International: All stories
China and India lead greening of landscape
13 Feb 2019
China and India are leading the world in greening the landscape, a study finds, with the two countries accounting for one-third of the new forests, croplands and other types of vegetation observed globally since 2000.
Sweden puts deadline on fossil-free ships
13 Feb 2019
Sweden’s shipping sector is preparing to end the use of fossil fuels domestically by 2045, in line with national climate goals.
How emissions reporting is set to change
13 Feb 2019
A new project hopes to show how emissions reporting should be done, but building trust looks set to play a huge part in overcoming the challenge.
Islands declare emergency after invasion by hungry polar bears
13 Feb 2019
Russian environmental authorities have deployed a team of specialists to a remote Arctic region to sedate and remove dozens of hungry polar bears that have besieged the people living there.
Ambitious Danish island ends fossil fuel use
13 Feb 2019
A small Danish island ends fossil fuel use by combining ambitious aims with ensuring that local people have a say in cleaner replacements.
Plummeting insect numbers threaten collapse of nature
12 Feb 2019
The world’s insects are hurtling down the path to extinction, threatening a “catastrophic collapse of nature’s ecosystems”, according to the first global scientific review.
Australia could be 100% renewables by 2032
12 Feb 2019
Australia could reach the equivalent of 100 per cent renewables by 2032, if the current rates of installation of wind and solar continue, says a new report.
Electronic devices trigger surge in e-waste
12 Feb 2019
E-waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the world and a global reboot in the way humans produce and use electronic devices is urgently needed, says a new UN study.
France tables 2050 carbon-neutral law
11 Feb 2019
The French government has proposed legislation committing the country to carbon-neutrality by 2050.
NSW court rejects coal mine in landmark call
11 Feb 2019
Environmental groups are cheering a decision in NSW's Land and Environment Court that found the emissions of greenhouse gases and resulting climate change from a proposed coal mine were among the reasons to reject the project.
To keep humans safe, let nature shape the coast
11 Feb 2019
The knee-jerk reaction to sea-level rise has traditionally been to maintain the shoreline’s position at all cost, by building new flood defence structures or upgrading old ones.
Street artists are joining the fight to save the environment
11 Feb 2019
In these times of rising activism on climate change and other environmental threats, a new band of campaigners has joined the fight: street artists.
Green New Deal claims bold plan to fight change
8 Feb 2019
New US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is releasing a broad outline of a vision for the Green New Deal, a plan to battle economic and racial injustice while also fighting climate change.
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.
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.
Trump administration sues California over the state’s nation-leading vehicle-emission rules
Tue 17 Mar 2026
The Trump administration ramped up a battle with California over the state’s nation-leading vehicle-emission standards Thursday, suing air regulators over rules aimed at curbing pollution from cars.
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.
Summit aims to revive stalled UN talks on phasing out fossil fuels
11 Mar 2026
Colombia and the Netherlands have set out three priorities for a conference on phasing out fossil fuels they will co-host in Colombia in April.
