International: All stories
Labor climate policy is to hit big polluters
3 Apr 2019
A Bill Shorten Labor government in Australia would add about 100 high polluters to those subject to an emissions cap, and drastically slash the present cap’s level.
EU on track for 50% emission cuts by 2030
3 Apr 2019
While Germany and Eastern European countries continue to oppose raising the EU’s 40 per cent emission reduction target for 2030, a new analysis insists the bloc will actually manage at least 50 per cent cuts under a business-as-usual scenario.
Ryanair joins what used to be the EU's all-coal polluters' club
3 Apr 2019
Low-cost carrier Ryanair has made it to the list of Europe’s top 10 carbon emitters, meaning it now ranks as high as the continent’s coal power plants in terms of pollution.
Canada imposes carbon tax on four provinces
2 Apr 2019
Canada has imposed a landmark carbon tax on four provinces which had defied Ottawa’s push to combat climate change.
Slovakia's new leader will fight Big Coal
2 Apr 2019
Slovakia’s first female president, Zuzana Èaputová, will challenge long-standing industrial interests and the financing of coal mining after being elected at the weekend.
Judge blocks Trump's Arctic drilling plans
2 Apr 2019
A judge's ruling restores former president Barack Obama’s orders putting large parts of the Arctic off-limits to offshore drilling and throws Donald Trump’s oil and gas lease sale plans into question.
How the lion lost its mojo
2 Apr 2019
The legacy of colonial hunting has made the king of beasts genetically feebler and more vulnerable.
Japan to oppose new coal-fired power plants
2 Apr 2019
Japan’s environment minister has announced he will “in principle” oppose any new plans to build or expand coal-fired power stations, as further signs emerge of a dramatic energy pivot by Australia’s top export market for thermal coal.
Can the world quench China’s thirst for milk?
1 Apr 2019
China’s leaders have championed milk as the emblem of a modern, affluent society – but their radical plan to triple the nation’s consumption will have a huge environmental cost.
CLIMATE QUESTION: How do we keep the kids interested?
1 Apr 2019
Nearly 1.5m students walked out of school on March 15 to protest about the failure of the governments to tackle climate change. The job now is to find ways to mobilise their passion in the long-term.
Corporate giants join green-energy alliance
1 Apr 2019
Hundreds of US corporate companies have joined together for a renewable-energy alliance.
Canberra gets blame for failure to cut vehicle emissions
1 Apr 2019
Cuts to carbon emissions from vehicle efficiency standards have been left out of government projections for meeting Australia’s Paris climate commitments, indicating the policy has been shelved.
UNEQUAL EMISSIONS: The gulf between global rich and poor
1 Apr 2019
Being rich, especially ultra-rich, means being directly responsible for the majority of the world’s carbon emissions.
China and India are making a greener Earth
29 Mar 2019
Despite climate change, water scarcity and the many ills affecting the planet, this generation is living on an increasingly greener Earth.
Climate denial is evil, says Mary Robinson
29 Mar 2019
The denial of climate change is not just ignorant, but “malign and evil”, according to Mary Robinson, because it denies the human rights of the most vulnerable people on the planet.
Senate defeats Green New Deal proposal
28 Mar 2019
The US Senate has defeated a motion to take up the Green New Deal, the non-binding proposal spearheaded by progressive Democratic lawmakers.
Fossil fuel now costs more, says study
28 Mar 2019
Around three-quarters of US coal production is now more expensive than solar and wind energy in providing electricity to American households, according to a new study.
ON YER TRIKE! A new way to ensure the mail gets through
28 Mar 2019
The mail must get through ... and now it's the job of e-trikes to deliver letters and parcels.
I want plans, not speeches, says UN head
27 Mar 2019
UN chief Antonio Guterres is calling on world leaders to bring plans, not speeches to a climate summit he is hosting in September.
Don't know how to save the planet? This is what you can do
27 Mar 2019
Should we become vegetarians? Is it OK to fly? The author of There Is No Planet B, a Handbook for the Make or Break Years, answers the big questions.
Top companies accused of undermining Paris deal
26 Mar 2019
New analysis shows 22 of Australia’s largest companies are actively working to undermine the Paris Agreement targets, betting shareholders’ money on strategies that assume global climate change action fails.
Six ways to fill your wardrobe with sustainable clothing
26 Mar 2019
While the push for a more sustainable fashion market is in its early days, individuals can still make easy choices right now to have a more environmentally friendly style.
Russia floats first law to regulate emissions
25 Mar 2019
Russia is considering climate legislation that could give the world’s fifth largest emitter a framework for regulating carbon emissions for the first time.
How insurance could be out of reach for many
25 Mar 2019
Insurers have warned that climate change could make cover for ordinary people unaffordable after the world’s largest reinsurance firm blamed global warming for $24bn of losses in the Californian wildfires.
UK lines up first deep coal mine in decades
25 Mar 2019
Local councillors in Cumbria have voted unanimously to approve a new deep coal mine, Britain’s first in three decades.
Melting ice exposing bodies of Mt Everest's missing climbers
25 Mar 2019
Melting glaciers on Mount Everest have begun exposing the bodies of climbers who died on the mountain.
Attenborough to tell us the facts in new film
25 Mar 2019
The BBC has just announced that David Attenborough, 92, will present a 60-minute film, Climate Change - The Facts, which will be screened this northen spring.
US judge halts hundreds of drilling projects
22 Mar 2019
In the first significant check on the Trump administration’s “energy-first” agenda, a US judge has temporarily halted hundreds of drilling projects for failing to take climate change into account.
More gas mining threatens climate, water and health
22 Mar 2019
Australia, like its competitors Qatar, Canada and the US, aspires to become the world’s largest exporter of gas, arguing this helps importing nations reduce their greenhouse emissions by replacing coal.
Toyota's Melbourne plant to make hydrogen
22 Mar 2019
Toyota and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency will kick in $7.4m to transform part of the carmaker’s decommissioned Melbourne car manufacturing site into a commercial-grade hydrogen production and refuelling site.
Most US produce has pesticide residues - even after washing
22 Mar 2019
About 70 per cent of fresh produce sold in the US has pesticide residues on it even after it is washed, according to a health advocacy group.
FLANNERY: People are shocked; they should be angry
21 Mar 2019
Author and scientist Tim Flannery, who has returned to his roots at the Australian Museum, says the world is about to see a major shift towards climate action.
Good keen youths could form a Green Army
21 Mar 2019
A volunteer conservation army could mobilise young people who want to fight climate change by channelling them into work to restore ecosystems.
Look what happened when they cleaned up this rubbish beach
21 Mar 2019
Baby-turtles have officially returned to Mumbai - and it's all because one of the world’s largest beach clean-up efforts.
America cares about climate change again
20 Mar 2019
For the first time in years, a broad spectrum of US climate advocates is going on the offensive.
Green New Deal aims for triple payback
20 Mar 2019
Just suppose we could see a way to transform the global economy, society and even the environment so that they met real needs, and promised to go on doing so far into the future. Well, we can. And it’s growing simpler all the time, futurologists say.
‘No doubt’ Arctic temperatures will rise 3.5deg
20 Mar 2019
New research by the UN has found that a temperature rise of up to 3.5deg in the Arctic is now inevitable.
Weatherman wants climate change 'forecasts'
20 Mar 2019
A veteran UK weatherman has called on the BBC and other major broadcasters to radically overhaul their forecasts to incorporate information about climate change.
Japanese investors back renewables
19 Mar 2019
Major Japanese investors, including those most indebted to coal, are seeking to back large-scale renewables projects across Asia, marking a “monumental” shift that energy market analysts say is “the start of the end for thermal coal”.
We'll just make Manhattan bigger, says New York
19 Mar 2019
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio wants to protect Manhattan from climate change by expanding the island’s southern shore to keep rising seas at bay.
Energy and oil majors turn to rural Africa
19 Mar 2019
Armed with solar panels, lanterns and mini-grids, European energy giants hope to capture the data of hundreds of millions of new, increasingly wealthy customers in rural Africa.
EU votes for 55% emissions cuts by 2030
18 Mar 2019
The European Parliament have voted in favour of increasing the EU’s 2030 emission cuts target to 55 per cent and a net-zero mid-century target, bringing an end to weeks of infighting.
US blocks UN action on geoengineering
18 Mar 2019
The US has joined Saudi Arabia to derail a UN resolution that sought to improve the world’s understanding of potential efforts to lace the sky with sunlight-reflecting aerosols or use carbon-catching fans.
What world knew when today's leaders were little Greta's age
18 Mar 2019
Scientists were warning about the risks of climate change and the burning of fossil fuels before today's world leaders were Greta Thunberg's age.
Environment a deadly mess, says UN
15 Mar 2019
Earth is sick with multiple and worsening environmental ills killing millions of people yearly, a new UN report says.
Digging up stuff responsible for half our carbon emissions
15 Mar 2019
Extractive industries are responsible for half of the world’s carbon emissions and more than 80 per cent of biodiversity loss, according to a comprehensive new survey.
UK to end of fossil fuel heating in new houses
15 Mar 2019
The UK Government has announced plans to end fossil fuel heating systems in new houses from 2025.
Arctic warming must be urgently tackled, warns UN
14 Mar 2019
Sharp and potentially devastating temperature rises of 3deg to 5deg in the Arctic are now inevitable even if the world succeeds in cutting greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris agreement, new research has found.
Global air pollution deaths double previous estimates
14 Mar 2019
The number of early deaths caused by air pollution is double previous estimates, according to research, meaning toxic air is killing more people than tobacco smoking.
Scientists call for stronger land-clearing laws
14 Mar 2019
Australia’s high rates of forest loss and weakening land clearing laws are increasing bushfire risk, and undermining the country's ability to meet national targets aimed at curbing climate change.
Darwin methane leak ‘covered up’ by gas companies and regulators
Tue 2 Sep 2025
At the heart of the project that heralded northern Australia’s gas boom — Darwin’s first liquefied natural gas plant — was a storage tank that operators hailed as a major feat of engineering.
We used to stash gold in Fort Knox. What if we did the same with carbon?
Fri 29 Aug 2025
If we could convince the masses that waste carbon dioxide is sacred and worth hoarding — like gold — one of our most existential problems might solve itself.
China's carbon market to introduce absolute emissions caps from 2027
27 Aug 2025
China will tighten its carbon trading market by introducing absolute emissions caps in some industries for the first time starting by 2027.
EU’s record wildfire emissions highlight threat to forest carbon sinks
Mon 1 Sep 2025
As carbon emissions from forest fires spike in Europe, experts warn that wildfires pose a growing risk to national efforts to meet climate goals.
UK Conservatives pledge to get all oil and gas out of North Sea
Tue 2 Sep 2025
Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch has said her party will remove all net zero requirements on oil and gas companies drilling in the North Sea if elected.
Challenges persist in bid to mine the deep sea, even after boost from Trump
29 Jul 2025
After years of delay, the deep-sea mining plans of Canadian firm The Metals Company (TMC) now appear to be progressing as it pursues a controversial new path to securing a license to mine in international waters under U.S. jurisdiction.
Singapore seals carbon credit deal with Thailand, its first South-east Asian partner
Thu 28 Aug 2025
The agreement, the eighth for Singapore, helps both nations meet climate targets under the Paris Agreement, directing finance to Thai projects.
Rise in dengue fever outbreaks across the Pacific driven by the climate crisis, experts say
13 Aug 2025
Samoa, Fiji and Tonga among the worst affected amid warning the disease and others will become ‘more common and more serious’ as the planet warms.
Iconic Antarctic species at risk amid 'regime shift', with 'rapid and self-perpetuating changes'
22 Aug 2025
Scientists say there is emerging evidence of abrupt and potentially unstoppable changes in the Antarctic environment.
Liberia has a new plan to protect its rainforests. Can it work?
Tue 2 Sep 2025
Half of West Africa’s remaining rainforests are in Liberia, but in 2024, it lost more than 38,000 hectares (94,000 acres) of humid primary forest, according to Global Forest Watch.
Lessons from the Incas: How llamas, terraces and trees could help the Andes survive climate change
Thu 28 Aug 2025
New research suggests solutions may lie in environmental knowledge that the Incas and their predecessors developed centuries ago.
Brazil issues last-ditch plea for countries to submit climate plans ahead of COP30
20 Aug 2025
Only 28 countries have submitted carbon-cutting proposals to the UN, with some of the biggest emitters yet to produce plans.
