International: All stories
Two billion people dread the day the Himalaya ice cap fails
8 Feb 2019
At least a third of the huge ice fields in Asia’s towering Himalaya mountain chain are doomed to melt due to climate change with serious consequences for almost two billion people.
Cities need to grow up - not out
8 Feb 2019
Urban areas are expected to grow by 80 per cent by the end of the next decade, and unless they grow up rather than out, they could be in trouble, says a new report.
Past five years hottest run on record
7 Feb 2019
Global temperatures in 2018 were the fourth-warmest on record, US scientists have confirmed, adding to a stretch of five years that are now collectively the hottest period since modern measurements began.
Russia takes new look at Paris Agreement
7 Feb 2019
Russia, one of the world’s highest-polluting hold-outs, has taken steps that could lead to ratification of the Paris Agreement.
Trump fails to mention climate change
7 Feb 2019
Top scientists have condemned US President Donald Trump's State of the Union address and say future presidents must confront climate change as an urgent priority.
Overheated Aussies might have to sideline favourite sports
7 Feb 2019
Australia's summer sports obsession could face interruptions as extreme weather events increase.
Cruising boom builds concern over emissions dodging
5 Feb 2019
A boom in cruise liner holidays is raising concerns over the widespread use of “emissions dodging” by global shipping to meet tough new dirty fuel rules next year.
UN calls Brazil dam burst a crime
5 Feb 2019
The Brazil dam burst last week happened less than a month after the country’s new climate-sceptic government came to office promising a relaxation of environmental laws and inspections to “take the yoke off producers”.
Major study changes view of vital Atlantic conveyor belt
5 Feb 2019
An international research programme has uncovered data that could transform scientists’ understanding of the Atlantic Ocean current – a circulation pattern that plays a central role in determining weather across the world.
Australia heat sign of things to come, say scientists
4 Feb 2019
AUSTRALIA sweltered through the hottest month in its history in January and climate experts say temperatures are rising faster than predicted.
European colonisation of America killed so many it cooled the Earth's climate
4 Feb 2019
European colonisation of the Americas resulted in the killing of so many native people that it transformed the environment and caused the Earth’s climate to cool, new research finds.
Toxic smog forces Bangkok to close schools
4 Feb 2019
Toxic smog has forced Bangkok authorities to issue an unprecedented order to shut nearly 450 schools as authorities struggled to manage a pollution crisis that has stirred widespread concern.
How the polar vortex is linked to climate change
1 Feb 2019
The polar vortex has broken into ‘two swirling blobs of cold air’, bringing the most frigid conditions in decades to the United States midwest.
Intelligence chiefs warn of climate threats
1 Feb 2019
The US intelligence community has warned in its annual assessment of worldwide threats that climate change and other kinds of environmental degradation pose risks to global stability.
Bali will bill tourists for plastic pollution
1 Feb 2019
Bali has announced plans to implement a tourist tax which targets plastic pollution.
Industrial fishing ushers the albatross closer to extinction
1 Feb 2019
Industrial fishing vessels that accidentally kill tens of thousands of albatrosses each year routinely ignore regulations designed to save the birds from extinction, according to research.
Coal mining likely cause of China emissions rise
31 Jan 2019
Satellite data collected from 2010 to 2015 show that China's methane emissions increased unabated during that period and that the increase was most likely driven by coal mining.
Shellfish under threat as seas become more acidic
31 Jan 2019
Growing acidification of the oceans is becoming a serious problem for the production of shellfish around the world.
Investors urge fast-food chains to cut emissions
30 Jan 2019
A coalition of more than 80 global investors has urged McDonald’s, KFC and Burger King to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their supply chains and has criticised the animal agriculture industry for not having a low-carbon plan.
Big farms a growing driver of climate change
30 Jan 2019
Industrial farming encourages practices that degrade the soil and increase emissions, while leaving farmers more vulnerable to damage as the planet warms.
Paper, the forgotten forest destroyer
30 Jan 2019
The global paper and pulp industry is not too choosy about the kind of wood fibre it needs – it has to be plentiful, cheap and preferably fast-growing.
Walls don't work when it comes to coping with climate change
30 Jan 2019
The collapse of the Akkadian empire after a 300-year drought is a pertinent lesson from history.
Germany agrees to quit coal by 2038
29 Jan 2019
Germany will stop burning coal for electricity by 2038, under plans finalised by a commission at the weekend.
China returns to Edison for power solution
29 Jan 2019
China’s response to the demand for electricity has been to use advanced transmission technology that can bridge vast distances – technology that, ironically, harks back to the earliest days of electric power.
Adidas sets target of 11 million shoes made from waste plastic
29 Jan 2019
Adidas has vowed to manufacture 11 million pairs of shoes made from recycled plastic in 2019.
Planetary diet must also work for the poorest
29 Jan 2019
Over the past two years, 37 experts from around the world have battled to develop a diet that is both sustainable and healthy.
Brazil's resources open for business, says Bolsonaro
25 Jan 2019
Brazil will strike a balance between environment and “much-needed economic development”, Brazilian president Joao Bolsonaro has said in his first overseas speech.
Climate changes make some jobs more dangerous
25 Jan 2019
Dangerous industries such as agriculture, construction and fishing, are becoming riskier than ever as a result of changing weather.
Our oceans head into another heatwave
24 Jan 2019
Marine heatwave conditions are already occurring in parts of the Tasman Sea and the ocean around New Zealand and looking to become the new normal.
In a warming world, bigger waves pack a stronger punch
24 Jan 2019
Ocean waves are now hitting harder than ever. As the world warms, they gain in energy, impact and height.
Plastic-waste pact founders ‘back new plants’
24 Jan 2019
The founding companies behind a self-styled alliance to end plastic waste are among the world’s biggest investors in new plastic-production plants, according to a European NGO.
Americans are getting the message
24 Jan 2019
Nearly half of Americans say people in the US are being harmed by global warming "right now" - the highest point ever in a decade-long national survey called Climate Change in the American Mind.
Our oceans broke heat records in 2018
23 Jan 2019
Rising temperatures can be charted back to the late 1950s, and the past five years were the five hottest on record.
Garden of Eden is no more, Attenborough tells leaders
23 Jan 2019
Sir David Attenborough has warned that “the Garden of Eden is no more”, as he urged political and business leaders from around the world to make a renewed push to tackle climate change.
Climate no laughing matter, Fiji warns Australia
23 Jan 2019
Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama used the Australian leader’s visit to call out his promotion of fossil fuels, showing Scott Morrison is on the wrong side in the Pacific as well as at home.
Scores of US military bases under threat
23 Jan 2019
A new Pentagon report identifies significant risks from climate change at scores of military bases and says the Defense Department is taking protective measures against the looming threat.
Palm oil not a biofuel, says France
23 Jan 2019
The French National Assembly has passed a bill explicitly saying palm oil “is not a biofuel” and won’t be eligible for tax breaks as of January1, 2020.
Climate death toll could be higher, says report
22 Jan 2019
Rising global temperatures could lead to many more deaths than the 250,000 a year predicted just five years ago, a new report says.
AUSSIE OVEN: ‘It’s like hell here’
22 Jan 2019
It was 48.9C last Tuesday in Port Augusta, South Australia, an old harbour city that now harvests solar power.
Why sea-ice cover is so low (it’s not just climate change)
22 Jan 2019
Sea-ice cover in Antarctica shrank rapidly to a record low in late 2016 and has remained well below average. But what’s behind this dramatic melting and low ice cover since?
Troubled Tesla cuts 7% of workforce
22 Jan 2019
Tesla is cutting its full-time staff headcount by about 7 per cent, as it tries to reduce the price of its cars and boost margins, CEO Elon Musk has announced
Poor losing the high ground in Miami
21 Dec 2018
Miami's poor are being pressured to leave their high-ground homes as rising sea levels threaten the city's wealthy coastal suburbs.
Global water supply shrinks in wetter world
21 Dec 2018
Even in a world with more intense rain, communities could begin to run short of water.
Risks of 'domino effect' greater than thought
21 Dec 2018
Policymakers have severely underestimated the risks of ecological tipping points, according to a study that shows 45 per cent of all potential environmental collapses are interrelated and could amplify one another.
How did grim Poland get such a strong carbon price?
21 Dec 2018
Strange as it might sound, the coal-promoting host of this year’s climate negotiations, Poland, has one of the strongest carbon prices in the world.
Scientists find plastic pollution at deepest point of the ocean
21 Dec 2018
The deepest point on Earth is heavily polluted with plastic, scientists have discovered, showing how pervasively the world has been contaminated.
Believe it or not, Australia's going to get hotter and drier
20 Dec 2018
Australia will experience more extreme heat, longer fire seasons, rising oceans and more marine heatwaves.
EU reaches coal deal (with caveat for Poland)
20 Dec 2018
EU legislators have reached agreement over a proposed reform of electricity market rules that includes a 2025 cut-off date for coal subsidies, and a special clause for Poland.
California insists on electric buses
20 Dec 2018
The Californian Air Resources Board has revealed its plan to have an all-electric bus fleet in California by 2040.
Warming pause didn't happen, say experts
20 Dec 2018
Claims of a global warming ‘pause’ in observed temperatures early this century are unfounded and lack statistical significance, researchers say.
Australian rainforests no longer a carbon sink – study
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Australia's tropical rainforests are among the first in the world to start emitting more carbon dioxide than they absorb, scientists said Thursday, linking the "very concerning" trend to climate change.
States sue to stop Trump cancellation of $7 billion solar grant program
Today 11:00am
Nearly two dozen states are suing the Trump administration over its cancellation of a $7 billion grant program aimed at expanding solar energy in low-income communities, according to court papers.
In China, climate litigation starts with the state
Thu 16 Oct 2025
With thousands of dedicated courts and more than a million recent cases, environmental and climate litigation is booming in China, but it often looks different to the trend seen elsewhere.
How one country’s Russian gas crisis became a green energy boom
Today 11:00am
When Russia invaded Ukraine, Moldova quickly empowered its small towns to produce their own renewable energy so no one could push it around.
UK Prime Minister will attend Brazil climate summit
Today 11:00am
Keir Starmer will travel to the Amazon rainforest for the COP30 United Nations climate summit next month, Downing Street has confirmed, after weeks of speculation that he would not.
Renewables are a global economic engine, not a culture war threat
2 Oct 2025
Energy companies are learning this lesson faster than Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
Indonesia restarts international carbon trade after four years
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto has issued a new decree to restart international carbon emission trading after a four year hiatus.
Mystery heatwave warms Pacific Ocean to new record
Today 11:00am
The waters of the north Pacific have had their warmest summer on record, according to BBC analysis of a mysterious marine heatwave that has confounded climate scientists.
Scientists discovered something alarming seeping out from beneath the ocean around Antarctica
13 Oct 2025
Planet-heating methane is escaping from cracks in the Antarctic seabed as the region warms, with new seeps being discovered at an “astonishing rate".
Angola lowers climate ambition in blow to spirit of Paris Agreement
14 Oct 2025
Angola has scaled back its targets for reducing emissions in its new national climate plan, saying it chose “realism and implementability” over the Paris Agreement's calls for governments to set progressively more ambitious goals.
Four Brazilians to watch at COP30
Wed 15 Oct 2025
Influential Brazilians, from government figures to Indigenous activists, will take center stage during UN climate talks in the Amazon next month.
New UN carbon market rules could reshape how investors value nature
Mon 20 Oct 2025
A debate over carbon permanence – how long CO2 must stay stored to count towards offsetting emissions – is reshaping global carbon markets and could determine whether nature remains investable.
