International: All stories
Oslo court backs Arctic oil exploration
30 Jan 2020
An Oslo appeals court has endorsed Norway’s plan for new oil and gas exploration in the Arctic.
State marks first for coastal building rules
30 Jan 2020
New Jersey will become the first US state to require that builders take into account the impact of climate change, including rising sea levels, in order to win government approval for projects.
Amazon staff risk jobs to protest climate policies
30 Jan 2020
Amazon has threatened with dismissal hundreds of employees who are demanding the company adopts more eco-conscious practices.
GM to invest billions in EV plant
30 Jan 2020
General Motors will invest more than $2 billion in its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant to make the facility the automaker’s first devoted entirely to electric vehicles.
Race to exploit seabed set to wreak havoc
29 Jan 2020
New research warns that ‘blue acceleration’ – a global goldrush to claim the ocean floor – is already impacting on the environment.
China, India face crticism over potent pollutants
29 Jan 2020
A new study suggests that China and India might not be living up to recent pledges to dramatically reduce emissions of a greenhouse gas nearly 13,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
How this science could help us cut emissions
29 Jan 2020
A sense of climate emergency is permeating the global consciousness thanks to high-profile campaigning, but many of us have been slow to actually make changes in the way we live.
City buses might moove to dung-drive
29 Jan 2020
Not in their wildest dreams did the residents of Karachi’s Cattle Colony think that the filth they were living in for more than four decades would generate wealth as well as energy.
MORE PLASTIC: Big Oil’s Plan B already in the pipeline
28 Jan 2020
As public concern about plastic pollution rises, the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries are pouring billions of dollars into new plants intended to make millions more tonnes of plastic than they now pump out.
Welcome to 2020: It’s hot – and getting hotter
28 Jan 2020
The year is less than four weeks old, but scientists already know that carbon dioxide emissions will continue to head upwards – as they have every year since measurements began – leading to a continuation of the Earth’s rising heat.
Conservation scientists grieving after bushfires
28 Jan 2020
For many conservation biologists and land managers, the unprecedented extent and ferocity of the Australian bushfires has incinerated much more than koalas and their kin.
Doomsday Clock moves closer to midnight
28 Jan 2020
The Doomsday Clock, a symbol created in 1947 to represent humankind’s proximity to global catastrophe, is now just 100 seconds to midnight for the first time.
Shaw criticises 'handful of countries'
17 Dec 2019
Climate minister James Shaw says a handful of countries are preventing the settling of rules governing global carbon markets.
Kyoto credits threaten Paris Agreement
13 Dec 2019
Allowing countries to carry Kyoto credits forward could effectively kill the Paris Agreement, negotiators are being told.
Australians might be told to evacuate their drought towns
13 Dec 2019
The NSW state government is considering evacuating the residents of as many as 90 towns seriously affected by drought.
China’s top climate negotiator steps down
13 Dec 2019
What is the legacy of Xie Zhenhua, a key architect of the Paris Agreement and one of the world’s longest-serving climate diplomats?
Indonesia forest fires cost $5.2 billion
13 Dec 2019
The total damage and economic loss from forest fires in Indonesia this year amounts to at least $5.2 billion, says the World Bank.
Shaw expects late move on carbon trading
12 Dec 2019
Any breakthrough in talks over rules governing international carbon trading is likely to come at the last minute, says climate minister James Shaw.
Europe Green Deal will change whole economy
12 Dec 2019
Nearly every major aspect of the European economy is to be re-evaluated in light of the imperatives of the climate and ecological emergency, according to sweeping new plans set out by the European Commission.
US seeks further block on climate compo
12 Dec 2019
The US government is pushing to ensure it can never be held accountable for the damage caused by climate change in vulnerable countries.
Court finds Exxon not guilty of fraud
11 Dec 2019
Exxon Mobil has prevailed in a lawsuit in which the energy giant was accused of downplaying the toll climate change regulations could take on its business.
How to design a forest fit to heal the planet
11 Dec 2019
There's more than one way to plant a tree – and some of the most widely used techniques aren’t up to scratch.
The climate is in trouble, but it's not all doom and gloom
11 Dec 2019
Global temperatures are on course to rise by 3deg to 5deg by the end of the century and global emissions continue to increase. But there are genuine reasons for hope.
At last, wildlife TV is engaging with the climate
11 Dec 2019
The BBC’s new wildlife television series featuring David Attenborough, Seven Worlds, One Planet, marks a drastic departure from previous programmes.
This small German town took back the power
11 Dec 2019
The case for ambitious and transformative environmental policy is being made with increasing fervour and a series of “Green New Deals” have been proposed.
NZ might sit with 2030 emissions' cuts target
10 Dec 2019
New Zealand might not increase its 2030 emissions reduction target next year.
Denmark adopts climate law to cut emissions
10 Dec 2019
Denmark’s parliament has adopted a new climate law, committing to reach 70 per cent below its 1990 emissions in the next 11 years.
Australia risks being dumping ground for cars with potent gas
10 Dec 2019
Australia is at risk of becoming a dumping ground for cars pre-charged with a greenhouse gas 1400 times more potent than carbon dioxide, industry groups warn.
Cool ideas needed to sooth scorching cities
10 Dec 2019
International urban environment experts are gathering in Adelaide this week to tackle the challenge of climate change in increasingly hotter cities.
Chile delays emissions goal boost at its own talks
9 Dec 2019
Chile has walked back a plan to announce an enhanced climate target during the Cop25 climate talks it is leading.
Seas losing oxygen at unprecedented rate, say experts
9 Dec 2019
Oxygen in the oceans is being lost at an unprecedented rate, with “dead zones” proliferating and hundreds more areas showing oxygen dangerously depleted, experts have warned.
Texas fossil fuel support paves the way for 'carbon timebomb'
9 Dec 2019
Texas is leading the way to a “looming carbon timebomb” as US output of oil and gas is forecast to rise by 25 per cent over the next decade.
ESSAY: Living with fire and facing the fear
9 Dec 2019
By DANIELLE CLODE | It is only mid-November but we have to walk early to avoid the heat.
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.
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.
