 2022
China's national carbon market has wrapped up its first compliance period with a steady rise in market activity, said the Ministry of Ecology and Environment on Monday.
Slow phasing out of polluting cars a drag on China’s climate targets
25 Jan 2022
“There are 9-million bicycles in Beijing, that’s a fact.” The opening lyrics to that 2005 hit song was a conservative estimate back then, and today millions of those bicycles have been replaced by planet-warming cars.
Scientists warn climate change could unleash ‘rivers in the sky’
25 Jan 2022
The planet’s warming climate could intensify ‘rivers in the sky’ over East Asia, scientists have warned.
What will it take to shrink the carbon footprint of health care
25 Jan 2022
One of the most instantly recognisable emblems of the past pandemic year is the discarded surgical mask: ground into mud at the edge of a walking path, caught in the branches of a tree, tangled around a seabird’s legs. Thanks to the pandemic, the waste and disposability associated with modern healthcare are more visible to the public than ever before.
Why the price of Australian carbon credits has tripled in the past year
24 Jan 2022
AFTER years of hovering around the same price, the value of Australia’s carbon credits has skyrocketed – tripling in the past year.
Shell’s massive carbon capture plant emits more than it captures
24 Jan 2022
A first-of-its-kind “green” Shell facility in Alberta is emitting more greenhouse gases than it’s capturing, throwing into question whether taxpayers should be funding it, a new report has found
First battery-powered train to start trial operations in German regional transport
24 Jan 2022
Together with French manufacturer Alstom, German railway company Deutsche Bahn is going to start trial runs with the country’s first battery-powered passenger train.
World's first hydrogen tanker to ship test cargo to Japan from Australia
24 Jan 2022
A Japanese-Australian venture producing hydrogen from brown coal is set to start loading its maiden cargo on the world's first liquid hydrogen carrier on Friday, in a test delayed by nearly a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Canada's biggest climate polluters pay lowest carbon price
24 Jan 2022
On its tar sands in northern Alberta, Suncor Energy scrapes vast open-pit mines and drills down deep into the ground to extract the viscous bitumen that has turned it into one of the largest energy companies in North America. The process is so energy-intensive that it has also made the firm into Canada’s largest carbon emitter: it belches roughly 28 million tonnes into the atmosphere every year, equivalent to the entire emissions of Tunisia.
Climate-adaptation funds have not reached half of ‘most vulnerable’ nations
24 Jan 2022
Many countries in Africa and those experiencing armed conflict are struggling to access money set aside to prepare them for climate change, according to new research.
How climate change has altered Christmas
24 Dec 2021
While Hollywood's depiction of a white Christmas might be the northern hemisphere ideal, for many around the world the holiday is celebrated in very different weather. But, climate change is threatening both winter wonderlands and warmer Christmas traditions.
What is 'youthwashing' and is it dangerous for the climate movement?
24 Dec 2021
From protests to policy meetings, panels and public events, young people’s voices seem more prominent than ever on the global climate stage.
“We’re no longer totally f$%@ed. But we’re also far from totally unf$@%*ed!”
24 Dec 2021
Princeton energy researcher Jesse Jenkins accurately, and colorfully, pinpointed the weird moment we’ve arrived at in a recent tweet: “We’re no longer totally f$%@ed. But we’re also far from totally unf$@%*ed!”
Ozone-destroying greenhouse gas emissions from China increased significantly: Study
24 Dec 2021
Emissions of industrially produced chlorocarbon, dichloromethane (CH2Cl2), increased in China from 2011-2019, a new study established. The emissions grew to 628 gigagrams (Gg) per year in 2019 from 231 Gg per year in 2011 in the country, with an average annual increase of 13% primarily from eastern China.
Controlled burning of natural environments could help offset our carbon emissions
24 Dec 2021
Planting trees and suppressing wildfires do not necessarily maximize the carbon storage of natural ecosystems. A new study has found that prescribed burning can actually lock in or increase carbon in the soils of temperate forests, savannahs and grasslands.
How artists are taking on the climate crisis
24 Dec 2021
Over the last half century or more, numerous artists such as Gustav Metzger, Agnes Denes, Lothar Baumgarten, Edward Burtynsky, Chris Jordan, and Olafur Eliasson have created work that has focused attention on humanity’s destructive behaviour and its impact on the environment.
China ETS reduces carbon but needs map to cap-and-trade based system: study
23 Dec 2021
China’s regional emissions trading scheme (ETS) pilots were effective in reducing companies’ carbon emissions in the early trading phase, despite low carbon prices and infrequent allowance trading, according to Chinese researchers.
EPA announces strictest vehicle emissions standards ever
23 Dec 2021
The US Environmental Protection Agency has announced aggressive new vehicle emissions standards for greenhouse gasses that will impact cars and light trucks from model years 2023-2026.
Bicycle parking to be mandatory in all new European buildings
23 Dec 2021
THE European Commission’s revision proposal for the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive will make bicycle parking mandatory in all new and renovated buildings in the EU, a measure that will make everyday cycling easier for millions of people.
Battery wars: Serbian climate protests were just the beginning
23 Dec 2021
Last week, Serbian environmental protesters were successful in getting plans to allow Rio Tinto to mine one of Europe's largest lithium deposits suspended. The protests, however, have continued.
The case for a new international crime called ecocide: Philippe Sands
23 Dec 2021
The British lawyer and author has held Nazis and presidents accountable for crossing the moral red line. Now, he argues, the time has come to pursue those who commit crimes against the environment.
Preparing, and paying for, climate change-induced disasters
23 Dec 2021
During the evening hours of Dec. 10, a flurry of tornadoes ravaged several states, claiming close to 100 lives and leaving whole communities in wreckage.
Australian carbon price surges 180%
22 Dec 2021
Companies voluntarily buying up carbon offsets amid a flurry of pledges to hit net zero emissions by 2050 have pushed up Australia’s official carbon price by 180% over the past year
Biden's climate promises are sunk without Build Back Better: experts
22 Dec 2021
Multiple independent analyses have found President Joe Biden simply can't hit his goal of cutting greenhouse gases by 50% by the end of the decade without the clean energy provisions in Build Back Better, the President's signature economic and climate legislation.
Did 2021 deal a fatal blow to climate change denial?
22 Dec 2021
Data and extreme weather events are making it harder than ever to ignore our warming world. But climate change denial has also taken on a new form.
Climate change news coverage reached all-time high
22 Dec 2021
United States news coverage of climate change reached an all-time high in October and November, according to recent data from the Media and Climate Change Observatory (MeCCO), an international, multi-university collaboration based at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Voluntary carbon audits scheme for Northern Irish farmers
22 Dec 2021
A new scheme to tackle carbon emissions in the dairy sector has been launched in Northern Ireland by agriculture and environment minister Edwin Poots.
The e-trike armada propelling a net-zero dream
22 Dec 2021
Oliver Obernier first began delivering mail for Germany’s postal service back in 2006. Through the course of a normal day, the 47-year-old would drop off about three boxes of letters on his winding route through Hamburg’s HafenCity, an historic harborside neighborhood set alongside the River Elbe.
Papua New Guinea’s tides expose climate risks
21 Dec 2021
Earlier this month, parts of Papua New Guinea experienced a surge in king tides that flooded communities and displaced approximately 53,000 people. For PNG – facing more than double the global average in annual sea level rise – the worst is yet to come.
What losing Build Back Better means for climate change
21 Dec 2021
With billions of dollars for clean energy, the Build Back Better legislation has the potential to substantially and rapidly cut heat-trapping emissions in the U.S. But Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., rejected the bill on Sunday, and that means Build Back Better is effectively dead at a time when scientists say the world can't afford to wait on climate change.
Activists slam tweak to EU carbon allowance scheme
21 Dec 2021
The EU was set to revise its carbon Emissions Trading System (ETS) at Monday's (20 December) environment council meeting.
Are Australia’s climate wars ending?
21 Dec 2021
With big business backing Labor’s climate policy and net zero gaining bipartisan support, the climate battle is transitioning into a new phase.
2022 is a year to call out greenwashing in China: Bloomburg
21 Dec 2021
If China chooses a phrase of the year for 2021,“carbon neutrality” has to be on the shortlist.
Billionaire space flights a carbon bomb that will destroy the planet: Jacobin
21 Dec 2021
Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are dead set on expanding commercial space flight — even though a single person taking one of their carbon-spewing joy rides will produce more pollution in a few minutes than people belonging to 1/8th of the world population will in their entire lives.
Vehicle emission declines decreased deaths: study
20 Dec 2021
Researchers say that thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars have been saved in the United States by recent reductions in emissions from vehicles.
The ‘doomsday’ glacier is on the brink of collapse
20 Dec 2021
One of the ever-looming threats of climate change is sea level rise, which already threatens to displace millions of people worldwide and force them to move inland by the end of the century. A big part of the rising water levels are hotter temperatures at the poles—home to giant glaciers and ice shelves that hold crucial quantities of frozen H2O.
Activists demand Indonesian climate leadership during G20 presidency
20 Dec 2021
Indonesia should use its year-long Group of 20 presidency to lead member countries in the delivery of their climate commitments, youth activists have said.
Deforestation, climate change making outdoor work unsafe: study
20 Dec 2021
A double-blow of forest destruction and climate change has caused temperatures to soar in many tropical locations, making outdoor work unsafe for millions of workers, according to a new study.
China’s Alibaba pledges carbon neutrality by 2030
20 Dec 2021
Alibaba Group will aim to achieve carbon neutrality in its own operations and slash emissions across its supply chains and transportation networks by the end of the decade, the Chinese e-commerce giant pledged on Friday.
New York is banning the use of natural gas in new buildings
20 Dec 2021
After several other cities in the United States, the City Council of New York passed a law banning the use of natural gas in most new buildings. Construction projects submitted for approval from 2027 will have to use electricity instead of gas or fossil fuels for heating.
EU leaders set to ask for deeper monitoring of carbon market
17 Dec 2021
THE European Union’s heads of government are set to invite the bloc’s executive to improve monitoring of the EU carbon market, where a rally has sparked concerns about speculation and the impact on inflation amid an energy crisis.
The year in climate: The New Yorker
17 Dec 2021
This year, a lot of the things we’ve come to expect with the climate crisis happened: there were heavy rains (New York City beat its rainfall record twice in eleven days); there was a big global conference (this one in Glasgow) with modest results; the price of renewable energy fell some more; and a record amount of solar power and wind power was produced, but not at a pace fast enough to catch up with climate change.
A real ‘intergenerational equity’ budget would address Australia’s unceasing environmental decline
Today 11:30am
Labor has unveiled a budget designed to tackle intergenerational equity in Australia through bold tax reform.
Some inconvenient truths in bringing climate science to the judiciary
Thu 14 May 2026
OPINION: Climate science had been knocking on the courthouse doors for quite some time when the Supreme Court of the United States finally invited it into the realm of legal action in 2007.
China’s leadership calls for ‘strict control’ of fossil fuels
28 Apr 2026
Chinese government leaders published a policy document on 22 April – Earth Day – calling for stricter controls on fossil-fuel consumption and greater oversight of heavy emitters.
Inequality causing 100,000 extra deaths a year from heat and cold in Europe
Tue 12 May 2026
Economic inequality adds more than 100,000 deaths to the vast toll from heat and cold in Europe each year, research has found.
UK halves Green Climate Fund contribution, as it spends more on security
Today 11:30am
After promising £1.6 billion to the UN’s flagship climate fund in 2023, the UK government has now said it will only hand over half as much.
Carbon capture ‘doesn’t work’: Former British Columbia premier
8 May 2026
Former British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell warned the costly, troubled technology has failed to deliver, undercutting a central justification for billions in public subsidies and new oil infrastructure.
While the world hesitates, India must continue leading on climate
Thu 14 May 2026
India’s updated climate targets must translate into systems that secure growth, resilience, and autonomy.
How climate change threatens the economic backbone of the Pacific
4 May 2026
The vast Pacific Ocean and the islands dotted within it produce more than half of the world's tuna.
‘Triple whammy of climate chaos’: Why Antarctica's sea ice collapse is no longer a mystery
Mon 11 May 2026
Scientists have finally identified the ‘triple whammy’ behind Antarctica’s dramatic collapse, shedding new light on the chain reaction that has pushed its sea ice to record lows.
Africa secures major clean energy deals as France deepens investment push
Today 11:30am
French and African leaders have announced more than $11 billion in renewable energy investments across Africa, underscoring the continent’s growing importance in the global push for cleaner energy and industrial development.
The country where lethal hantavirus cases are on the rise. Experts blame climate change
Wed 13 May 2026
Experts believe environmental degradation caused by climate change and human activity is contributing to its spread by allowing the rodents that transmit the virus to thrive in new areas.
UN members prepare for pivotal vote on landmark ICJ climate justice ruling
Today 11:30am
If the resolution is passed, governments will recognise their legal responsibility to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
