International: All stories
POPE'S PLEA: Don't turn Earth into a rubbish pile
9 Jul 2018
POPE FRANCIS has urged governments to make good on their commitments to curb global warming, warning that climate change threatens to turn the Earth into a vast pile of “rubble, deserts and refuse”.
Oil powerhouse shows way with wind technology
9 Jul 2018
The vast plains of US oil state Texas are home to more then 12,000 wind turbines, making it one of the world’s powerhouses for the technology.
Baltic Sea oxygen levels at 1500-year low
9 Jul 2018
The coastal waters of the Baltic have been starved of oxygen to a level unseen in at least 1500 years largely as a result of modern human activity, scientists say.
Energy firm launches ‘vegan electricity tariff’
9 Jul 2018
A UK energy company has launched the world’s first vegan electricity tariff in a bid to highlight the use of animal products within the energy industry.
Study holds tides and temperatures shock
6 Jul 2018
Researchers say temperature rises as a result of global warming could eventually be double what has been projected and sea levels could rise by six metres or more.
Pruitt quits as head of US environment agency
6 Jul 2018
Scandal-hit Scott Pruitt has resigned as head of the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Australian ecosystems face collapse
6 Jul 2018
The Great Barrier Reef has become a notorious victim of climate change, but it is not the only Australian ecosystem on the brink of collapse.
Diesel car buyers in UK living a 'nightmare'
6 Jul 2018
Ultra-dirty new diesel engines are being sold alongside ultra-clean models in the UK, according to new data, leaving car buyers facing what experts call a nightmare.
China gives Venezuela $250m to boost oil
6 Jul 2018
Venezuela will receive $250 million from the China Development Bank to boost oil production, the South American country’s Finance Ministry said.
Boss quits as climate fund meeting ends in chaos
6 Jul 2018
The latest meeting of the Green Climate Fund ended in chaos as members failed to agree on approving any finance for the developing world and the executive director quit.
Venture capitalists could help to save the planet
6 Jul 2018
Cleantech could help to tackle the biggest environmental issues today, yet private investors remain hesitant to take the leap.
Rising seas could cost $27 trillion a year by 2100
5 Jul 2018
The cost of rising seas could be $27 trillion a year globally in 80 years, with the oceans possibly nearing two metres above their present levels.
US state to sue oil companies over climate change
5 Jul 2018
Rhode Island has become the first US state to sue a group of oil companies over their role in causing dangerous climate change.
China carbon emissions in retreat
5 Jul 2018
China’s carbon dioxide emissions fell from 2014 to 2016 and might already have peaked, according to a new study.
Why electricity sector won't bear brunt of Paris cuts
5 Jul 2018
A leading energy market analyst has warned that parts of the economy other than electricity will bear the brunt of Australia’s emissions reduction effort under the Paris agreement.
Pensioners benefit from wind farm sell-off
5 Jul 2018
Pensioners in the UK are set to financially benefit from a fleet of wind farms.
SONIC DOOM: How noise kills thousands of people each year
5 Jul 2018
From heart disease to diabetes, noise is having dire effects on people’s health. So who is most at risk, what can be done about it – and can you protect yourself?
China's seafood boom will be felt globally
4 Jul 2018
Seafood consumption per capita in China has recently surpassed pork and that has repercussions for ocean ecosystems in the country and beyond.
Sailors launch fund to help the oceans
4 Jul 2018
World Sailing, the governing body for the sport, has launched a trust to support sustainable development in the oceans.
US green fund cuts will hurt poor countries
4 Jul 2018
The US has cut its contribution to the Global Environment Facility, raising concerns about access to finance for environmental protection in the developing world.
Urban trees match rainforests as carbon stores
4 Jul 2018
Not just decorative, urban trees do much more: they enrich civic life, moderate climate change and save the taxpayer millions.
Stores pull plastic bags ... and Aussie shoppers don't get it
4 Jul 2018
A call has gone out for Australians to be educated about plastic pollution after a shop assistant was assaulted and retail workers were abused by shoppers when major stores pulled plastic bags.
Bikes the obvious solution to Oxbridge traffic
4 Jul 2018
UK university cities Oxford and Cambridge are seeking ways to transport expanding populations without impacting their historic centres, yet the simplest solution is staring them in the face.
World atlas traces Earth’s human scar
3 Jul 2018
Earth’s human scar, the mark humankind has left upon the planet, is growing apace: threequarters of the ice-free land areas of the globe have been in some way degraded, according to a new global survey.
Islands show little interest in insurance offer
3 Jul 2018
Only a handful of Pafific Islands nations have signed up to an insurance scheme that dispenses rapid payouts in a crisis - a situation experts hope to change.
Trade war would harm environment, warns UN
3 Jul 2018
A global trade war would damage efforts to combat climate change, protect the environment and fight poverty, according to the UN’s environment chief.
History teaches us to be careful when planting trees
3 Jul 2018
Care should be taken in jumping on the “forests are always better” bandwagon, experts warn.
Sorry, baristas, instant coffee has smallest carbon footprint
3 Jul 2018
how you prepare your coffee at home can add 50 per cent or more to its overall environmental footprint.
E-waste deluge turning Thailand into world's dump
2 Jul 2018
At a deserted factory outside Bangkok, skyscrapers made from vast blocks of crushed printers, Xbox components and TVs tower over black rivers of smashed-up computer screens.
Housing and car industries 'should be ashamed’
2 Jul 2018
The homebuilding and carmaking industries should be ashamed of their efforts to tackle global warming, says the UK government’s official climate change adviser.
These are the toughest emissions to cut ...
2 Jul 2018
Without improvements in shipping, cement and steel, major sources of greenhouse gas pollution will be locked in for generations, new research shows.
China wants better clean-air standards
2 Jul 2018
China has signalled its intention to impose special emissions limits on some of most polluting and energy intensive sectors in the country.
Warming of 2deg ‘substantially’ more harmful
29 Jun 2018
A leaked draft of a major UN climate change report shows growing certainty that 2deg, once shorthand for a ‘safe’ amount of planetary warming, would be a dangerous step for humanity.
Last year, we lost a soccer pitch of forest every second
29 Jun 2018
The world lost more than one soccer pitch of forest every second in 2017, according to new data from a global satellite survey, adding up to an area equivalent to the whole of Italy over the year.
Palm oil alternatives could be worse, experts warn
29 Jun 2018
The deforestation caused by palm oil is decimating species such as orangutans and tigers - but the alternatives could be worse, says a new report.
National park under fire from oil and gas
29 Jun 2018
The world’s second-largest national park is under threat from a destructive combination of climate change, oil and gas development and hydroelectric projects.
Australia will need coal 'possibly forever', says Turnbull
28 Jun 2018
Coal will have an important role in Australia “possibly forever”, according to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
US judge rejects lawsuit against oil majors
28 Jun 2018
A US judge has thrown out a case brought against major oil companies on climate change.
SEA CHANGE: 'Florida is about to be wiped off the map'
28 Jun 2018
Sea level rises are not some distant threat; for many Americans they are very real. An extract from a chilling new book, Rising, details how the US coastline will be radically transformed in the coming years.
Italy wants to put a million e-cars on the road
28 Jun 2018
The populist government in Italy, Europe’s most sluggish market for electric cars, has a big-bang plan to put a million of the vehicles on the nation’s roads.
Australia records worst-ever emissions
27 Jun 2018
Australia’s emissions over the past year were again the highest on record when unreliable data from land use and forestry sectors are excluded, according to new data.
China producing banned ozone-damaging chemicals
27 Jun 2018
China has been outed as the illegal producer of chemicals that damage the ozone layer and the climate.
London sets up as centre for green finance
27 Jun 2018
The UK has set up a Green Finance Institute with the aim of solidifying London’s role as the go-to destination for this new work.
Use plastics in Mumbai and you could go to jail
27 Jun 2018
Mumbai has the become the largest Indian city to ban single-use plastics, with residents caught using bags, cups or bottles facing penalties of up to $NZ530 and three months in jail.
SUSTAINABLE STYLE: Ten ways to make fashion world greener
27 Jun 2018
Sustainable style is back on the agenda after the UK announced an inquiry into ‘fast’ clothes. This is what a greener clothing future might look like.
Should we rate car exhaust fumes as a lethal road risk?
26 Jun 2018
If we reject the acceptability of deaths and injuries in road accidents why should we tolerate those from traffic pollution?
What cities could do with massive car parks
26 Jun 2018
On average, motor vehicles are parked 95 per cent of the time. Yet most transport analysis focuses on vehicles when they are moving.
France approves six offshore wind farms
26 Jun 2018
France has given the go ahead to six new wind farms off the country's west coast.
Australia passes 3m small solar installs
26 Jun 2018
Rooftop solar and solar hot water installs in Australia have passed the three million-mark, as homes and businesses continue to take the power back against rising energy costs.
Cocaine in rivers means bad trips for eels
26 Jun 2018
Tiny amounts of cocaine flushed into rivers cause eels to become not only hyperactive but to suffer from muscle wastage, impaired gills and hormonal changes, a study has found.
Australia’s biggest gas advocates are quietly swapping out peaking gas plans for big batteries
Mon 1 Sep 2025
Big batteries are rapidly displacing plans for gas peaking plants, as cost and commercial factors prompt a rethink on how much the owners of these sites want to spend.
We used to stash gold in Fort Knox. What if we did the same with carbon?
Fri 29 Aug 2025
If we could convince the masses that waste carbon dioxide is sacred and worth hoarding — like gold — one of our most existential problems might solve itself.
China's carbon market to introduce absolute emissions caps from 2027
Wed 27 Aug 2025
China will tighten its carbon trading market by introducing absolute emissions caps in some industries for the first time starting by 2027.
EU’s record wildfire emissions highlight threat to forest carbon sinks
Mon 1 Sep 2025
As carbon emissions from forest fires spike in Europe, experts warn that wildfires pose a growing risk to national efforts to meet climate goals.
What happens to net zero if the trees don’t survive?
20 Aug 2025
When climate change undermines the climate plan.
Challenges persist in bid to mine the deep sea, even after boost from Trump
29 Jul 2025
After years of delay, the deep-sea mining plans of Canadian firm The Metals Company (TMC) now appear to be progressing as it pursues a controversial new path to securing a license to mine in international waters under U.S. jurisdiction.
Singapore seals carbon credit deal with Thailand, its first South-east Asian partner
Thu 28 Aug 2025
The agreement, the eighth for Singapore, helps both nations meet climate targets under the Paris Agreement, directing finance to Thai projects.
Rise in dengue fever outbreaks across the Pacific driven by the climate crisis, experts say
13 Aug 2025
Samoa, Fiji and Tonga among the worst affected amid warning the disease and others will become ‘more common and more serious’ as the planet warms.
Iconic Antarctic species at risk amid 'regime shift', with 'rapid and self-perpetuating changes'
22 Aug 2025
Scientists say there is emerging evidence of abrupt and potentially unstoppable changes in the Antarctic environment.
Is Africa about to see the solar energy boom it needs?
Thu 28 Aug 2025
African countries imported a record number of solar panels in the past year, which could be the beginning of a green energy boom on the continent.
Lessons from the Incas: How llamas, terraces and trees could help the Andes survive climate change
Thu 28 Aug 2025
New research suggests solutions may lie in environmental knowledge that the Incas and their predecessors developed centuries ago.
Brazil issues last-ditch plea for countries to submit climate plans ahead of COP30
20 Aug 2025
Only 28 countries have submitted carbon-cutting proposals to the UN, with some of the biggest emitters yet to produce plans.
