International: All stories
Coal-dependent Japan sets neutral goal
14 Jun 2019
Heavy on tech, light on any plans to tackle its coal dependency, Japan has released its climate legislation.
UK commits to 2050 emissions target
13 Jun 2019
Greenhouse gas emissions in the UK will be cut to almost zero by 2050, under the terms of a new government plan to tackle climate change.
African city heat set to grow intolerably
13 Jun 2019
The entire African continent faces lethal weather conditions for many of its people.
Thirty years to climate meltdown – or not?
12 Jun 2019
How much of a threat is climate meltdown? Should we treat it as the biggest danger to life in the 21st century, or as one of many problems − serious, but manageable?
Brazil leader guts environmental agencies
12 Jun 2019
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro appears intent on decriminalizing Amazon deforestation, ending most fines, straitjacketing law enforcement, and gutting environmental agencies with mass firings.
Survey finds number of plant extinctions is 'frightening'
12 Jun 2019
Human destruction of the living world is causing a “frightening” number of plant extinctions, according to scientists who have completed the first global analysis of the issue.
At this rate, we'll have more plastic than fish in the ocean
11 Jun 2019
If humanity continues dumping plastics into nature at the current rate, there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s seas by 2050.
Bloomberg mission is to close all US coal plants
11 Jun 2019
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has a new $500 million mission - to close every coal plant in the US by 2030.
What's worrying the plastics industry?
10 Jun 2019
This year’s Global Plastics Summit revealed an industry that sees big growth ahead but also serious challenges, from plastics in the ocean to climate impact.
Trump disses climate change after meeting Charles
10 Jun 2019
US President Donald Trump dismissed climate change as “a change in weather” just hours after holding talks on the issue with Prince Charles.
Some day soon, people might be queueing to get to Siberia
10 Jun 2019
Siberia, currently one of the most sparsely populated places in the northern hemisphere, could become a target for mass migration as the climate warms.
There’s more CO2 in the atmosphere than you think
7 Jun 2019
Carbon dioxide levels recorded last month at the Mauna Loa atmospheric observatory in Hawaii reached an average of 414.7 parts per million. But in truth, the amount of greenhouse gas in our atmosphere is higher still.
Australia's rising emissions spark row
7 Jun 2019
Data showing the latest increase in Australia's greenhouse emissions was released late, in defiance of a Senate order, but leaked to a major newspaper.
Meet the coastal dwellers who don't fear rising seas
7 Jun 2019
Half of the people living in New South Wales’ coastal communities think rising sea levels will not affect them, and a quarter of accommodation businesses on the coast are unsure if sea-level rise is even occurring, new data shows.
Coal-dependent Chile vows to come clean by 2040
7 Jun 2019
Chile, host of the next UN climate talks, has unveiled its plan to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, which will require one of the fastest coal shutdowns anywhere.
Australian musicians band together to run solar farms
7 Jun 2019
Midnight Oil, Cloud Control, Vance Joy and Regurgitator have signed up to FEAT, a new platform encouraging their industry to back sustainability.
Interpol names most-wanted eco criminals
6 Jun 2019
International police have asked for help in tracking down the world’s most wanted environmental criminals.
Britain powers to two weeks free of coal
6 Jun 2019
Britain has not used coal to generate electricity for two weeks - the longest period since the 1880s.
Changing climate has seabirds dying in their thousands
6 Jun 2019
The bodies started washing ashore on St Paul Island, Alaska, in October 2016. One after another, the small carcasses of seabirds - mostly puffins - landed on the beach in extraordinary numbers.
Lawmakers want to pay homeowners for bee gardens
6 Jun 2019
Minnesota aims to offer financial support to homeowners who want to transform their yards into bee-friendly gardens.
Pacific sucks up more anthropogenic emissions
5 Jun 2019
The rate that the Pacific Ocean takes up human-caused emissions of carbon has increased between 1991 and 2017, a new study finds.
Finns going carbon-free faster than we are
5 Jun 2019
Finland is outbidding New Zealand in the drive to carbon-neutrality, saying its economy will be effectively carbon-free by 2035 - 15 years earlier than New Zealand plans to get there.
Climate crisis seriously damaging human health
4 Jun 2019
A report by experts from 27 national science academies has set out the widespread damage global heating is already causing to people’s health.
What happens now with Adani?
4 Jun 2019
By mid-June, if everything goes as expected, Adani Australia will receive the final environmental approvals for its proposed Carmichael coal mine and rail line development.
Students must plant 10 trees to graduate
4 Jun 2019
The PhilippineS Senate has passed a law requiring all students to plant 10 trees in order to graduate.
Macedonians might have done battle with climate change
4 Jun 2019
Alexander the Great's Macedonian ancestors might have been struck by one of the earliest environmental disasters linked to human activity.
Scientists fight Brazilian leader's cutbacks
31 May 2019
Brazil’s scientists are fighting back against President Jair Bolsonaro’s plans to slash funding for research and education programmes.
Florida creates office to take on climate crisis
31 May 2019
To say Dr Tom Frazer faces a daunting workload as he begins his new job as Florida’s first chief science officer would be an underestimation.
Author of dystopian climate novel is 'deeply optimistic'
31 May 2019
People have “a moral obligation” to be optimistic about the climate crisis because the alternative would be to despair, The Wall author John Lanchester has said.
Malaysia loses last male rhino
31 May 2019
The last male Sumatran rhino in Malaysia has died in a nature reserve on Borneo.
Pope pleads for 'startling' inaction to end
30 May 2019
If the world is to win the fight against climate change, its leaders must stop profiting from fossil fuels that threaten the survival and well-being of the planet and its inhabitants, says Pope Francis.
Rising seas threaten Australia’s major airports
30 May 2019
Most major airports in Australia are located on reclaimed swamps, sitting only a few metres above the present sea level.
Triumphant Greens demand more radical action
29 May 2019
Europe’s Greens, big winners in the weekend's EU elections, will use their newfound leverage in a fractured parliament to push an agenda of urgent climate action, social justice and civil liberties, the movement’s leaders say.
South Africa signs carbon tax into law
29 May 2019
In a first for a developing country, South Africa will put a price on pollution, but campaigners say it is not high enough.
China succeeds in greening its economy
29 May 2019
From an appalling environmental scorecard 20 years ago, China has pioneered a “global green shift” towards renewable energy and recycling.
TREATED LIKE TRASH: Asians send back the West's rubbish
29 May 2019
South-east Asia has begun to push back against the deluge of plastic and electronic waste from the UK, US and Australia.
Inaction poses trillion-dollar risk for investors
28 May 2019
Delaying the implementation of climate policies could cost the world’s top companies US$1.2 trillion over the next 15 years, according to a new UN report.
Amazon staff demand Bezos act on climate crisis
28 May 2019
Amazon chief Jeff Bezos has refused to address employees demanding the company take action on the climate crisis.
Instore or online - what’s the greenest way to go shopping?
28 May 2019
Drones, robots, crowd-shipping and more offer new options for solving the sticky “last-mile” problem of bringing your purchases home.
France’s nuclear industry stumbles along
28 May 2019
With its new reactors needing modifications and its older ones awaiting costly updates, France’s nuclear industry is in trouble.
Climate crisis could lead to nine-hour working week
27 May 2019
People across Europe must move to nine-hour week if carbon levels do not change, says a thinktank.
MOON FEVER: It's all aboard with Musk, Bezos and Trump
27 May 2019
With Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Donald Trump and others making plans, the race is on to put people back on the moon.
Industry urges Morrison to build coal plants
24 May 2019
The Australian coal industry has begun lobbying the re-elected Morrison government to support hardline positions, including building new coal-fired power stations and weakening approvals processes for new mines.
Climate ambition in balance as Europe votes
24 May 2019
The EU’s global climate leadership is at stake as a new political cycle begins amid increasingly polarised public opinion.
Anger as Church of Scotland stays with fossil fuels
24 May 2019
More than 70 Church of Scotland delegates have formally lodged their frustration at the decision of its general assembly not to divest from fossil fuels.
Climate changes drive plankton towards poles
24 May 2019
Communities of zooplankton – microscopic drifting animals that underpin marine ecosystems – are migrating poleward in response to climate change, a study finds.
Planners turning to parks as climate crisis moves uptown
24 May 2019
As cities increasingly feel the impacts of rising seas and temperatures, planners are rethinking the roles of urban parks.
Pacific leaders urge Morrison to act
23 May 2019
Pacific leaders have urged Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to do more to fight the climate crisis.
CLIMATE CODE RED: It's time we all called a spade a spade
23 May 2019
The language of climate emergency has exploded into public space in a spectacular way, with media and governments adopting new and stronger terms.
What is sustainable rubber?
23 May 2019
Rubber is one of the world’s most widely used materials, but irresponsible farming methods have led to deforestation and human rights abuses as the sector has grown.
Battery subsidy scheme set for 'urgent' overhaul as costs run out of control
16 Dec 2025
Australian Energy Minister Chris Bowen has announced big changes to the government's battery subsidy scheme amid claims most of its $2.3 billion budget has been spent in just six months.
EPA erases references to human-caused climate change from websites
19 Dec 2025
EPA has scrubbed references to people’s contribution to rising temperatures from some of its climate change webpages.
Verra cancels four tree planting projects in China. And starts reviews of 45 more projects
16 Dec 2025
“Multiple carbon projects in China are facing serious allegations regarding the authenticity of government approval documents."
France updates its 2050 carbon neutrality roadmap
17 Dec 2025
To mark the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, France released a revamped climate plan promising to phase out oil and gas and sharply increase electricity use.
Net-zero scenario is ‘cheapest option’ for UK, says energy system operator
15 Dec 2025
A scenario that meets the “net-zero by 2050” goal would be the “cheapest” option for the UK, according to modelling by the National Energy System Operator (NESO).
The ecological havens flourishing beneath power lines
19 Dec 2025
Initiatives to foster native wildflowers, grasses and shrubs are turning utility corridors into wildlife corridors.
‘Not normal’: Climate crisis supercharged deadly monsoon floods in Asia
12 Dec 2025
Cyclones like those in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Malaysia that killed 1,750 are ‘alarming new reality’.
Pacific fisheries summit gives a boost to albacore and seabirds
19 Dec 2025
Much of the world’s albacore tuna catch, which usually ends up in a can, comes from the southwestern Pacific Ocean, where fishery managers just passed a new set of conservation rules.
Arctic endured year of record heat as climate scientists warn of ‘winter being redefined’
18 Dec 2025
Region known as ‘world’s refrigerator’ is heating up as much as four times as quickly as global average, Noaa experts say.
Are rainforests now a cause of, rather than the answer to, climate change?
15 Dec 2025
A new study finds that Africa’s forests, responsible for one-fifth of global carbon removal, are beginning to generate carbon as the result of human activity.
Thousands of climate disasters are not included in official reports from Amazonian countries
12 Dec 2025
More than 12,500 extreme weather events impacted the Amazon and its population in 10 years, but countries have not generated enough information about it, according to a new scientific study.
UN environment report 'hijacked' by US and others over fossil fuels, top scientist says
11 Dec 2025
A key UN report on the state of the global environment has been "hijacked" by the United States and other countries who were unwilling to go along with the scientific findings, the co-chair has told the BBC.
