International: All stories
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.
Coasts should plan for higher sea level rise
22 May 2019
Ice loss from Antarctica and Greenland could cause far more sea level rise than previously thought, says a new report.
Louisiana readies for resilience ... and retreat
22 May 2019
Louisiana has issued a blueprint for coping with the impacts of a warming planet, including a human migration that has already begun.
Stop dragging your feet, biggest investor told
22 May 2019
BlackRock, which controls $6.5 trillion in assets, has been urged to use its influence on the planet’s biggest polluters.
It’s not just about the bees – earthworms need love, too
22 May 2019
If earthworms had feathers, wings or fur, or eyes that looked mournful – or eyes at all – perhaps they would fare better in the public’s affections.
Inside the long war to protect plastic
21 May 2019
Single-use plastic is clogging oceans and landfills. The industry that makes it has waged a decades-long campaign to keep it on the market.
To get climate crisis talked about, get Corrie on the case
21 May 2019
The topic of climate change features on television about as often as that of zombies, urine, or rhubarb.
Glasgow aims to be UK’s first net-zero city
21 May 2019
Glasgow has committed to being the UK’s first net-zero city.
New York aims to create green union jobs
20 May 2019
Efforts to build offshore wind turbines to power up to sx million homes will create more than 10,000 jobs under Climate Jobs New York's plan.
How billions of gamers could help us fight the climate crisis
20 May 2019
The 2.4 billion people worldwide who play video games present an opportunity for boosting environmental awareness and action, a new report points out.
Bob Hawke and a climate change 'what if'
20 May 2019
Since the news broke of his passing last week, former Australian leader Bob Hawke has been feted as the “environmental prime minister”.
California bans pesticide linked to brain damage
20 May 2019
California has banned a pesticide that has been proven to cause brain damage in children.
Disasters put pressure on human survival, says UN
17 May 2019
Increasingly complex, growing and related risks, from global warming to pollution and epidemics, threaten human survival if left to escalate, the United Nations has warned.
How mismanaged waste kills million people a year
17 May 2019
Mismanaged waste is causing hundreds of thousands of people to die each year in the developing world from easily preventable causes, a report has found.
Let's face it, building in glass was never a very good idea
17 May 2019
Glass has always been a notoriously energy-inefficient building material – but an obsession with aesthetics led architects to ignore its shortcomings.
Agriculture emissions put Wales on the outer
16 May 2019
Wales' farming emissions have been put in the too-hard basket by the UK Committee on Climate Change.
Clean up or pay up, New York warns Trump over buildings
16 May 2019
US President Donald Trump faces fines of more than $2 million a year unless he reduces carbon emissions from his New York buildings.
States fight rollback of Obama lightbulb rules
16 May 2019
US States are preparing to fight back as the Trump administration moves to erase Obama-era standards for lightbulbs.
New orchards offer new life to wild species
16 May 2019
New orchards are appearing across the UK to stop the widespread decline of rare insects and birds, and to slow down climate change.
Pollution research points finger at Coca-Cola
16 May 2019
Coca-Cola bottles and cans are the most commonly found items of packaging pollution on British beaches, new research shows.
Islanders sue Australia over climate inaction
15 May 2019
Torres Strait islanders are about to file an unprecedented legal complaint against Australia, accusing the government of breaching their human rights by falling short on its Paris Agreement pledges.
City investors push for BP to be more open
15 May 2019
A coalition of major London investors have emerged as key players in forcing BPto be more transparent in how it fights climate change.
Half of melting glaciers could go by 2100
15 May 2019
Melting glaciers worldwide – all treasured for their beauty and as sources of summer water – could be half gone by 2100.
What Australian parties say about climate change
14 May 2019
Most Australians see climate change as the number one threat to national interests. But in 2018, Australia was ranked 55th out of 60 countries in climate change performance.
Denying climate change is evil, says the founder of Patagonia
14 May 2019
Octogenarian entrepreneur Yvon Chouinard, who prefers gardening to meetings, says capitalism is destroying the planet.
London to have first hydrogen doubledeckers
14 May 2019
London will have the world’s first hydrogen-powered doubledecker buses on its streets next year.
Irish schools get a fail on climate change
14 May 2019
Students at Irish schools are being let down by the country’s education system, say lawmakers demanding full climate change literacy.
Most countries agree to stem flow of plastic
13 May 2019
Almost all the world’s countries have agreed on a deal aimed at restricting shipments of hard-to-recycle plastic waste to poorer countries, the United Nations has announced.
Washington commits to 100% clean energy
13 May 2019
Washington has committed 100 per cent clean energy sources by 2045 - and six other US states are expected to follow suit.
CARBON BOOTPRINT: Fans set to leave their mark on Europe
13 May 2019
Controversy has erupted over the environmental impact of football fans travelling across Europe in coming weeks – to watch English sides play each other hundreds of miles from home.
CO2 to be buried in empty North Sea gas fields
10 May 2019
Three of the largest ports in Europe will be used to capture and bury 10 million tonnes of CO2 emissions under the North Sea.
Only a third of world's great rivers remain flowing freely
10 May 2019
Only a third of the world’s great rivers remain free flowing, due to the impact of dams that are drastically reducing the benefits of healthy waterways.
UK goes coal-free for entire week
10 May 2019
The UK has produced coal-free energy for seven days in a row - the first time since the industrial revolution.
Chernobyl has become a refuge for wildlife
10 May 2019
More than 30 years after the nuclear accident that scared the world, the Chernobyl is inhabited by brown bears, bisons, wolves, lynxes, wild horses, and more than 200 bird species.
Australian governments subsidising fossil fuel use by more than $30,000 a minute, analysis finds
Fri 13 Mar 2026
Australian federal and state government subsidies that encourage fossil fuel use and help drive the climate crisis will reach $16.3bn this year after leaping by nearly 10%, according to a new analysis.
US National Academies of Sciences says no to demands it remove climate info
Today 11:30am
State attorneys general won't get climate chapter removed from a legal manual.
What does China’s 15th ‘five-year plan’ mean for climate change?
10 Mar 2026
China’s leadership has published a draft of its 15th five-year plan setting the strategic direction for the nation out to 2030, including support for clean energy and energy security.
Germany misses climate targets as emissions barely fall in 2025
Tue 17 Mar 2026
Greenhouse gas emissions in Germany have again missed targets set by the Climate Protection Act and barely fell at all in 2025.
UK emissions fall 2.4% in 2025 as coal hits 400-year low
9 Mar 2026
The UK’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 2.4% in 2025 to their lowest level in more than 150 years, according to new analysis.
Mark Carney just picked his lane on climate change
17 Feb 2026
COMMENT: Mark Carney's time as prime minister has been defined in part by his decision to roll back Trudeau-era climate policies.
'The situation is dire': War on Iran squeezes India's cooking-gas supplies
Mon 16 Mar 2026
The shockwaves of a war being fought nearly 3,000km away are now reaching India's kitchens.
Vanuatu moves forward with UN climate resolution despite Trump opposition
9 Mar 2026
The Trump administration’s attempt to sink a UN resolution demanding countries act on the climate crisis has caused cuts to the proposal but hasn’t entirely killed it, according to the tiny Pacific island country spearheading the effort.
Limiting warming to 2C is ‘crucial’ to protect pristine Antarctic Peninsula
24 Feb 2026
Keeping global warming to less than 2C above pre-industrial temperatures is “crucial” for limiting damage to the Antarctic Peninsula’s unique ecosystems, according to a new study.
'Blackwater' lakes and rivers in the Congo Basin are now emitting ancient carbon into the atmosphere
Mon 16 Mar 2026
Carbon that has been buried in the Congo Basin's peatlands for millennia is seeping into lakes and rivers. Why this is happening remains unclear, but researchers warn that tropical peatlands could be nearing a tipping point.
Companies – including Blackrock – retired 2 million carbon credits after Verra suspended project
Thu 12 Mar 2026
Verra suspended the Pacajai REDD project in Brazil in September 2023, pending an investigation into the project’s validity. That didn’t stop Mastercard, BlackRock, Philip Morris International from retiring carbon credits from the project to offset their greenhouse gas emissions.
Iran war should trigger faster exit from fossil fuel dependence, UN climate chief says
Today 11:30am
The disruption to energy markets caused by the Iran war is a lesson on the risks of relying on fossil fuels which should drive governments to wean their economies off oil and gas faster, the U.N. climate secretary told Reuters on Monday.
