International: All stories
E-bikes subsidies pay dividends
19 May 2021
A new study has revealed that subsidies for electric bikes are more cost-effective than electric vehicle incentives when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from passenger cars.
Climate-friendly microbes recycle carbon without producing methane
19 May 2021
Earth’s hot springs and hydrothermal vents are home to a previously unidentified group of archaea that don’t produce methane.
Current climate efforts inadequate: Swiss scientists
19 May 2021
Scientists backed by the Swiss government warn that widely accepted global scenarios for reducing carbon emissions to avoid dangerous climate change in reality pose a 60-80 percent probability of breaching the 1.5 degrees target.
Aussie scientists call for zero pollution target
18 May 2021
MEDIA RELEASE - A group of eminent scientists has urged Australian governments, Federal and State, to adopt a zero pollution target for air, water and land.
Dams could be releasing immense amounts of carbon
18 May 2021
Dams were once thought to sequester carbon in the sediment that piled up in their reservoirs. But new research based on 30 years’ worth of data, suggests they may release potentially huge amounts of carbon, and the problem may only be getting worse.
Mangroves are carbon storage powerhouses
18 May 2021
Coastal mangrove forests are carbon storage powerhouses, tucking away vast amounts of organic matter among their submerged, tangled root webs.
Cooking with gas bad for the planet and our health
18 May 2021
We've long known that cooking with gas is bad for the environment but a new Australian study has shown it could be as bad for child health as smoking in the home.
Asia’s cities are worst hit in warming world
18 May 2021
Climate change, water shortage and pollution are worst for Asia’s cities, researchers say. The rest of us have a lucky escape.
New Aussie battery touted as game-changer
17 May 2021
Range anxiety, recycling and fast-charging fears could all be consigned to electric-vehicle history with a nanotech-driven Australian battery invention.
Boris tells Scott to step up his climate change game
17 May 2021
Boris Johnson urged Scott Morrison to sign up to net zero emissions by 2050 during a phone call held on the same day the British Prime Minister’s climate chief said it was time to “consign coal power to history”.
Solar panel industry uses forced Uyghur labour
17 May 2021
China's Xinjiang region has evolved over the past two decades into a major production hub for many of the companies that supply the world with parts needed to build solar panels.
The evolution of ExxonMobil's climate messaging
17 May 2021
From Denial to Ambiguity: A New Study Charts the Trajectory of ExxonMobil’s Climate Messaging.
Big Oil’s malign influence is waning
14 May 2021
Oil has a remarkable story to tell: its rise, its ascendancy in all our lives, and now, if civilisation is to survive, its fall. These phases are all described in a new book, Crude Britannia: How Oil Shaped a Nation.
Small town America taking on the bitcoin miners
14 May 2021
In mid-April, nearly 150 local environmentalists marched to the gates of Greenidge Generation, a bitcoin mining facility in upstate New York, in a last-ditch effort to block its expansion.
Time to split emission reduction and removal targets
14 May 2021
A survey of 300 experts favours separating emission reduction and carbon removal targets to improve transparency around these goals.
Surge in renewable energy
13 May 2021
The world’s renewable energy industry grew at its fastest pace since 1999 last year, despite the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and may have established a standard for growth in the future, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Tea threatened by climate change
13 May 2021
Extreme weather and rising temperatures could affect both the amount of land available for growing tea and the climate needed to produce the leaves that are turned into black tea, a report from Christian Aid has said.
Kenya to set up an ETS
13 May 2021
Kenya aims to set up an emissions trading system that will allow companies and other bodies to buy emissions allowances, the finance minister said on Tuesday, as the country strives to limit the release of greenhouse gases.
High carbon price hits coal
13 May 2021
Europe's record-high carbon prices are driving down coal use,
How climate change skepticism held a government captive
13 May 2021
In her new book, reporter Marian Wilkinson uncovers the network of politicians, business leaders and others who have wielded huge influence over Australia’s climate policy for more than two decades.
Grim outlook for coral reefs
12 May 2021
The Conversation: The twin stress factors of ocean warming and acidification increasingly threaten coral reefs worldwide, but relatively little is known about how various climate scenarios will affect coral reef growth rates.
Tide of climate refugees swells as Earth heats up
12 May 2021
Natural hazards − most of them driven by climate change − have forced an estimated 288 million people from their homes since 2008. That is three times the numbers displaced by war and conflict. These people have become, however briefly, climate refugees.
Biden's civilian climate corp
12 May 2021
US President Joe Biden is proposing a Climate Corp in a proposal that has echoes of the job creation programmes of the New Deal.
Forest the size of France have regenerated
12 May 2021
From Mongolia to southern Brazil, forests big enough to cover France have grown back during the last 20 years, but the gains did not make up for losses elsewhere, a study found on Tuesday.
The commodities that will drive digital transition
11 May 2021
A new report by Fitch Solutions forecasts that some ‘conventional’ commodities will receive an added boost over the next 20 years as they take a central stage in the green and digital transitions.
Funeral smoke adds to South Asia’s woes
11 May 2021
With the sub-continent battling a vicious Covid onslaught, the worst fires in years are adding to South Asia’s woes.
Attenborough's grim warning
11 May 2021
Sir David Attenborough has warned of the “crippling problems” the world faces because of climate change, after being given a role at the Cop26 summit later this year.
Shareholders chide Toyota president over climate comments
11 May 2021
Some Toyota Motor shareholders have criticized its President Akio Toyoda for questioning Japan's plans to ban conventional cars only days after the firm said it was reviewing its climate lobbying and aimed for carbon neutrality by 205
Investor Group on Climate Change outgoing CEO optimistic about the future
10 May 2021
The outgoing CEO of the Investor Group on Climate Change, Emma Herd, says she’s never felt more optimistic about the likelihood of the world successfully dealing with climate change.
German constitutional court backs climate action
10 May 2021
A ruling last week by the German Constitutional Court in favour of ecological NGOs has major significance—and not just for Germany.
Battle for the future of milk
10 May 2021
For the past nine months, scientists at the Lausanne laboratories of the world’s largest food manufacturer have been busy working out how best to milk a pea.
Climate change impacts price stability: ECB
10 May 2021
Climate change is already impacting price stability and it will have an effect on monetary policy, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said Friday.
Young activists demanding change
10 May 2021
Children and young adults around the world are demanding action from governments on global heating and the ecological crisis
Great Green Wall promises better lives to African farmers
7 May 2021
Africa’s Great Green Wall, a climate crisis initiative that offers hope for some of the continent’s most beleaguered farmers, is back on a steady trajectory after securing $14 billion in new funding for the next decade
US farmers going nuts over climate change
7 May 2021
A new wave of US farmers are breaking the monocrop monotony by growing annuals between long rows of perennial shrubs like American hazelnuts, which keep soils intact while harboring beneficial bugs and sequestering CO2 from the atmosphere.
Dutch banning fossil fuel advertising
7 May 2021
How do you wean the Dutch off fossil fuels? Well, you could always start by banning advertisements that promote them.
Blue economy crucial in transition to a green one
7 May 2021
The transition to a greener, more sustainable economy will be impossible without the support of industries based around the ocean and coasts – known as the blue economy – according to the European Commission.
Airline offsetting programmes flawed
6 May 2021
The forest protection carbon offsetting market used by major airlines for claims of carbon-neutral flying faces a significant credibility problem, with experts warning the system is not fit for purpose, a Guardian investigation has found
Glacial melt risks food supply
6 May 2021
Glacial retreat − the rate at which mountain ice is turning to running water − has accelerated. In the last two decades, the world’s 220,000 glaciers have lost ice at the rate of 267 billion tonnes a year on average, and this faster glacier melting could soon imperil downstream food and water supplies.
Covid-19 set back moves to public transport
6 May 2021
Fears of the novel coronavirus are driving commuters off public transport and back to the car, researchers said on Wednesday, urging cities to respond quickly to changing habits and lure travellers to green options.
Marine heatwaves devastating ecosystems
6 May 2021
Sudden marine heatwaves can devastate ecosystems, and scientists are scrambling to predict when they will strike.
2.4 per cent increase in temperature predicted
5 May 2021
Recent climate change promises by major nations will bring the world a fraction closer to the prospect of a more stable climate, analysis suggests.
Tree-free paper is saving forests in Washington State
5 May 2021
Creating paper from wheat waste gives forests a break — and harvesters a new revenue stream.
Three-star Michelin restaurant goes 100 per cent plant based
5 May 2021
Eleven Madison Park is regarded as one of the best restaurants in the world—including taking the top spot on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2017. It's just decided not to serve meat or seafood for climate change reasons.
Green transition cheaper than doing nothing
5 May 2021
The costs of the green transition are far less than the costs of doing nothing argues Gernot Wagner.
Coastal forests fall victim to climate change
4 May 2021
Grey and barren dead trees dotting coastal regions across many parts of the world are the immediate consequences of sea-level rise.
Video games tackle climate change
4 May 2021
From Sims Eco Lifestyle to Minecraft Climate City, environmental issues are becoming a popular theme in video games. But can the industry deliver on its own green message?
Expert calls for drastic cut to size of houses
4 May 2021
Energy efficient building renovation is not enough to lessen the climate impact of residential buildings, according to one sustainability expert who is calling for a limit on the living space allocated per person in residential homes.
Climate change playing havoc with Chagos Archipelago
4 May 2021
The Chagos Archipelago is one of the most remote, seemingly idyllic places on Earth. Coconut-covered sandy beaches with incredible bird life rim tropical islands in the Indian Ocean. But as Sam Purkis writes in the Conversation climate change threatens everything that is unique about the Chagos Islands.
Amazon is now net GHG emitter: study finds
3 May 2021
Something is wrong in the lungs of the world. Decades of burning, logging, mining and development have tipped the scales, and now the Amazon Basin may be emitting more greenhouse gases than it absorbs.
Battery subsidy scheme set for 'urgent' overhaul as costs run out of control
16 Dec 2025
Australian Energy Minister Chris Bowen has announced big changes to the government's battery subsidy scheme amid claims most of its $2.3 billion budget has been spent in just six months.
EPA erases references to human-caused climate change from websites
19 Dec 2025
EPA has scrubbed references to people’s contribution to rising temperatures from some of its climate change webpages.
Verra cancels four tree planting projects in China. And starts reviews of 45 more projects
16 Dec 2025
“Multiple carbon projects in China are facing serious allegations regarding the authenticity of government approval documents."
France updates its 2050 carbon neutrality roadmap
17 Dec 2025
To mark the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, France released a revamped climate plan promising to phase out oil and gas and sharply increase electricity use.
Net-zero scenario is ‘cheapest option’ for UK, says energy system operator
15 Dec 2025
A scenario that meets the “net-zero by 2050” goal would be the “cheapest” option for the UK, according to modelling by the National Energy System Operator (NESO).
The ecological havens flourishing beneath power lines
19 Dec 2025
Initiatives to foster native wildflowers, grasses and shrubs are turning utility corridors into wildlife corridors.
‘Not normal’: Climate crisis supercharged deadly monsoon floods in Asia
12 Dec 2025
Cyclones like those in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Malaysia that killed 1,750 are ‘alarming new reality’.
Pacific fisheries summit gives a boost to albacore and seabirds
19 Dec 2025
Much of the world’s albacore tuna catch, which usually ends up in a can, comes from the southwestern Pacific Ocean, where fishery managers just passed a new set of conservation rules.
Arctic endured year of record heat as climate scientists warn of ‘winter being redefined’
18 Dec 2025
Region known as ‘world’s refrigerator’ is heating up as much as four times as quickly as global average, Noaa experts say.
Are rainforests now a cause of, rather than the answer to, climate change?
15 Dec 2025
A new study finds that Africa’s forests, responsible for one-fifth of global carbon removal, are beginning to generate carbon as the result of human activity.
Thousands of climate disasters are not included in official reports from Amazonian countries
12 Dec 2025
More than 12,500 extreme weather events impacted the Amazon and its population in 10 years, but countries have not generated enough information about it, according to a new scientific study.
UN environment report 'hijacked' by US and others over fossil fuels, top scientist says
11 Dec 2025
A key UN report on the state of the global environment has been "hijacked" by the United States and other countries who were unwilling to go along with the scientific findings, the co-chair has told the BBC.
