International: All stories
Environment damage a war crime, say scientists
26 Jul 2019
International lawmakers should adopt a fifth Geneva convention that recognises damage to nature alongside other war crimes, according to scientists.
Von der Leyen faces carbon border tax battle
26 Jul 2019
New European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen must tread carefully if she is to meet her promise to make polluting importers pay.
Car craze brings gridlock and grumpiness to beaming Bhutan
26 Jul 2019
Booming car sales in Bhutan, famed for valuing Gross National Happiness over economic growth, are testing the good humour of the citizens.
What Boris Johnson thinks about climate crisis
25 Jul 2019
Here's what new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said and done about climate change.
BUTT OUT: Our most-littered item is impacting plant growth
25 Jul 2019
In the frenzy to ban plastic utensils, foam containers, straws and single-use bags, the world’s No1 most-littered item has been mostly ignored - cigarette butts.
UN chief drops a line - to everyone
24 Jul 2019
UN chief António Guterres wrote to every head of state over the weekend, demanding they set out plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
Melting ice will hurt Southeast Asia
24 Jul 2019
Southeast Asia will be hardest hit by rising sea levels caused by melting and collapsing ice sheets.
Many animals can't handle changing climate
24 Jul 2019
The climate is changing too quickly for many animals to adapt, threatening their survival, scientists have confirmed.
Iceland leaves memorial to a glacier - and a global warning
24 Jul 2019
The first of Iceland’s 400 glaciers to be lost to the climate crisis will be remembered with a memorial plaque – and a sombre warning for the future.
We need to talk, scientists said 40 years ago
23 Jul 2019
Forty years ago, a group of climate scientists sat down in Massachusetts for the first meeting of the “Ad Hoc Group on Carbon Dioxide and Climate”.
Biden vows net-zero farming emissions
23 Jul 2019
Joe Biden, frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for US president, has one of the more ambitious rural climate-related goals ... but could his plan actually achieve net-zero emissions?
Energy company brings solar to islands
22 Jul 2019
New Zealand sustainable energy company Infratec has successfully completed a $16 million project to deliver reliable renewable energy to four islands in the Cooks.
US on path to extreme heat, warn scientists
22 Jul 2019
Widespread increases in extreme heat due to climate change could bring unprecedented risks to the US in coming decades, a new study has warned.
Betting on geoengineering has its risks
22 Jul 2019
The world economy collapsed when homeowners couldn't repay subprime mortgages. We're now making a similar bet on 'repaying' carbon emissions.
In a mushroom suit you'll be pushing up more than daisies
22 Jul 2019
A mushroom suit for the deceased during burial offers a way to limit the environmental impact of traditional funerals.
THE CHALLENGE: Grow more food without more land
19 Jul 2019
To feed a global population that's hurtling toward 10 billion people, the world's farms will have to increase output faster and more efficiently than at any point in history.
Leaked report warns of bioenergy and food clash
19 Jul 2019
Blanketing the globe with monocultures of forests and bioenergy crops is no dream fix to the climate crisis, a leaked draft report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns.
Offshore auctions will bring Queen a windfall of millions
19 Jul 2019
The Queen stands to make hundreds of millions of dollars from the world’s biggest offshore windpower auction in a decade.
Manmade Antarctic snows could save coastal cities
18 Jul 2019
Spraying trillions of tons of snow over west Antarctica could halt the ice sheet’s collapse and save coastal cities across the world from sea level rise, according to a new study.
Adani sets dangerous science precedent
18 Jul 2019
A freedom of information request has revealed Adani sought the names of Australian scientists involved in reviewing groundwater management plans related to its proposed Carmichael mine.
Can the global cement industry cut back its carbon emissions?
18 Jul 2019
Cement is the key ingredient in concrete, which has been called the most destructive material on Earth.
Elephants are our friends in climate fight
18 Jul 2019
Feeding elephants increase in the amount of carbon that forests are able to store, says a new study.
Climate stance pays off for new EC leader
17 Jul 2019
Ursula von der Leyen has been confirmed as the first women president of the European Commission in a nail-biting vote that put climate change centre stage.
Big firms silent on deforestation impacts
17 Jul 2019
Almost three out of four companies with a significant footprint on the world’s forests have failed to provide data on their impact on global deforestation in 2018, according to a new study.
MAKING WAVES: Female crews to chart oceans' plastic crisis
17 Jul 2019
More than 300 women will join a round-the-world voyage launching in October to highlight the devastating impact of plastic pollution in the oceans.
Greens founder speaks out against wind farm
16 Jul 2019
Plans to build a wind farm in Tasmania have come up against an unlikely opponent with Australian Greens founder Bob Brown adding his voice to protests that the project will damage views and ecology.
Corruption and coal rule in Indonesia
16 Jul 2019
Prosecutors have indicted the head of a Indonesia's national power firm and other officials, raising hopes of a dirty energy clean-up.
Australia hunts for more climate-hardy vines
16 Jul 2019
Climate change is prompting Australian wine researchers to trial drought-tolerant grape varieties from Cyprus.
Australia has $20b plan to power Singapore
15 Jul 2019
An ambitious export plan could generate billions of dollars and make Australia the centre of low-cost energy in a future zero-carbon world.
Wealthy vow to raise millions for activists
15 Jul 2019
A group of US philanthropists and investors have donated almost half a million pounds to support the grassroots movement Extinction Rebellion and school strike groups – with the promise of tens of millions more in the months ahead.
UK puts zero emissions rules on ships
15 Jul 2019
The UK government says all new ships ordered from 2025 and aimed for its waters must be equipped with zero emission technology as part of a plan to cut maritime pollution.
Cattle out, camels in as farms forced to fight climate change
15 Jul 2019
Farmers are switching from cattle to camels as some parts of Africa are getting hotter and drier.
Residents sue government over ‘world’s filthiest’ air
12 Jul 2019
A group of citizens is suing the Indonesian government, including the president, over the poor air quality in Jakarta, which in recent weeks has ranked as the worst in the world.
Major cities to face ‘unknown’ climate conditions by 2050
12 Jul 2019
A fifth of the world’s major cities will face “unknown” climate conditions by 205 as rising temperatures heighten the risks of drought and flooding.
UK climate planning ‘like Dad’s Army’
12 Jul 2019
The UK government’s own advisers have declared themselves shocked that the Britain has no proper plans for protecting people from heatwaves, flash flooding and other impacts of the climate crisis.
EC candidate sees carbon first for Europe
12 Jul 2019
Europe should become the world’s first climate-neutral continent, says Ursula von der Leyen, who is chasing the European Commission's top job.
France plans eco tax on plane tickets
12 Jul 2019
The French government announced that it will roll out a tax on all international flights departing from France starting in 2020.
Quarter of biggest firms fail to disclose emissions
11 Jul 2019
About a quarter of the world’s highest-emitting, publicly listed companies fail to report their greenhouse gas emissions, new research has found.
Antarctic melting might become irreversible
11 Jul 2019
Antarctica faces a tipping point where glacial melting will accelerate and become irreversible even if global heating eases, research suggests.
Putin has doubts but Russia will sign Paris pact
11 Jul 2019
The Russian government will submit legislation to ratify the Paris climate agreement by September, but president Vladimir Putin warned against the perils of “absolutist” renewable energy.
WAY TO GO: What’s a greener method of corpse disposal?
11 Jul 2019
Burial uses too much land; cremation releases too much carbon dioxide. So what about composting our loved ones – or even dissolving them?
Alaska swelters in record temperatures
11 Jul 2019
Alaska, part of which lies inside the Arctic Circle, is sweltering under a heatwave, with record temperatures recorded.
Australia’s emissions show another surge
10 Jul 2019
Australia is falling further behind its Paris emission reduction targets. New figures show a surge in the first quarter of 2019, increasing the gap between emissions and the trajectory that the government insists will be met “in a canter”.
Every week, there's a climate crisis happening somewhere
10 Jul 2019
Climate crisis disasters are happening at the rate of one a week, though most draw little international attention, says the UN.
Attenborough: Climate change could be equal of slavery
10 Jul 2019
Climate change and ecological breakdown might one day be viewed with the same universal repugnance as slavery, according to David Attenborough.
Energy giants to cut thousands of petrol and diesel vans
10 Jul 2019
Two of the UK's biggest energy suppliers have pledged to replace thousands of their existing fleet of vans with all-electric models by 2030.
It's a tough one, but hunt goes on for cleaner, greener plastic
9 Jul 2019
The search goes on for solutions to harmful plastic waste but the answer is far from simple.
Heat stress at work could cost $2.4 trillion a year
8 Jul 2019
An increase in heat stress at work linked to climate change is set to have a massive impact on global productivity and economic losses, notably in agriculture and construction, according to UN labour experts.
Europe tackls China’s dominance of rare earth metals
8 Jul 2019
A new industry association has been launched in Brussels with the aim of bringing together all the players in the supply chain of rare earth metals.
Saudi row over 1.5deg science raises frustrations
8 Jul 2019
Diplomats are losing patience with players like Saudi Arabia blocking progress at international climate talks, instead looking to other forums for action.
Australian rainforests no longer a carbon sink – study
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Australia's tropical rainforests are among the first in the world to start emitting more carbon dioxide than they absorb, scientists said Thursday, linking the "very concerning" trend to climate change.
States sue to stop Trump cancellation of $7 billion solar grant program
Tue 21 Oct 2025
Nearly two dozen states are suing the Trump administration over its cancellation of a $7 billion grant program aimed at expanding solar energy in low-income communities, according to court papers.
In China, climate litigation starts with the state
Thu 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.
How one country’s Russian gas crisis became a green energy boom
Tue 21 Oct 2025
When Russia invaded Ukraine, Moldova quickly empowered its small towns to produce their own renewable energy so no one could push it around.
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.
Four Brazilians to watch at COP30
15 Oct 2025
Influential Brazilians, from government figures to Indigenous activists, will take center stage during UN climate talks in the Amazon next month.
New UN carbon market rules could reshape how investors value nature
Mon 20 Oct 2025
A debate over carbon permanence – how long CO2 must stay stored to count towards offsetting emissions – is reshaping global carbon markets and could determine whether nature remains investable.
