International: All stories

EU experts to say nuclear power is a green investment
31 Mar 2021
Experts tasked with assessing whether the European Union should label nuclear power as a green investment will say that the fuel qualifies as sustainable, according to a leaked document.

UK taken to task for ignoring Paris Agreement
31 Mar 2021
Prominent scientists and lawyers have said Britain's decision to ignore the Paris climate agreement when deciding on major infrastructure projects undermines its presidency of UN climate talks this year.

Climate change will deepen rich-poor global divide, economists warn
31 Mar 2021
Nearly nine in 10 leading global climate economists think climate change will deepen income inequality between rich and poor countries, with most calling for urgent action to cut planet-warming emissions.

Australia can replace oil & gas with renewables - report
29 Mar 2021
Renewable energy and batteries can secure Australia’s electricity grid as effectively as coal and gas, new research suggests.

Gas-led recovery? Probably not, says AEMO
29 Mar 2021
The Australian Energy Market Operator says gas could disappear from that country's grid because it can't compete with renewables and green hydrogen.

What the Canadian court rule means for carbon pricing
29 Mar 2021
Less than a week after Conservative Party members defeated a motion to acknowledge the reality of climate change in its official policy, Canada’s Supreme Court reminded Canadians that climate change threatens the future of humanity and cannot be ignored.

Canada will keep its carbon tax
26 Mar 2021
Canada's national carbon tax will remain intact after the country's Supreme Court ruled in favour of its legality.

Brazil to pay farmers to protect nature
26 Mar 2021
Brazil's lawmakers have cleared the way for the creation of a national system to pay farmers, local communities and others to protect natural habitats that provide key environmental services such as water and carbon storage.

Meat giant vows net-zero by 2040 amid record profits
26 Mar 2021
Brazilian company JBS, the world’s biggest meat processor, has announced record profits a day after it pledged to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 – the first global meat and poultry company to do so.

Fifth of large companies back net-zero
24 Mar 2021
One in five of the world's 2000 largest publicly listed companies have now committed to a "net-zero" emissions target to help tackle climate change, researchers said on Tuesday.

Sweden to increase airport fees for high-polluting planes
24 Mar 2021
Sweden plans to charge airlines more at takeoff and landing if their aircrafts are more polluting, the government has said.

'Historic' climate bill due before NI Assembly
24 Mar 2021
Supporters of Northern Ireland's first climate bill say it is an "historic moment".

Oil pipeline tests the climate commitment of international banks
24 Mar 2021
Plans by Total to exploit and export Ugandan oil through a 1443 kilometre pipeline traversing east Africa to the Tanzanian coast are hanging in the balance as investors are under growing pressure to move away from fossil fuels.

Top emitters a long way from Paris goals - report
23 Mar 2021
The world's biggest carbon-emitting companies are far from aligning with the Paris Climate Agreement, a report by the leading climate-focused investor group shows.

Climate polluters accused of 'sportswashing'
23 Mar 2021
Polluting industries are pouring hundreds of millions of pounds into sports sponsorship in an attempt to “sports-wash” their role in the climate crisis, according to the authors of a report published on Monday.

Japan and China back coal despite Paris pledges
22 Mar 2021
Japan and China remain among the world’s top coal industry lenders and underwriters, says a report, despite both countries declaring intent ions to go carbon-neutral as part of their commitments to climate target set out in the Paris Agreement.

Climate facts back on US EPA website
22 Mar 2021
Canceled four years ago by a president who considered global warming a hoax, climate crisis information has returned to the website of the US government’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of Joe Biden’s promise to “bring science back”.

Industry calls for hydrogen blending into gas
22 Mar 2021
More than 90 energy companies, equipment manufacturers and gas network operators have called on the European Commission to consider hydrogen blending into natural gas for parts of Europe that cannot yet afford a dedicated hydrogen network.

Heavy rains in Australia's east bring worst floods in 50 years
22 Mar 2021
Heavy rains along Australia's east coast over the weekend have brought the worst flooding in half a century in some areas, authorities said on Sunday, forcing thousands to evacuate and damaging hundreds of houses.

UK calls for net--zero by 2050
19 Mar 2021
Alok Sharma sets out UK’s aims as host of climate talks, including new emissions targets for 2030.

Carbfix turns emissions into stone
19 Mar 2021
An Icelandic startup has an intriguing solution to the emissions problem: turn carbon into stone.

Australia tells US it's moving to a 'new energy' economy
18 Mar 2021
Scott Morrison has reiterated his intention to reach net-zero emissions “as soon as possible and preferably by 2050”, and transition Australia to a “new energy economy”, in a conversation with Joe Biden’s special presidential envoy for climate, John Kerry.

Carbon pricing driving home renovation
18 Mar 2021
Like other European countries, the Czech Republic’s buildings are in need of renovation. Unlike others, it partly funds renovation programmes with revenues generated from the emission trading scheme, an experiment that could be replicated across the European Union..

France makes constitutional move on climate
17 Mar 2021
France's National Assembly has voted to enshrine the fight against climate change and the protection of biodiversity in the constitution, the first step towards a national referendum on the matter.

Vaccine hold-up threatens representation at climate talks
17 Mar 2021
Climate diplomats in developing countries and civil society groups say slow vaccine rollouts in poorer nations threaten the inclusivity of negotiations at the Cop26 summit in November.

Why Wall St says it's going green
17 Mar 2021
America's finance industry has backed polluters for decades. Now, amid growing pressure, Wall Street says it is going green.

Wary US farmers weigh up joining Biden's climate fight
16 Mar 2021
The series of severe droughts and heatwaves in Europe since 2014 is the most extreme for more than 2,000 years, research suggests.

Droughts worst in 200 years
16 Mar 2021
The series of severe droughts and heatwaves in Europe since 2014 is the most extreme for more than 2000 years, research suggests.

EU carbon border tax plan worries US
15 Mar 2021
United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry says he is concerned about the implications of the European Union's plans for a carbon border tax.

EU keeps free credits for industry
15 Mar 2021
The European Parliament has rejected proposals to phase out free carbon dioxide pollution credits for industries covered by the EU’s Emissions Trading System, even as the bloc plans to gradually replace the scheme with a carbon levy at its border.

Paying for ecosystem services to save the planet
12 Mar 2021
The idea that ecosystems have monetary value now has global support — and creates a route to protecting Earth’s endangered regions.

Appliances should last longer, says UK
12 Mar 2021
Tougher rules are being introduced to make appliances such as fridges, washing machines and TVs cheaper to run and last longer, says the British Government.

US envoy promotes climate alignment with Europe
11 Mar 2021
United States climate envoy John Kerry says Europe and Washington need to align on climate policy, confirming the new US administration's policy shift away from Donald Trump's roll-back of environmental protections.

Early shut for coal-fired power station
11 Mar 2021
Australia's third-largest power retailer EnergyAustralia will shut its ageing Yallourn coal-fired power station in 2028, four years earlier than previously flagged, stoking concern about electricity supply and price increases.

EU border carbon levy could help poor countries
10 Mar 2021
Europe's future carbon border adjustment mechanism is part of the “new own resources” for the EU budget and must be used to combat global warming across the world, says MEP leading the project.

Aussie says as OECD boss he would be climate ambitious
10 Mar 2021
The former Australian finance minister vying to become the new head of the OECD said he would pursue an "ambitious" and "global" approach to help nations become carbon-neutral by 2050.

US urged to halve emissions by 2030
10 Mar 2021
The United States must halve its planet-heating emissions by the end of the decade to spur other countries to greater action, says a coalition of American environmental groups.

Climate work suspended in wake of coup
9 Mar 2021
The United Nations has suspended climate projects that require working with Myanmar’s military government following the February 1 coup and other international donors may follow suit.

China to cut energy intensity, but no consumption cap
8 Mar 2021
China will cut energy intensity but has stopped short of setting a cap on energy use in its new development plan.

OECD contender backtracks on climate scepticism
8 Mar 2021
An Australian former minister widely criticised by environmentalists has made it to the final two contenders to lead the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development

EU clashes over ‘net’ 2030 climate target
8 Mar 2021
Lawmakers have denounced a “loophole” in the European Commission’s proposed climate target for 2030 and pointed the finger at the EU executive for its hard negotiation style over the EU climate law.

Eco-homes becoming hot property
8 Mar 2021
Smart, low-carbon homes were once the preserve of one-off grand designs, but now Britain has up to 30,000 projects in the pipeline.

Oil lobby killed carbon prices. Now it supports them?
8 Mar 2021
Twelve years ago, the American Petroleum Institute ran an ad in the print version of the Washington Post. “If you like $4 gasoline,” it read, “you’ll love the House Climate Bill.”

Bank of England gets green remit
4 Mar 2021
The Bank of England’s remit has been changed to include a duty to support the country's net-zero carbon ambition.

Climate change could put insurance out of reach
4 Mar 2021
Millions of Australians could be left uninsured as the effects of climate change put increasing pressure on the financial system, the industry’s regulatory body has warned.

Dying oil companies leave millions in cleanup costs
4 Mar 2021
When Weatherly Oil and Gas filed for bankruptcy in February 2019, the company was walking away from several hundred Texas wells.

Climate legal cases on the rise in Asia
3 Mar 2021
Asian governments and industries have increasingly been facing legal action for climate change-related harms over the past two years, a report by a United States-headquartered law firm has revealed.

Teens take their climate crisis plea to court
2 Mar 2021
Eight teenagers and an octogenarian nun are in Australian court today to launch what they hope will prove to be a landmark case – one that establishes the federal government’s duty of care in protecting future generations from a worsening climate crisis.

Banks should publish green yardstick, says authority
2 Mar 2021
European banks should publish a “green-asset ratio” as a core measure of their climate-friendly business activities, says the European Union's banking watchdog.

China’s dirty covid-19 recovery
2 Mar 2021
Official Chinese government figures show energy, steel and cement consumption rose in 2020, pushing emissions up as Beijing is expected to reveal its 2025 targets.