International: All stories
Unions want Poland to push coal at UN climate talks
9 Aug 2018
Poland's trade unions are mounting a defence of coal workers against the impacts of climate policies in an effort to influence the agenda of the UN climate summit to be held in Katowice this December.
Huge grant to reef outfit a scandal, Greens say
9 Aug 2018
The awarding of $444 million in taxpayers’ money by the Australian prime minister to the small Great Barrier Reef Foundation without consultation “stinks” and the money should be handed back, the Greens say.
Japan eyes daylight savings time for 2020 Olympics
9 Aug 2018
Deadly heatwaves in Japan have caused government and Olympics officials to consider the benefits of adopting daylight savings time for the 2020 games to ensure athlete safety.
Ocean spot records warmest temperature in 100 years
9 Aug 2018
Researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography have recorded the warmest sea surface temperature in more than 100 years near a pier in San Diego.
Experts predict the arrival of Hothouse Earth
8 Aug 2018
Allowing the world to warm by even 2deg could threaten the existence of humans.
HISTORY OF HEAT: Scientists say we've been here before
8 Aug 2018
During the rise of mammals, Earth's temperatures spiked in a scary way that the planet might experience again soon. In New Zealand, life endured mean annual temperatures of up to 29deg ... 15deg warmer than modern times.
Life in our oceans is in deep crisis
8 Aug 2018
Wildlife in most of the lawless high seas faces an existential threat from fishing, shipping and the military. Next month, a landmark UN conference could finally bring hope.
EPA wants to redefine the dangers of soot
8 Aug 2018
Against all prevailing science, the US Environmental Protection Agency is suggesting a “safe” threshold for particulate pollution.
Forest methane uptake falls by 77%, says study
8 Aug 2018
The amount of methane absorbed by forest soils has fallen by an average of 77 per cent in the northern hemisphere over the past 27 years, a new study finds.
Heatwave impact on soils could be worse than thought
8 Aug 2018
Climate change is altering the makeup of soil, with widespread impacts on plants, ecosystems and food security, according to scientists.
Battery makers fight for foothold in Europe
8 Aug 2018
Battery manufacturers are jostling for a leadership position in Europe as electric vehicle sales gather momentum.
GOP and Big Oil can't escape the blame for climate change
7 Aug 2018
The New York Times magazine has devoted an issue to a single story that explores how close we came to an international climate agreement in 1989 ... and why we failed.
Ireland sees need to increase carbon tax
7 Aug 2018
The Irish Government is planning to increase the country’s carbon tax in a bid to meet its climate-change goals.
Most Australians want more renewables
7 Aug 2018
More than 70 per cent of Australians want the government to set a high renewable energy target to put downward pressure on power prices, according to a new poll.
Latest figures show peak coal is getting closer
7 Aug 2018
Total global coal capacity continues to inch up, but a peak is on the horizon, new research shows.
Natural waste holds promise of safe plastic
7 Aug 2018
The good news is that safe plastic is not an impossible dream. Novel ways to tackle the tide of discarded material engulfing the planet are under development.
Why compostable plastics might be no better
7 Aug 2018
As companies move to get rid of single-use plastic bags and bans on microbeads are coming into force, new biodegradable or compostable plastic products seem to offer an alternative. But they might be no better for the environment.
How Big Oil lost control of its misinformation machine
6 Aug 2018
One of the longest and most consequential campaigns against science in modern history is becoming more extreme—and turning against its originators.
Time running out for Paris rulebook, warns Tyndall
6 Aug 2018
Climate negotiators need to “crank up the pace” on writing the rulebook for the Paris climate pact, co-chair New Zealander Jo Tyndall said as plans to streamline the process were published last week.
Clothing rental could be key to sustainable fashion industry
6 Aug 2018
Overconsumption and the inevitable disposal of unwanted clothing has become a worrying global problem – and in many cases, this clothing is unnecessarily thrown away. Instead, it could be repaired or recycled.
Cities can work with nature when droughts hit
6 Aug 2018
Faced with a drought, it’s tempting for city managers to reduce the amount of space that needs water. Parks, public areas and private gardens are usually the first to go.
Landmark churches turn to renewable energy
6 Aug 2018
Some of the UK’s oldest and most prominent church buildings are making the switch to 100 per cent renewable energy.
California vows to fight as EPA acts to scrap car rules
3 Aug 2018
The Trump administration has moved to weaken US vehicle emissions standards and has set up a major confrontation with California by scrapping its ability to enact stricter pollution rules.
Cross-party MPs urge May to go carbon free
3 Aug 2018
A cross-party group of British MPs has called on the government to create a net-zero emissions target before 2050.
MANURE COUTURE: Startup is making shirts out of cow poo
3 Aug 2018
Would you buy a shirt that has been through the back end of a cow? This could be a future fabric choice, according to a startup which is extracting cellulose from cowpats.
Why are there no blockbusters about climate change?
3 Aug 2018
Hollywood has generally relished existential threats to humanity so it’s a bit odd it has studiously ignored the biggest actual threat to humanity there is.
Last year warmest without an El Niño event
2 Aug 2018
Last year was the warmest recorded on Earth that didn’t feature an El Niño weather event, according to the annual state of the climate report by 500 climate scientists.
New Chinese-led banks missing the point
2 Aug 2018
Both less than five years old, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Brics Bank are failing to back sustainable development models.
German farmers want $1b in drought aid
2 Aug 2018
Farmers in the north and east of Germany are seeking more than $1 billion in aid for unprecedented losses as a result of continued high temperatures and lack of rain.
Smart cities can also cost the environment
2 Aug 2018
The Australian government has allocated $50 million for the Smarter Cities and Suburbs Program to encourage projects that “improve the livability, productivity and sustainability of cities and towns”.
Quite soon, this crowded part of China will be unsurvivable
2 Aug 2018
The deadliest place on the planet for extreme future heatwaves will be the north China plain, one of the most densely populated regions in the world and the most important food-producing area in the huge nation.
Experts fear the age of extreme fire has arrived
1 Aug 2018
California's increasingly ferocious wildfires are not an aberration – they are the new reality, experts believe.
Philippines kills off green campaigners
1 Aug 2018
A shocking 48 killings of green campaigners were reported in the Philippines last year, which was the worst on record for activist murders globally.
Small modular reactors hardly top of the pops
1 Aug 2018
On both sides of the Atlantic billions of dollars are being poured into developing small modular reactors. But it seems increasingly unlikely that they will ever be commercially viable.
‘Green mountaineers’ clean up Everest
1 Aug 2018
The bottom of the ocean and the roof of the world have something in common other than being extreme and inhospitable environments - they’re also polluted.
Largest king penguin colony declines by 90%
1 Aug 2018
The planet’s largest colony of king penguins has declined by nearly 90 per cent in three decades, researchers say.
US spends $20b a year on fossil fuel subsidies
31 Jul 2018
While most of the world recognises the need to leave fossil fuels in the ground, the US is giving the fossil fuel industry billions to extract more.
Forest carbon emissions are set to grow
31 Jul 2018
Accelerating climate change is likely to result in growing forest carbon emissions, with serious consequences both for the creatures that find shelter there, and for the global atmosphere.
HOT NEWS: How the media has reported the northern heatwave
31 Jul 2018
This year’s northern-hemisphere summer has seen a succession of heatwaves. How has the media reported the extreme weather and how has the coverage referenced climate change?
Heat goes on in (already) steamy Sri Lanka
31 Jul 2018
Steamy Colombo is expected to be one of the South Asian cities hardest hit by temperature hikes linked to climate change.
Northern heat could be strongest climate signal yet
30 Jul 2018
Global warming fever has spiked to deadly new highs across the Northern Hemisphere this summer, and the results are being felt.
Dry countries face disaster, warns UN
30 Jul 2018
Dry countries face famine and food insecurity, loss of livelihoods and life, and the displacement of millions, the United Nations has warned.
Imran vows to green Pakistan by planting 10 billion trees
30 Jul 2018
Imran Khan has vowed to plant 10 billion trees in five years as prime minister of Pakistan.
Penang is drowning in its own development
30 Jul 2018
The Malaysian island of Penang is paying a heavy price for putting development above the environment.
SICK SEAS: Human impact has damaged almost every ocean
27 Jul 2018
Outside the remotest areas of the Pacific and the poles, virtually no ocean is left harbouring naturally high levels of marine wildlife, a new report says.
Feel free to ruin public land, Trump tells miners
27 Jul 2018
The Trump administration will no longer require oil drillers, miners and other industries to compensate for damage they cause to public lands.
Australia energy plan might breach Paris Agreement
27 Jul 2018
An Australian government plan to lock in electricity emissions targets might breach a key commitment to the Paris Agreement.
West's clunker cars carry climate problems
27 Jul 2018
Old, ill-maintained and often malfunctioning vehicles dumped by the west in poor countries become energy guzzlers and emit high levels of heat-trapping gases.
Anchovies, the fish that gave too much
27 Jul 2018
The Italian fish sauce colatura is made from anchovies and literally adds the Med into the famously healthy Mediterranean diet. So many good things, however, have a downside.
Mary Robinson eyes feminist solution for climate change
26 Jul 2018
Women leading the fight against climate damage will be highlighted by former Irish president Mary Robinson who wants to get a global movement behind “a feminist solution for climate change”.
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.
