International: All stories
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.
Billionaire launches campaign to starve coal plants
3 Mar 2020
British hedge fund billionaire Chris Hohn has launched a campaign to persuade central banks to starve hundreds of planned coal-fired power plants around the world of finance.
Oil giants facing split over climate change
3 Mar 2020
BP's net-zero emissions announcements are the latest signs that a gap might be opening between European and US oil giants over climate change.
Hunger threat as tropical fish seek cooler waters
3 Mar 2020
Stocks of tropical fish that have provided vital protein for local people for generations may soon disappear as the oceans warm, leaving empty seas in their wake, scientists believe.
Australia's summers getting longer
3 Mar 2020
Australia’s summers are getting longer and winters have become shorter as a result of global heating, according to a new report.
Congo drilling could release vast amount of CO2
2 Mar 2020
Drilling in one of the greatest carbon sinks on the planet could release greenhouse gases equivalent to Japan’s annual emissions.
BROADCAST SNOOZE: US networks drag the chain
2 Mar 2020
Television news is covering little more than the tip of the climate change iceberg, a new US survey shows.
Logging is the last thing fire-forests need
2 Mar 2020
The New South Wales’ Forestry Corporation this week will start “selective timber harvesting” from two state forests ravaged by bushfire on the state’s south coast.
Farmers speak out on mental health
2 Mar 2020
Isolation and bad weather are compounding the strain from what UK farmers call the “anti-meat agenda”.
Morrison to encourage plastics recycling
2 Mar 2020
The Australian government will use its procurement policy to encourage the recycling of plastics, as well as committing financial assistance for upgrading infrastructure to boost the capacity for this waste to be reused.
Rio Tinto spending $1b to reach net-zero emissions
28 Feb 2020
Mining giant Rio Tinto says it wants its globe-spanning operations to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and will spend $US1 billion over the next five years to reduce its carbon footprint.
Netherlands faces pressure as global test case
28 Feb 2020
The Netherlands is under pressure to slash emissions in sectors such as power generation and agriculture after a ruling by a top court made the government a reluctant test case for tougher global climate policies.
Skip the jargon if you want people to care
28 Feb 2020
If you’re confused what the “circular economy” is, or what it means for a company to go “net-zero,” you’re far from alone.
FIFA aims for carbon-neutral 2022 World Cup
28 Feb 2020
FIFA aims to reach carbon neutrality at the next World Cup, to be hosted by Qatar in 2022, in spite of environmental challenges linked to the location of the event.
Crisis could pose catastrophic threat, experts warn
27 Feb 2020
Climate change could become a “catastrophic” threat to global security, as people lose their livelihoods, fall ill and battle over scarce water and food, a host of US security, military and intelligence experts have warned.
A third of plants and animals risk mass extinction
27 Feb 2020
Within 50 years, a third of all plant and animal species could be caught up in a mass extinction, as a consequence of climate change driven by ever-rising temperatures. What is new about this warning is the method, the precision, the timetable and the identification of a cause.
Newly waterproofed Arctic seed vault hits 1m samples
26 Feb 2020
The Arctic global seed vault has reached the milestone of having one million varieties stored in its deep freeze.
Older people can be mobilised to fight crisis
26 Feb 2020
Older people can be nudged into taking action on climate change by getting them to think about their legacy, researchers say.
Australia's carbon emissions fall just 0.3%
25 Feb 2020
Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions have dipped slightly on the back of new clean energy and a sharp fall from agriculture due to drought, but the decline was almost entirely wiped out by surging industrial pollution.
How these big polluters are free to up emissions
24 Feb 2020
The Australian Coalition Government's safeguards mechanism was meant to stop rises in industrial emissions cancelling out cuts paid for by taxpayers – but it’s a colossal failure.
Greenhouse gases have a puzzling double effect
24 Feb 2020
Lustier plant growth as greenhouse gases climb should counter global heating and atmospheric carbon build-up. But it’s not quite so simple.
Bali does battle with plague of plastic
24 Feb 2020
Indonesia is the world’s second-largest ocean plastic polluter, after China.
Singapore joins drive to phase out fossil fuel vehicles
24 Feb 2020
Climate-vulnerable Singapore will part ways with fossil fuel vehicles within the next two decades and throw its weight behind cleaner vehicles.
Hydrogen gas study for towns wins funding
24 Feb 2020
By ANDREW SPENCE | Adelaide-based Australian Gas Networks has been awarded $1.28 million in Federal Government funding to support a study into introducing renewable hydrogen into South Australian and Victorian towns.
What’s holding back China’s bamboo furniture makers?
24 Feb 2020
Wood consumption has jumped 173 per cent in China over the past decade, and restrictions on felling primary forest mean the country relies on wood imports for over half its demand.
Record Antarctic temperatures fuel sea level worry
21 Feb 2020
Sea levels might threaten coastal cities sooner than expected, scientists say, as ice loss speeds up and Antarctic temperatures rise.
Coronavirus cuts China’s CO2 emissions
21 Feb 2020
As China battles one of the most serious virus epidemics of the century, the impacts on the country’s energy demand and emissions are only beginning to be felt.
UK airports must shut to reach 2050 climate target
21 Feb 2020
All UK airports must close by 2050 for the country to reach its target of net zero climate emissions by then, scientists say.
Oil and gas climate impact worse than we thought
20 Feb 2020
The oil and gas industry has had a far worse impact on the climate than previously believed, according to a study indicating that human emissions of fossil methane have been underestimated by up to 40 per cent.
Renewables could power the world by 2050
20 Feb 2020
Wind, water and solar sources − the renewable energy trio − could meet almost all the needs of our power-hungry society in 30 years.
Climate change could wipe out coral reefs by 2100
20 Feb 2020
The changing climate could destroy nearly all remaining coral reefs by the end of the century, according to new research.
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.
