International: All stories
Top asset owners commit to big carbon emissions cuts
14 Oct 2020
Thirty of the world’s largest asset owners, with portfolios worth a combined $US5 trillion, have committed to cutting the carbon emissions linked to companies they invest in by up to 29 per cent within the next four years.
Investment boom could follow Australia's net-zero carbon push
12 Oct 2020
Australia could unlock an investment boom of $A63 billion over the next five years if it aligns its climate policies with a target of net-zero emissions by 2050, according to new economic modelling.
Pope backs divestment from companies not protecting the environment
12 Oct 2020
POPE FRANCIS is urging people to pull investments from companies that are not committed to protecting the environment, adding his voice to calls for the economic model that emerges from the coronavirus pandemic to be a sustainable one.
UK finance minister wants a carbon tax
12 Oct 2020
British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak is planning for a UK-wide carbon tax that could raise billions of pounds while encouraging the drive towards net-zero emissions.
New Swedish grocery prices goods on carbon footprint
9 Oct 2020
Felix, a Swedish food brand, has opened a climate-conscious store in which items are priced based on their carbon footprints.
US could adopt carbon tax under a Biden presidency, ex-Fed chair says
9 Oct 2020
Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said bipartisan concern over climate change could see the United States adopt a tax on carbon emissions, with the proceeds shared with households, if Democrat Joe Biden is elected president in November.
Airport appeals court's climate ruling
9 Oct 2020
Heathrow appeared in front of the UK Supreme Court this week in a bid to overturn a judgment that blocked Europe’s busiest airport from expanding.
Europe sets more ambitious target for 2030
8 Oct 2020
The European Parliament has voted to update the European Union's climate target for 2030, backing a 60 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the decade, up from 40 per cent currently.
Where are US emissions after four years of Trump?
8 Oct 2020
In last week’s United States presidential election debate, Donald Trump claimed: “We have now the lowest carbon. If you look at our numbers right now, we are doing phenomenally.”
European Parliament set for tight vote on 'historic' climate law
7 Oct 2020
Lawmakers in the European Parliament expect a tight vote on the European Union's new climate target for 2030, with support splintered over the bloc's green ambitions.
Political 'retreat' on climate action harms all nations, says UN climate chief
7 Oct 2020
Rich nations are failing on promises to help poorer ones meet the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change, even though such help would be “not charity but a global act of self-interest”, says United Nations climate chief Patricia Espinosa.
Nigeria, Jamaica bring closure to the Kyoto Protocol era
6 Oct 2020
The Doha Amendment will come into force this year after Nigeria became the 144th country to ratify the climate treaty, in a last-minute scramble to tie the loose ends of the Kyoto Protocol era.
Greenland’s ice loss likely to hit 12,000-year high
6 Oct 2020
By the end of this century Greenland’s ice loss will probably be higher than in any century during the last 12,000 years.
Second Trump term would be 'game over' for the climate, says scientist
5 Oct 2020
Michael Mann, one of the most eminent climate scientists in the world, believes averting climate catastrophe on a global scale would be “essentially impossible” if Donald Trump is re-elected.
NextEra overtakes Exxon as US' largest energy company
5 Oct 2020
If you had invested in Florida-based utility NextEra Energy a decade ago, your total return through this week, including dividends, would have been 600 per cent.
York's green-home revolution
5 Oct 2020
The English city of York plans to build Britain’s biggest zero-carbon housing project, boasting 600 homes in car-free cycling paradises full of fruit trees and allotments.
Socialist Cuba wants to go carbon trading
5 Oct 2020
Cuba has suggested it wants to get paid to reduce emissions if a controversial global carbon credit scheme is set up.
Is Europe cheating on its emissions plan?
2 Oct 2020
The European Commission's plans to use carbon storage in forests and soils to help meet its 2030 emissions reduction target of a 55 per cent cut on 1990 levels is under fire.
South Korea sets net-zero goal
1 Oct 2020
South Korea has declared a climate crisis, and established a non-binding goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, making it the second East Asian nation this week to set a tougher climate target.
Stamps reveal climate message when heated
1 Oct 2020
Stamps by Finnish studio Berry Creative feature images of birds and snow clouds that turn into skeletons and thunderstorms when heated to send a message about the consequences of climate change.
China's new climate goal could transform global heating
30 Sep 2020
If China hits its new emissions goal of going carbon-neutral before 2060, it will bring down global warming projections by around 0.2deg to 0.3 degrees Celsius, says Carbon Action Tracker.
Court considers whether Canada's carbon tax is legal
30 Sep 2020
After two days of hearing arguments for and against the federal government's carbon tax, the Supreme Court of Canada has adjourned without a decision.
NZ joins pledge that includes increasing 2030 emissions target
29 Sep 2020
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is among 64 world leaders committing to “meaningful” action to halt global environmental destruction - including increasing 2030 emissions reduction targets.
The low-down on Australia's low-emissions roadmap
29 Sep 2020
Picking winners has been anathema to Australian policy-making for decades. The federal government’s technology investment roadmap bucks the trend, targeting public investments in specific low-emissions technologies.
Resources spokesman threatens to quit ALP over climate target
29 Sep 2020
Veteran New South Wales Labor right-winger Joel Fitzgibbon has threatened to quit the shadow cabinet if the opposition adopts a medium-term emissions reduction target he cannot live with.
Poland to phase out coal-mining by mid-century
29 Sep 2020
Poland is moving closer to ending its heavy reliance on coal as the Government and miners’ unions agree a landmark plan to phase out mines by 2049.
ScoMo refuses to commit to net-zero emissions by 2050
21 Sep 2020
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has declined to sign up to a net-zero target by 2050 because he is “more interested in the doing”.
EU under fire for including carbon sinks in climate goals
21 Sep 2020
The European Commission is defending its plan to bring carbon removals from agriculture, land use and forestry into the EU’s updated climate target for 2030, saying this is in line with UNFCCC standards.
Union Square clock counts the time we're wasting
21 Sep 2020
New York’s Union Square Metronome clock is being turned into a giant climate clock tracking the time left to transform the world’s economy and energy systems to avoid catastrophic levels of climate change.
China considers going ‘carbon neutral’, peaking emissions
18 Sep 2020
China is considering carbon neutrality as part of its long term climate plan, the country’s foreign ministry announced following a summit with EU leaders.
Australia can hit net-zero by 2050 by investing in gas, says oil exec
17 Sep 2020
Corporate heavyweight Andrew Liveris, the Morrison government’s special adviser on manufacturing, has declared Australia and the world can hit net zero emissions by 2050 by significantly expanding the supply and domestic use of gas – despite gas being a fossil fuel with “roughly 60 per cent of the emissions of coal”.
Energy companies keep right to sue states in private courts
17 Sep 2020
Negotiators have ruled out an overhaul of private courts that allow energy companies to sue national governments when climate change policies hurt their profits.
Melting Arctic needs new name to match reality
17 Sep 2020
Change in the far north is happening so fast that soon the Arctic won’t be arctic any more.
Mass migration set to increase as world warms
16 Sep 2020
There is strong evidence that deteriorating environments caused by climate change are driving millions of people to resort to mass migration in their search for a better life, both within countries and across borders.
Facebook and Google say they will go carbon-neutral
16 Sep 2020
Facebook and Google are becoming carbon neutral businesses, joining competitors Apple and Microsoft in committing to put no excess carbon into the atmosphere, both companies have independently announced.
Australia’s biggest solar farm sends first output to the grid
16 Sep 2020
What will be Australia’s biggest solar farm once commissioning is complete – the 275MW Darlington project in south-west NSW – has sent its first output to the grid as it begins the lengthy journey to full production.
Sir David Attenborough makes stark warning about species extinction
15 Sep 2020
SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH returns to television screens this with a landmark new production - but the tone is very different from his usual work.
Asian multilateral bank to end coal-related financing
15 Sep 2020
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is promising to end all coal financing, but has yet to write this into policy.
Warming could pass 1.5deg before 2030, warns UN
14 Sep 2020
Global temperatures could exceed the 1.5deg limit set in the Paris Agreement in the next decade, according to a World Meteorological Society report for the United Nations.
Public figures defend XR against 'organised crime' classification
14 Sep 2020
Stephen Fry, Mark Rylance and a former Archbishop of Canterbury are among 150 public figures to hit back at government moves to classify the climate protesters of Extinction Rebellion as an “organised crime group”.
EU lawmakers vote for 60% climate target for 2030
14 Sep 2020
The European Parliament's environment committee has voted for a new EU-wide target to reduce carbon emissions 60 per cent by 2030, setting the stage for tough negotiations with EU countries and the European Commission, which is expected to propose a 55 per cent goal next week.
US wildfires could spark financial crisis
11 Sep 2020
The devastating wildfires now sweeping across the western United States are among the sparks from climate change that could ignite a financial crisis by damaging home values, state tourism and local government budgets, says an advisory panel to a US markets regulator.
Australia’s gas plans could use quarter of world’s carbon budget
11 Sep 2020
A push to develop Australia’s gas resources could jeopardise global efforts keep global warming to safe levels, eating up more than a quarter of the world’s remaining carbon budget, a new report suggests.
France seeks German collaboration on hydrogen in EU green recovery
11 Sep 2020
France hopes to collaborate with Germany on clean hydrogen projects as part of Europe’s green recovery from the pandemic, the country’s finance minister has said ahead of a meeting with his German counterpart today.
CONSERVATION CRISIS: two reports bring bad news for wildlife
11 Sep 2020
International conservation organisation WWF says the world's populations of wildlife have fallen 68 per cent since 1978, and a leaked United Nations report shows that none of the 2020 biodiversity goals have been met.
‘Obsolete’ treaty must be reformed or ditched, lawmakers say
10 Sep 2020
The 1991 Energy Charter Treaty must be profoundly overhauled in order to remove all “obsolete” provisions protecting fossil fuel investments and hindering climate action, lawmakers from Europe across say.
A fifth of CO2 emissions comes from multinationals
10 Sep 2020
The global supply chains of multinational companies such as BP, Coca-Cola and Walmart are responsible for nearly a fifth of climate-changing carbon dioxide emissions, according to a new study.
Biden would push allies on climate, says adviser
8 Sep 2020
Joe Biden will not pull any punches with allies including Australia in seeking to build international momentum for stronger action on the climate crisis, an adviser to the United States presidential candidate has said.
Germany's CDU/CSU seek new ‘climate man’ as Greens rise in polls
8 Sep 2020
Germany’s conservative CDU/CSU Union has admitted to its own shortcomings when it comes to climate policy and is now searching for a new chairman and candidate for the chancellor’s spot, which will shape the union’s course on environmental policy.
IPCC: the dirty tricks faced by scientists over three decades
7 Sep 2020
Thirty years ago, in a small Swedish city called Sundsvall, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its first major report.
Companies could have profits from breaking environment laws stripped under Australian reforms
Today 11:00am
The Albanese government wants the power to strip companies of any financial gains made from breaking environment laws, as part of a package of landmark reforms to be put before parliament in the next two weeks.
How veterans of Al Gore's firm plan to align on climate and still profit
Today 11:00am
A new investment firm is betting on a big idea: There's no collision between prioritising both climate and returns despite the recent vibe shift – if you do the homework.
In China, climate litigation starts with the state
16 Oct 2025
With thousands of dedicated courts and more than a million recent cases, environmental and climate litigation is booming in China, but it often looks different to the trend seen elsewhere.
The methane hunters of Melendugno
Today 11:00am
How Italian activists are fighting to expose the true scale of the climate harm caused by a giant European pipeline.
UK Prime Minister will attend Brazil climate summit
Tue 21 Oct 2025
Keir Starmer will travel to the Amazon rainforest for the COP30 United Nations climate summit next month, Downing Street has confirmed, after weeks of speculation that he would not.
Renewables are a global economic engine, not a culture war threat
2 Oct 2025
Energy companies are learning this lesson faster than Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
Indonesia restarts international carbon trade after four years
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto has issued a new decree to restart international carbon emission trading after a four year hiatus.
Mystery heatwave warms Pacific Ocean to new record
Tue 21 Oct 2025
The waters of the north Pacific have had their warmest summer on record, according to BBC analysis of a mysterious marine heatwave that has confounded climate scientists.
Scientists discovered something alarming seeping out from beneath the ocean around Antarctica
13 Oct 2025
Planet-heating methane is escaping from cracks in the Antarctic seabed as the region warms, with new seeps being discovered at an “astonishing rate".
Angola lowers climate ambition in blow to spirit of Paris Agreement
14 Oct 2025
Angola has scaled back its targets for reducing emissions in its new national climate plan, saying it chose “realism and implementability” over the Paris Agreement's calls for governments to set progressively more ambitious goals.
Brazil's Indigenous battle with a dry Amazon rainforest
Today 11:00am
As pastures and thirsty crops dry up the Amazon, Indigenous people try to adapt traditional farming methods.
Just 28% of countries have released nature pledges a year after UN deadline
Today 11:00am
Only 28% of countries have met a UN call to submit new plans on addressing nature loss – a year after the original deadline.
