International: All stories
Southeast Asian mangrove destruction is rampant
20 Mar 2020
Southeast Asia’s aggressive development to spur economic growth are stripping the region’s coasts of mangrove forests at rates faster than anywhere.
Study fingers US banks as largest fossil fuel financers
19 Mar 2020
A new analysis from a coalition of environmental groups has found that four US banks are the world’s largest fossil fuel financers.
China's greenhouse emissions rise 2.6%
19 Mar 2020
China’s greenhouse gas emissions rose 2.6 per cent in 2019 despite a fall in the share of coal in the country’s energy mix, driven by a rise in energy consumption and greater use of oil and gas.
Pandemic plays havoc with climate legislation
19 Mar 2020
Debate on new climate action is being delayed in Australia and the United States because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Johnson under pressure to stage UN climate talks
19 Mar 2020
Nicholas Stern, one of the most prominent global experts on the climate crisis, has urged UK leader Boris Johnson to resist calls to postpone vital UN climate talks this year, despite the coronavirus outbreak.
India finally takes climate crisis seriously
19 Mar 2020
With financial losses and a heavy death toll from climate-related disasters constantly rising, India is at last focusing on the dangers of global warming.
Blame the rich, says university study
18 Mar 2020
The rich are primarily to blame for the global climate crisis, a study by the University of Leeds of 86 countries claims.
South Korea wants Green New Deal
18 Mar 2020
South Korea's ruling party has announced its ambition for the nation to adopt a Green New Deal and deliver net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Air pollution likely to increase virus death rate
18 Mar 2020
The health damage inflicted on people by long-standing air pollution in cities is likely to increase the death rate from coronavirus infections, experts have said.
Virus could hurt growth of solar power
18 Mar 2020
Fallout from the global spread of the Covid-19 virus could deliver the first down year for global solar growth since at least the 1980s, a new report says.
Old fridges still pumping out emissions
18 Mar 2020
Old fridges, air-conditioners and insulating foam still being used are contributing nine billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions and causing a six-year delay in the recovery of the ozone hole.
Biden and Sanders go head to head on climate
17 Mar 2020
It only took 10 debates, a worldwide pandemic, and the winnowing of the Democratic field down to two men in their late 70s — but the American public finally got to hear a substantive debate about climate change.
Big Money firms back Amazon oil boom
17 Mar 2020
Five large financial firms from the US and UK are bankrolling an oil boom in the western Amazon, says a new report.
US shale will be first casualty of oil price war
17 Mar 2020
Although the oil price war was triggered by the Russia-Saudi fall-out, US shale will be the first casualty.
STOP THE ROT: The fight to save fresh food
17 Mar 2020
An American firm has developed an organic coating that extends the shelf-life of fruit and vegetables. Might it save the world?
Green turns brown as the ecosystem suffers
17 Mar 2020
The drought in eastern Australia drove the recent bushfires but it also caused another, less well- known, environmental calamity: entire hillsides of trees turned from green to brown.
Virus threatens climate action, says energy watchdog
16 Mar 2020
The coronavirus health crisis might lead to a slump in global carbon emissions this year but the outbreak poses a threat to long-term climate action by undermining investment in clean energy, according to the global energy watchdog.
Coronavirus could mean the end of Small Oil
16 Mar 2020
In a globalised world, the US economy cannot escape the effects of a global pandemic, geopolitical upheaval, and the subsequent plunge in oil prices.
Attenborough calls for ban on deep-sea mining
16 Mar 2020
Sir David Attenborough has urged governments to ban deep-sea mining, following a study warning of “potentially disastrous” risks to the ocean’s life-support systems if it goes ahead.
NSW makes life easier for electric vehicles
16 Mar 2020
New South Wales is aiming for a more-efficient transport future by encouraging electric vehicle uptake in its just-announced Net Zero Plan.
Wind and solar plants will soon be cheaper than coal
13 Mar 2020
Building new wind and solar plants will soon be cheaper in every major market across the globe than running existing coal-fired power stations, according to a new report.
BOE eyes bank capital charge on polluting assets
13 Mar 2020
Britain’s first stress-test of the response of banks to climate change will help the Bank of England to determine if polluting assets should face “penalty” capital charges.
Europe’s farm sector struggles to cut emissions
13 Mar 2020
Europe’s agricultural sector has barely managed to reduce its emissions since 2018, according to a report by the European Environment Agency.
Greenpeace sues Poland's largest carbon emitter
13 Mar 2020
Greenpeace Poland has filed a lawsuit today against the largest carbon emitter in the country, demanding that the company stop any further fossil fuel investments and achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions from its existing coal plants by 2030.
2020 make or break for climate action, says UN
12 Mar 2020
The year 2020 will be pivotal for climate action if the world is to control ever-worsening impacts and indicators of climate change before it is too late, says the United Nations.
Public backs ban on short-haul flights
12 Mar 2020
A majority of European citizens would support a ban on short-distance flights to fight climate change, according to a new survey.
Burning gas “worse than coal” for climate
12 Mar 2020
Emissions from natural gas have been dangerously underestimated and it was wrong to treat gas as a “transition fuel” in the shift away from coal, according to an Australian think-tank.
VW wants to hire climate activist
12 Mar 2020
Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess wants to recruit an “aggressive climate activist” to work for the company, with direct access to the board in order to challenge its green policies.
EU announces ‘clean hydrogen alliance’
11 Mar 2020
Plans for an EU-wide hydrogen alliance were confirmed yesterday when the European Commission unveiled its new industrial strategy.
Amazon-sized ecosystems can collapse within decades
11 Mar 2020
Even large ecosystems the size of the Amazon rainforest can collapse in a few decades, according to a study that shows bigger biomes break up relatively faster than small ones.
Virus scare could show us how to tackle climate crisis
11 Mar 2020
Coronavirus is not the only global crisis we face: the climate crisis is expected to be more devastating. Some have observed that the response to the two crises is starkly different.
Honolulu sues petroleum companies
11 Mar 2020
Honolulu city officials suing eight oil companies say climate change already is having damaging effects on the city's coastline, and lays out a litany of catastrophic public nuisances.
Big Oil counting on plastics to save them
10 Mar 2020
In the past decade, petrochemicals have moved from a sideshow for the oil and gas industry to a major profit machine - and the trend is expected to accelerate.
Expert debunks myth about e-car emissions
10 Mar 2020
Dutch electric vehicle expert Auke Hoekstra has cut through the latest claims of renowned climate denialist Bjorn Lomborg, published at the weekend by The Australian, on the emissions from electric vehicles.
Inside Europe's shadow climate fight
10 Mar 2020
The EU’s new industrial strategy, due out today, is an opportunity to shake up more than a decade of lethargic progress in cutting greenhouse gas emissions from Europe’s heavy industries.
Green Deal could cost 11m jobs, say unions
10 Mar 2020
Trade unions have stepped up warnings that the Green Deal put forward by the European Commission in December last year could put 11 million jobs at risk.
Morrison stops funding international collaboration
9 Mar 2020
The Morrison government has told researchers at two of Australia’s leading universities it will break a commitment to fund an international collaboration into what is required to shift to a zero emissions future.
Pro-Trump climate denial group lays off staff
9 Mar 2020
An influential climate-denial think tank bankrolled by President Donald Trump’s far-right billionaire donors has laid off nearly a dozen staffers amid financial troubles, according to three former employees.
UN cancels climate-change meetings
9 Mar 2020
The United Nations is cancelling climate-change meetings in Bonn for the next two months because of the Covid-19 virus outbreak.
Is climate change urgent enough to justify a crime?
9 Mar 2020
On April 28, 2019, four retirees and a 20-year-old student were arrested for planting a vegetable garden on the railroad tracks at Zenith Energy, an oil distribution facility in Oregon.
Tropical forests could be heating Earth by 2035
9 Mar 2020
Within about 15 years, the great tropical forests of Amazonia and Africa could stop absorbing atmospheric carbon, and slowly start to release more carbon than growing trees can fix.
British Gas and VW unveil electric-vehicle deal
6 Mar 2020
British Gas has teamed up with Volkswagen to accelerate the rollout of its electric vehicles across UK roads by helping drivers to charge up at home at a lower price.
Build a North Sea wall and save Europe
6 Mar 2020
Two European scientists have proposed the ultimate flood barrier: they want to dam the North Sea and the English Channel with more than 600 kilometres of sea wall.
EU unveils law for climate neutrality by 2050
5 Mar 2020
Net-zero emissions by 2050 is set to be a legally binding objective for all 27 EU member states, according to the bloc's first climate law.
UK to introduce cleaner petrol
5 Mar 2020
The UK government is set to introduce E10 fuel containing 10 per cent ethanol as a new form of “cleaner” petrol aimed at cutting carbon dioxide emissions.
Climate change on their minds
5 Mar 2020
Major international oil companies are talking more about climate change, a new study show says.
Coronavirus could derail COP 26 summit
4 Mar 2020
Concern is growing among campaigners that vital UN climate talks in Glasgow later this year will be derailed by the coronavirus outbreak.
Countries line up for EU climate fight cash
4 Mar 2020
The European Commission has revealed which countries are eligible to split a €7.5 billion-strong climate fund, earmarked for spending on cleaning up heavy industry and supporting workers in the fossil fuel industry.
World could lose half its sandy beaches by 2100
3 Mar 2020
The world will lose almost half of its valuable sandy beaches by 2100 as the ocean moves landward with rising sea levels, a new report says.
EIB vows new backing for environment projects
3 Mar 2020
The European Investment Bank is promising to help to boost climate and environment funding.
Australian governments subsidising fossil fuel use by more than $30,000 a minute, analysis finds
Fri 13 Mar 2026
Australian federal and state government subsidies that encourage fossil fuel use and help drive the climate crisis will reach $16.3bn this year after leaping by nearly 10%, according to a new analysis.
US National Academies of Sciences says no to demands it remove climate info
Today 11:30am
State attorneys general won't get climate chapter removed from a legal manual.
What does China’s 15th ‘five-year plan’ mean for climate change?
10 Mar 2026
China’s leadership has published a draft of its 15th five-year plan setting the strategic direction for the nation out to 2030, including support for clean energy and energy security.
Germany misses climate targets as emissions barely fall in 2025
Tue 17 Mar 2026
Greenhouse gas emissions in Germany have again missed targets set by the Climate Protection Act and barely fell at all in 2025.
UK emissions fall 2.4% in 2025 as coal hits 400-year low
9 Mar 2026
The UK’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 2.4% in 2025 to their lowest level in more than 150 years, according to new analysis.
Mark Carney just picked his lane on climate change
17 Feb 2026
COMMENT: Mark Carney's time as prime minister has been defined in part by his decision to roll back Trudeau-era climate policies.
'The situation is dire': War on Iran squeezes India's cooking-gas supplies
Mon 16 Mar 2026
The shockwaves of a war being fought nearly 3,000km away are now reaching India's kitchens.
Vanuatu moves forward with UN climate resolution despite Trump opposition
9 Mar 2026
The Trump administration’s attempt to sink a UN resolution demanding countries act on the climate crisis has caused cuts to the proposal but hasn’t entirely killed it, according to the tiny Pacific island country spearheading the effort.
Limiting warming to 2C is ‘crucial’ to protect pristine Antarctic Peninsula
24 Feb 2026
Keeping global warming to less than 2C above pre-industrial temperatures is “crucial” for limiting damage to the Antarctic Peninsula’s unique ecosystems, according to a new study.
'Blackwater' lakes and rivers in the Congo Basin are now emitting ancient carbon into the atmosphere
Mon 16 Mar 2026
Carbon that has been buried in the Congo Basin's peatlands for millennia is seeping into lakes and rivers. Why this is happening remains unclear, but researchers warn that tropical peatlands could be nearing a tipping point.
Companies – including Blackrock – retired 2 million carbon credits after Verra suspended project
Thu 12 Mar 2026
Verra suspended the Pacajai REDD project in Brazil in September 2023, pending an investigation into the project’s validity. That didn’t stop Mastercard, BlackRock, Philip Morris International from retiring carbon credits from the project to offset their greenhouse gas emissions.
Iran war should trigger faster exit from fossil fuel dependence, UN climate chief says
Today 11:30am
The disruption to energy markets caused by the Iran war is a lesson on the risks of relying on fossil fuels which should drive governments to wean their economies off oil and gas faster, the U.N. climate secretary told Reuters on Monday.
