International: All stories
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.
Support for Rarotongan climate research
3 May 2021
International agencies Aqualink.org and View into the Blue have donated advanced marine monitoring equipment for deployment in Rarotonga.
NGOs call on Asian Development Bank to end fossil-fuel loans
3 May 2021
A group of non-governmental organisations called on the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday to end loans to the fossil-fuels sector, as the international lender holds its annual meeting this week with a focus on a green economic recovery.
Redirect harmful subsidies to benefit the planet, UN urges governments
3 May 2021
Billions of pounds of environmentally harmful government subsidies must be redirected to benefit nature, the United Nation’s biodiversity chief has said, before the restart of negotiations on an international agreement to set new targets for protecting nature.
Japan's visionary climate target
3 May 2021
Japan has just raised its target for reducing carbon emissions from 26 percent to 46 percent (by 2030 from 2013 levels). But how was this figure arrived at, environment minister Shinjiro Koizumi was asked? Through a careful analysis of the threat and a realistic assessment of what could be achieved, taking all relevant factors into consideration? Well, er no, according to Koizumi, the number 46 just appeared to him in ‘silhouette’ in a sort of vision.
The geopolitics of climate change
30 Apr 2021
The European Union is emerging as the world’s climate trailblazer - argue two top ranking European Union bureaucrats.
California's forestry offsetting adding millions of tonnes of C02 to atmosphere
30 Apr 2021
New research shows that California’s climate policy created up to 39 million carbon credits that aren’t achieving real carbon savings. But companies can buy these forest offsets to justify polluting more anyway
Seaweed aquaculture could reduce the size and number of “dead zones”
30 Apr 2021
Seaweed aquaculture could reduce the size and number of “dead zones” in the oceans, by absorbing the excess nitrogen and phosphorous in the water that cause these zones to appear.
Cool homes and hot water are there on the cheap
30 Apr 2021
Would you like cool homes and hot water without paying to power them? They’re already working in the laboratory - reports Tim Radford of the Climate News Network.
World's glaciers disappearing
29 Apr 2021
In the beginning, there was only Niflheim, the realm of ice and cold and mists, and Muspelheim, the realm of fire. Between the two was a deep void through which a frozen river coursed. Out of the drips from this river was the first person born: Ymir, the ice giant whose thoughts were clouds.
Nuclear industry’s unfounded claims let it survive
29 Apr 2021
It is the global nuclear industry’s unfounded claims – not least that it is part of the solution to climate change because it is a low-carbon source of electricity – that allow it to survive, says environmentalist Jonathan Porritt
Epicurious drops beef recipes because of climate change
29 Apr 2021
Epicurious is changing up its diet to help fight climate change.
Online platform to sell forests
29 Apr 2021
RTE reports on a new online platform to sell off-setting forests.
UN puts spotlight on methane
28 Apr 2021
The United Nations is expected to announce, in a landmark report, that reducing methane emissions must play a larger role in preventing the worst effects of climate change.
Oil refinery fire at key Victoria facility
16 Apr 2026
Explosions and towering flames were reported as a significant fire broke out at one of Australia’s major oil refineries.
Trump takes a ‘wrecking ball’ to independent scientific advisory board
Thu 30 Apr 2026
Without the impartial oversight of its board, the National Science Foundation is now “fully at the behest of the White House,” experts warn.
China’s leadership calls for ‘strict control’ of fossil fuels
Tue 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.
EU faces ‘China shock’ as EV imports drive Beijing’s record surplus with bloc
Fri 1 May 2026
The EU is experiencing a prolonged “China shock” as a flood of Chinese EVs into Europe helped push Beijing to a record surplus with the bloc.
UK scientists to fire salt water into the sky in bid to tackle climate crisis
Fri 1 May 2026
Government supporting new geoengineering techniques as race against unregulated companies seeking to capitalise on need for climate cooling tech heats up.
Canada, Alberta close in on carbon price agreement, sources say
Wed 29 Apr 2026
Canada and Alberta are expected to strike a deal in the next two weeks that will increase the price on carbon for the province's industrial emitters, but a broader agreement to tackle oil sands greenhouse gases and green-light a new crude oil export pipeline remains elusive.
India submits new climate action pledges to UN body, flags condition to fulfil promise
Wed 29 Apr 2026
India has formally submitted its pledge to the UN climate body, underline importing conditions noting the developing countries' committments cannot be fulfilled without adequate support in terms of finance and technology transfer.
Tuvalu to host world leaders before COP31 summit
16 Apr 2026
Tuvalu, the Pacific nation at the forefront of the global climate crisis, will host a special meeting of world leaders before this year’s Cop31 summit, as the conference president expresses “complete faith” in Chris Bowen to lead tough negotiations.
Drowned chicks and food scarcity: Emperor penguin and Antarctic fur seal now endangered
13 Apr 2026
The primary drivers are shrinking sea ice and warming oceans driven by climate change.
Rationing power and diluting petrol – how African countries are coping with effects of Iran war
30 Mar 2026
Countries across Africa have taken measures such as diluting petrol and restricting electricity consumption to cope with the fuel crisis triggered by the US and Israel's war in Iran.
Beef production drives 40% of agriculture-linked forest destruction, Brazil leads
26 Mar 2026
Beef production is the leading driver of agriculture-linked deforestation, accounting for 40% of all forest clearing done to open space for food production, according to details of a study released on Tuesday.
Extreme heat threatens global food systems, UN agencies warn
23 Apr 2026
Extreme heat is pushing global agrifood systems to the brink, threatening the livelihoods and health of more than a billion people, according to a new report by the U.N.'s food and weather agencies.
