International: All stories

Climate 'challenge of civilisation', says Pope
6 Dec 2019
Pope Francis has called on COP 25 leaders meeting in Madrid to show political will to safeguard healthy planet.

Climate change important to me, says Trump
6 Dec 2019
US president Donald Trump has described climate change as important to him, saying clean air and clean water were top of his environmental agenda.

Biodiversity 2020: the biggest threats and opportunities
6 Dec 2019
Scientists and conservation professionals predict mosquito-killing fungi and a kelp crisis could be among the trends affecting living things next year.

Warming world throws family burden on women
6 Dec 2019
In many countries men are often migrating further to find work, leaving the entire burden of maintaining the family on women.

Iceland does an Ardern on green priority
6 Dec 2019
Iceland Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir has urged governments to adopt green and family-friendly priorities, instead of just focusing on economic growth figures.

Climate models have got it right, study finds
5 Dec 2019
Climate models have accurately predicted global heating for the past 50 years, a study has found.

We're heading for the hottest decade on record
4 Dec 2019
The past decade is almost certain to be the hottest on record, weather experts have warned, painting a bleak picture of vanishing sea ice, devastating heatwaves and encroaching seas.

Kerry declares war on climate with some help from Hollywood
4 Dec 2019
FORMER US Secretary of State John Kerry has declared World War Zero by forming a bipartisan coalition of Hollywood stars, world leaders and military brass to push for public action on climate change.

Race is on to find wild relatives of food plants
4 Dec 2019
Seeds from 400 wild relatives of food crops such as bananas, rice and aubergines have been collected to save their valuable genetic diversity before it is lost.

Why science and art should work together
4 Dec 2019
It’s no secret that scientists often struggle to explain their research in the most approachable way.

Why the rulebook matters for us at Madrid talks
3 Dec 2019
New Zealand’s plan to use carbon credits to meet part of its emissions reduction target means the country has a big stake in international climate negotiations now under way in Madrid.

MADRID MESSAGE: Forget Trump, we'll join climate fight
3 Dec 2019
The US will take action on greenhouse gases and engage with other countries on the climate emergency despite Donald Trump, a Congress delegation has told the UN climate conference in Madrid.

ARTICLE 6: The issue that will keep them exercised in Madrid
3 Dec 2019
It has proven the hardest part of the Paris Agreement to create rules for, with warnings a weak decision could undermine the accord. Now it will dominate UN talks in Madrid.

Where will the climate refugees go?
3 Dec 2019
In the near future, global warming is expected to create millions of climate refugees, and individuals and organisations are already searching for ways to help them.

Work begins on Adelaide green hydrogen plant
3 Dec 2019
Construction has begun on a pioneering hydrogen production facility in Adelaide, which will play a major role in South Australia’s bid to become a global leader in certified green hydrogen.

Warming world could bring earlier babies
3 Dec 2019
Babies could be born up to two weeks’ earlier as the climate warms.

Madrid climate talks to split nations
2 Dec 2019
The Chilean and Spanish governments hope to use UN climate talks, which begin in Madrid today, to assemble an alliance of countries that will pledge to curtail carbon emissions and pile pressure on laggards.

Amazon fires are melting Andes glaciers
2 Dec 2019
Black carbon from Amazon rainforest fires is settling on Andes glaciers and making them melt faster, according to new research.

Bolsosnaro accuses DiCaprio: You're burning the Amazon
2 Dec 2019
Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro has accused actor Leonardo DiCaprio of bankrolling the deliberate incineration of the Amazon rainforest.

Paris targets need to be five times stronger
29 Nov 2019
In almost exactly a year’s time, nearly 200 countries will have the chance to go back to the drawing board and make revisions to their Paris Agreement commitments.

EU parliament declares climate emergency
29 Nov 2019
The European parliament has declared a global “climate and environmental emergency” as it urged all EU countries to commit to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Axa vows to cut ties with coal industry
29 Nov 2019
Insurer Axa has promised to sever ties with the coal industry as part of a climate strategy to phase out the group’s multibillion pound investments and insurance underwriting of companies that back the fossil fuel.

New EU chief flags climate policy as top issue
28 Nov 2019
European Commission Presiden Ursula von der Leyen has cited climate policy as the most pressing issue facing her new executive team.

Big Energy boosts coal in Philippines
28 Nov 2019
Coal expansion by the Philippines’ biggest energy companies could lead to the fossil fuel’s share of the energy mix growing from 52 per cent today to a whopping 75 per cent by 2025.

Why fossil fuel divestment won't work
27 Nov 2019
Divestment doesn't affect global demand for oil, it just transfers power to state-run oil companies – which have higher carbon footprints. But there are other things we can do.

EU split on declaring climate emergency
27 Nov 2019
The European parliament is split over whether to declare a global climate emergency before next week’s crucial UN summit.

Most Americans say US should do more
27 Nov 2019
A majority of Americans believe the government must do more to address pollution and climate concerns, according to a new study.

It took a 60-year drought to end ancient Assyrian empire
27 Nov 2019
It took only a 60-year drought to lay low one of the first superpowers. It crumbled when harvests withered over two millennia ago.

Climate-heating greenhouse gases hit new high,
26 Nov 2019
The concentration of climate-heating greenhouse gases has hit a record high, according to a report from the UN’s World Meteorological Organisation.

Michael Bloomberg is a climate leader
26 Nov 2019
Michael Bloomberg has poured his time and hundreds of millions of dollars into projects aimed at getting the world 'beyond carbon,' but can he win the presidency?

OPINION; Scott Morrison and the big lie
26 Nov 2019
By RICHARD FLANAGAN | Australians everywhere are ready to get on with the job of dealing with the climate crisis. We just need a prime minister to lead us.

World is awash with fossil fuels, says UN
25 Nov 2019
Production of oil, gas and coal to 2030 is on track for warming way beyond 1.5deg goal, a UN Environment report warns.

BIG PLASTIC: Don't blame us, it's those public litterbugs
25 Nov 2019
Plastic manufacturers believe they are not to blame for the material choking the world’s oceans. They point the finger at litterbugs.

Australians see wildlife vanishing
25 Nov 2019
Farmers, bird watchers and other Australians close to the land are noticing the impacts of climate change on the country’s wildlife.

'Climate emergency' is Word of the Year
22 Nov 2019
Oxford Dictionaries has declared “climate emergency” the word of the year for 2019, following a hundred-fold increase in usage that it says demonstrated a “greater immediacy” in the way we talk about the climate.

EU cities confront building emissions
22 Nov 2019
The European Union last year embarked on a mission to decarbonise the building sector, currently responsible for 40% of the bloc’s energy use.

BAMBOO BONUS: Plant-based building materials do the job
22 Nov 2019
Increasing the use of bamboo in the building sector could play a big role in fighting climate change, researchers believe.

California makes stand against major carmakers
21 Nov 2019
California says it won't buy cars from General Motors, Chrysler, Toyota, Nissan and other automakers that are aligning with the Trump administration in its battle over emissions rules.

Vietnam has a remarkable wind-energy story
21 Nov 2019
Vietnam is rising as Southeast Asia’s new wind hero, with power capacity soon to dwarf that of all other Asean nations.

Amazon deforestation soars to 11-year high
20 Nov 2019
Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest this year rose to its highest in over a decade.

Casualties mount in Bolivia's battle for white gold
20 Nov 2019
The overthrow of Bolivian president Evo Morales shows how the politics of environmentalism and social justice intersect in a silvery-white metal.

Green new-dealers go all out on housing
19 Nov 2019
US political firebrands Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders have unveiled the next step to their Green New Deal plan with a bill focused entirely on reimagining public housing.

Germany approves climate protection law
19 Nov 2019
The German lower house has approved a major climate protection package which aims to ensure the country will meet its 2030 target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

BARS NOT CARS: What to do with your old parking buildings
19 Nov 2019
Shopper numbers in UK city centres are falling, leaving car parks empty – and councils are finding innovative ways to repurpose the space.

THAT'S THE SPIRIT: Vodka made from CO2
19 Nov 2019
In Brooklyn, they're making vodka without potatoes or grains. The key ingredients are hydrogen and captured carbon dioxide.

No more money for fossil-fuel projects, says EIB
18 Nov 2019
The European Investment Bank will stop funding fossil-fuel projects at the end of 2021, a landmark decision that potentially deals a blow to billions of dollars of gas projects in the pipeline.

Mines belching out as much methane as ships and planes
18 Nov 2019
Methane emissions leaking from the world’s coalmines could be stoking the global climate crisis at the same rate as the shipping and aviation industries combined.

POWER TO THE PEOPLE: Suburbs take to solar
18 Nov 2019
Australians are embracing the ‘virtual power plant’, which advocates say can protect the grid, save money and combat the climate crisis.

China's energy-sector emissions still on the rise
15 Nov 2019
China’s energy-sector emissions are expected to increase this year and next, driven by rising oil and gas consumption instead of by coal.

Myanmar hands over forests to oil palm producers
15 Nov 2019
Myanmar has handed out more than 400,000 hectares of oil palm concessions to 44 companies, some of the land overlapping with proposed national parks.