International: All stories
Threatened cities trade sea walls for parks
5 Nov 2018
Under a new plan to deal with higher tides, Boston will allow the rising water to come in to the city, rather than fighting to keep it out.
Climate warming messes with the jet stream
5 Nov 2018
Greenhouse gases are increasingly disrupting the jet stream, a powerful river of winds that steers weather systems in the Northern Hemisphere.
Dreaded tsetse flies wilt in Africa’s growing heat
5 Nov 2018
Global warming might have done one good thing for the Zambezi Valley: it may have done for the tsetse flies, with conditions soon too hot for them to breed there any longer.
Scientists will risk prison to get climate action
2 Nov 2018
A group of British scientists and their supporters is willing to risk a prison term to press governments to tackle climate change and environmental crises.
The Paris climate gang is breaking up
2 Nov 2018
In 2015, a group of countries banded together to shape the global climate pact, but political turmoil is pulling the alliance apart.
Electric food – the new sci-fi diet that could save our planet
2 Nov 2018
Growing food without plants or animals sounds like science fiction. But it could stop environmental destruction.
Bolsonaro to merge environment and agriculture
2 Nov 2018
Brazil President-elect Jair Bolsonaro will merge the environment and agriculture ministries, a move activists have warned could imperil the Amazon rainforest.
NSW launches emerging energy programme
2 Nov 2018
New South Wales has launched one of the most significant energy transition projects in Australia designed to help to replace most of the state’s ageing coal plants with wind, solar and storage.
US makers double down on utes and SUVs
2 Nov 2018
The big three US vehicle makers - GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler - talk about a cleaner future, but in reality are pushing the sales of gas-guzzling SUVs and utes.
Only 16 countries meet their Paris commitment
1 Nov 2018
Only 16 countries out of the 197 that signed the Paris Agreement have defined national climate action plan ambitious enough to meet their pledges.
Wildlife in 'mindblowing' crisis, says WWF
1 Nov 2018
Global wildlife populations have fallen by 60 per cent in just over four decades, as accelerating pollution, deforestation, climate change and other manmade factors have created a "mindblowing" crisis, the World Wildlife Fund says in a new report.
Climate change drives migrant caravan
1 Nov 2018
While violence and poverty have been cited as the reasons for the Central Amica exodus, experts say the big picture is that changing climate is forcing farmers off their land – and it’s likely to get worse.
UK announces tax on plastic packaging
1 Nov 2018
The UK has announced a world-leading plastics tax which will apply to any business that produces or imports plastic packaging that does not contain at least 30 per cent recycled content.
Chinese city launching own moon to save on power bill
1 Nov 2018
A private aerospace institute in China plans to launch its own moon to save money on nightime lighting in a provincial city.
Investors challenge 55 companies on climate lobbying
31 Oct 2018
Five weeks before a pivotal UN climate conference starts, a group of investors, led by the Church of England Pensions Board and the Swedish national pension fund, has sent a letter to 55 companies to challenge them on climate lobbying.
Polish utility sued over financial risk of coal plant
31 Oct 2018
Activist shareholders have filed a climate lawsuit against utility Enea over a planned €1.2 billion coal plant in north-east Poland.
Clean energy is surging – and headed for a fall
31 Oct 2018
The relentlessly corrosive nature of Australian political debate about climate change can sometimes mask that this is a golden moment for the clean energy industry.
Big brands pledge to turn tide on plastic waste
31 Oct 2018
Big brands – from Coca Cola to Kellogg – have pledged to cut all plastic waste from their operations in what the UN calls the most ambitious effort yet to fight plastic pollution.
Will Trump of the Tropics wreck Amazon rainforest?
30 Oct 2018
Will Jair Bolsonaro dedicate himself to the meticulous destruction of the Amazon now he has won Brazil's presidential election?
Catholic bishops call for faith in Paris target
30 Oct 2018
Catholic Church leaders have urged governments around the world to ramp up their climate action efforts, calling for “ambitious implementation” of the Paris Agreement.
Litigation likely to rise on back of IPCC report
30 Oct 2018
Climate-related litigations are set to break new grounds following the rcent landmark IPCC report which provides lawyers with new evidence that limiting global warming to 1.5deg is still possible.
Air pollution the new tobacco, warns WHO head
29 Oct 2018
Air pollution is the new tobacco, the head of the World Health Organisation has warned, saying the simple act of breathing is killing seven million people a year and harming billions more.
Spain to close most coalmines in $400m deal
29 Oct 2018
Spain is to shut down most of its coalmines by the end of the year after government and unions struck a deal that will mean €250m ($NZ430m) will be invested in mining regions over the next decade.
How boiling Darwin could keep the people and regain its cool
29 Oct 2018
July 2018 in Darwin was 2deg hotter than any previous July and the record heat has continued. Surveys show that it's the reason people are leaving the city.
Climate fund approves $1b for poor countries
29 Oct 2018
A UN Green Climate Fund backed fund has approved more than $1 billion for 19 new projects to help developing countries to tackle climate change.
Ocean-sweeper targets plastic waste in Caribbean
29 Oct 2018
SodaStream has announced the launch of its massive ocean-sweeper, a contraption designed to dismantle plastic waste patches in marine waters.
We can’t take many more populists like Bolsonaro
26 Oct 2018
Just when Earth badly needs pro-environment leaders, we get big-business strongmen. There’s a reason for this grim irony.
Hunger for raw materials bad news for the climate
26 Oct 2018
Just when you might think the world has heard an unmistakable warning of the need to curb climate change drastically and fast, along comes another warning, about humans’ voracious appetite for the raw materials we use so profligately.
Coalition digs deeper into coal and climate denial
26 Oct 2018
If the Wentworth and Wagga Wagga by-elections in Austraia were supposed to send a message to the Coalition government about the need to act on carbon emissions and embrace renewables, it hasn’t worked.
Ocean warming hits highest recorded level
25 Oct 2018
Ocean heat content set a record in the first half of 2018, with more warmth in the oceans than at any time since records began in 1940.
Brexit and Germany erode EU climate resolve
25 Oct 2018
Britain is leaving, Germany is wobbling and talks on EU emissions cuts are tipping in favour of the bloc’s more reticent countries, according to diplomatic sourcese following climate files in Brussels.
Australia shows interest in hydrogen power
25 Oct 2018
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency has announced funding to produce renewable hydrogen from wind and solar power.
How one small island showed us how to clean up our act
25 Oct 2018
In just 10 years, the Isle of Man has rid its beaches of plastic and earned Unesco status as a world leader in ocean protection. So how did it do it?
US scientists keen to get political power
24 Oct 2018
More than a dozen scientists are candidates for US House and Senate seats this year in a wave fueled by the Trump Administration’s anti-science agenda.
Coalition could help out new power projects
24 Oct 2018
Energy minister Angus Taylor has signalled the Australian government could indemnify new power generation projects against the future risk of a carbon price, and says it could also support the retrofitting of existing coal plants.
Australia to have ultra-fast charging network
24 Oct 2018
Drivers travelling between Australia’s major cities could soon charge their electric vehicles in just 15 minutes with a super-fast network being rolled out across the country.
How a little warming paved the way for reign of the dinosaurs
24 Oct 2018
Massive flooding of Pangea millions of years ago - caused by climate warming of 4deg-7deg - led to mass extinction and allowed for dinosaurs to rapidly diversify and spread around the world.
US emissions fell in 2017 as coal plants shut
23 Oct 2018
Greenhouse gas emissions from the largest US industrial plants fell 2.7 per cent in 2017 as coal plants shut, according to the Trump administration.
Trump tries again to stop youngsters' case
23 Oct 2018
President Trump’s administration has for a second time asked the US Supreme Court to put the brakes on a lawsuit filed by young activists who have accused the government of ignoring the perils of climate change.
Nauruans (and refugees) have nowhere to hide
23 Oct 2018
Everyone on Nauru – indigenous Nauruans and refugees alike – is experiencing the impacts of one the greatest social, economic and political threats faced by the world today: global environmental change.
Study finds 90% of table salt contains microplastics
23 Oct 2018
Ninety per cent sea, rock and lake salt brands sold around the world contain microplastics, a new study shows.
Russian town besieged by hungry polar bears
23 Oct 2018
A coastal town in the Russian Arctic has been besieged by hungry polar bears who are spending more time on land as sea ice melts due to climate change.
Global carbon emissions set to hit new high
19 Oct 2018
Global carbon emissions will rise to a new record level in 2018, making the chances of reaching a target to keep temperature increases to 1.5deg or 2deg “weaker and weaker every year, every month,” says the International Energy Agency.
Wales to turn back on coal mining
19 Oct 2018
Future coal mining applications are set to be rejected as a matter of policy for the first time in Wales.
New climate threatens heritage sites
19 Oct 2018
More powerful storms, flooding, desertification and the melting of permafrost are already destroying important heritage sites at an alarming rate.
Fracking protesters set free on appeal
19 Oct 2018
Three protesters jailed for blocking access to a UK fracking site have walked free after the court of appeal quashed their sentences, calling them “manifestly excessive”.
Rice gene bank wins survival funding
19 Oct 2018
The world’s largest collection of rice varieties has secured indefinite funding in what officials say will be crucial for the development of seeds resilient to the effects of climate change.
ANGKOR'S END: Did floods speed the end of ancient city?
19 Oct 2018
A series of floods that hit the ancient city of Angkor would have overwhelmed and destroyed its vast water network, according to a new study that provides an explanation for the downfall of the world’s biggest pre-industrial city.
Leaders move past Trump to protect the world
18 Oct 2018
Far more must be invested in adapting to warming, says a new global commission that aims to rebuild political will after the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.
Banks and insurers must have plans, says BoE
18 Oct 2018
The Bank of England has told Britain’s banks and insurers they must come up with credible plans for protecting themselves against risks from climate change and that they might need to hold more capital.
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.
'We’re in God’s hands now': A dispatch from Western Alaska
Mon 20 Oct 2025
An immense disaster has wrought deep trauma on Western Alaska’s Indigenous residents and is raising existential questions about the future of their low-lying communities amid a changing climate and a tightening state budget.
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.
EU plans support for countries affected by carbon border levy
Mon 20 Oct 2025
The European Union will offer development funding to countries affected by the bloc's carbon border tariff, the European Commission said on Thursday, as it attempts to soothe developing economies' concerns over the policy.
Government told to prepare for 2C warming by 2050
Thu 16 Oct 2025
The UK should be prepared to cope with weather extremes as a result of at least 2C of global warming by 2050, independent climate advisers have said.
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.
Familiar tensions emerge at the Pacific Islands Forum
26 Sep 2025
With China-Taiwan rivalry, China-Western competition, and big carbon emitters at odds with the islands on climate policy, there is plenty of tension to go around.
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.
