International: All stories
Climate control could save millions of lives, says WHO
7 Dec 2018
Beating climate change would save at least a million lives a year, the World Health Organisation has told the UN climate summit in Poland, making it a moral imperative.
Indonesia manages to fly below the radar
7 Dec 2018
International leaders are in Katowice debating the world's warming climate - but seldom mentioned is Indonesia, one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases.
Parched world watches as water vanishes
7 Dec 2018
This parched world’s landlocked basins – they make up a fifth of the Earth’s surface – have lost at least 100 billion tonnes of water every year since the century began.
Greenland ice melt is in overdrive
7 Dec 2018
Melting on Greenland's ice sheet has gone into overdrive, with meltwater runoff increasing 50 per cent since the start of the industrial era and continuing to accelerate, new research shows.
To feed 10 billion people we'll have to lay off the steak meals
7 Dec 2018
People in rich nations will have to make big cuts to the amount of beef and lamb they eat if the world is to be able to feed 10 billion people, says a new report.
Emissions jump to all-time high in 2018
6 Dec 2018
Global carbon emissions will jump to a record high in 2018, says a report released at the Katowice climate summit, dashing hopes a plateau of recent years would be maintained.
Why we can’t trust finance with the planet
6 Dec 2018
Private finance and large investors will play a central role at the COP24 in Katowice. But before we pin our hopes on finance to solve climate change, there are some things we need to ask ourselves.
Four things that must be done at Katowice
6 Dec 2018
The urgency for decisive action is the imperative for COP24. The UN must press on with four major strands for meeting the Paris 1.5deg target.
World Bank to invest $200b in climate fight
6 Dec 2018
The World Bank will make about $200 billion available to fund action on climate change from 2021-25, helping countries to adapt to the effects of warming and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Australia eyes role as clean-energy exporter
6 Dec 2018
Politicians around Australia are proposing ambitious plans to export renewable energy from Australia, using high-voltage power lines laid under the oceans.
Pure electrics shine as China shows off cars of the future
6 Dec 2018
China has seen a bumper year for electric car sales, so it’s no surprise that a number “new energy vehicles”, as EVs are referred to in China, were the stars of the Guangzhou Auto Show.
Macron move likely to be felt at Katowice
5 Dec 2018
French leader Emmanuel Macron’s defeat by the gilets jaunes movement over a proposed eco-tax rise is likely to come as a painful lesson for environmental policymakers at UN climate talks in Katowice.
Climate leader running short on power
5 Dec 2018
The coalition that built the Paris Agreement has broken down, leaving UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa with few powerful friends to call on to secure a deal in Katowice.
You're acting like children, child tells leaders
5 Dec 2018
Action to fight global warming is coming whether world leaders like it or not, school student Greta Thunberg, 15, has told the UN climate change summit, accusing them of behaving like irresponsible children.
Adani will fund mini-version of its mega-mine
5 Dec 2018
Indian mining multinational Adani has announced that it will self-fund a significantly smaller coal mine in Queensland, after failing to secure finance from more than 30 domestic and international banks and lenders.
Rising tides bring threat to Pacific military readiness
5 Dec 2018
On a Pacific archipelago 2400 miles southwest of Hawaii, the United States' enormous military capability collides with the accelerating climate risk that threatens to erode it.
Stella McCartney makes eco-fashion charter
5 Dec 2018
Eco-friendly British fashion designer Stella McCartney has announced a United Nations charter for Sustainable Fashion.
NZ will take agriculture lead role at Katowice
4 Dec 2018
New Zealand will lead discussions at international climate talks in Poland on upping emissions reductions from farming.
Attenborough: Collapse of civilisation is on the horizon
4 Dec 2018
The collapse of civilisation and the natural world is on the horizon, Sir David Attenborough has told the UN climate change summit in Poland.
Kiwi sitting at the Katowice top table
4 Dec 2018
New Zealander Jo Tyndall is one of the most influential people at international climate talks in Poland.
Host calls for solidarity with coal workers
4 Dec 2018
Polish leaders have delivered a clear message that climate change must be tackled, but not at the expense of the coal workers who built the industrial city that is hosting this year’s Cop24 summit.
Cheap drainage nets keep water pollution at bay
4 Dec 2018
The Western Australia city of Kwinana is using a somewhat obvious, simple and cost-effective system of nets to prevent waste from entering its waters.
Asia's media ignores air pollution shocker
4 Dec 2018
It's a public health crisis that kills almost five million people in Asia every year. So why isn’t air pollution a bigger story?
Climate watchdog calls on NZ to show the way
3 Dec 2018
New Zealand is on a list of countries being called on to cut emissions as an example to the world.
COP 24 OPENS: The world at a crossroads
3 Dec 2018
Four senior figures behind efforts to limit climate change have warned that the planet "is at a crossroads" as key talks opened a day early in Poland.
Thousands of Aussie kids take to the streets
3 Dec 2018
Thousands of schoolchildren across Australia walked out of class on Friday to demand action by the federal government on climate change.
It's just worst-case stuff, says Trump
3 Dec 2018
The Trump administration is minimising warnings from scientists by arguing that they are exaggerated and based on the worst-case scenario.
Happy birthday, big battery
3 Dec 2018
By most accounts, Adelaide's giant lithium-ion battery - the world's largest - has been a remarkable success. But there are some concerns that have so far escaped scrutiny.
GOOD COP: You've got to know your NDCs from your LMDCs
3 Dec 2018
International climate talks are fiendishly complex and stacked with jargon. Here's a glossary of the key concepts, forums and alliances you need to navigate the UN negotiations which started today in Katowice and the diplomacy that surrounds them.
Why China must lead to save life on Earth
30 Nov 2018
China must play a leading role if the world is to draw up a new and more effective strategy to halt the collapse of life on Earth, according to senior delegates at the close of this week’s UN biodiversity conference.
Global food system is broken, say world’s science academies
30 Nov 2018
The global food system is broken, leaving billions of people either underfed or overweight and driving the planet to climate catastrophe, scientists say.
France sets up independent climate council
30 Nov 2018
France has set up independent climate council, a group of 13 experts which will hold the government to account for aligning with the Paris Agreement.
Heat threatens hospital systems, says Lancet
30 Nov 2018
The recent impact of climate change on heat-related diseases should be seen as a harbinger of future dangers including the threat of a systemic failure of hospitals, says a Lancet report.
EU plan calls for ‘climate neutrality’ by 2050
29 Nov 2018
The European Commission today will unveil its much-anticipated plan for a “climate-neutral Europe” in an effort to show EU countries how to stick to the goals of the Paris Agreement and endorse a shared long-term strategy.
Brazil pulls offer to host COP 25 summit
29 Nov 2018
Brazil has withdrawn its offer to host the COP 25 UN climate summit next year, citing budgetary constraints and the transition to a new government.
Wild plant ancestors need more protection
29 Nov 2018
Everything that humans eat or drink comes directly or indirectly from plants. Many wild plant ancestors, of even the most precious species, could be at risk.
Everest's glaciers sensitive to climate change
29 Nov 2018
It's not only glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica that are feeling the effects of a changing climate.
We must triple efforts or face catastrophe, says UN
28 Nov 2018
Countries are failing to take the action needed to stave off the worst effects of climate change, a UN report has found, and the commitments made in the Paris Agreement will not be met unless governments urgently introduce additional measures.
China drags chain on emissions trading scheme
28 Nov 2018
China still needs to do a lot of work before it can fully launch its long-awaited nationwide carbon emissions trading scheme.
Mishap forces Pacific garbage patch swimmer to give up
28 Nov 2018
A plastics-pollution campaigner has given up his attempt to swim across the Pacific - a trip that was to take him through 1600km of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Gas demand spurs race to build tankers
28 Nov 2018
Busy shipyards along the coasts of South Korea, China and Japan are competing for lucrative contracts to build liquefied natural gas carriers.
End of an era as Ireland closes its peat bogs
28 Nov 2018
When the semi-state company that harvests Ireland’s peatlands recently announced the closure of 17 bogs, the news was greeted as the end of an era.
Draft G20 statement waters down Paris stand
27 Nov 2018
A draft communique from the leaders of the G20 shows that resolve to stand up for the Paris climate agreement against critical voices, such as the US, might be weakening.
Labor’s smashing win tonic for clean energy
27 Nov 2018
The relief from Victoria’s stunning election result last weekend was palpable.
Trailblazing UK climate change act a global model
27 Nov 2018
Ten years after its creation, the landmark UK climate change legislation has many lessons for other countries as they look for ways to turn the Paris deal into national action.
Scientist unveils blueprint to save bees and enrich farmers
27 Nov 2018
The collapse in bee populations can be reversed if countries adopt a new farmer-friendly strategy, says the architect of a new masterplan for pollinators.
Morrison tells striking schoolkids to butt out
27 Nov 2018
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been labelled “out of touch” for angrily condemning a national student strike to protest government inaction on climate change.
Hunt begins for 'detergent' to clean up the sky
26 Nov 2018
Antarctic ice records pre-industrial levels of a chemical that scrubs the atmosphere of greenhouses gases.
Risks are spiraling, warns US weather scientists
26 Nov 2018
The US government's own climate scientists have issued a blunt warning that global warming is a growing threat to human life, property and ecosystems across the country, and that the economic damage will spiral in the coming decades.
Report over the top, say Trump's people
26 Nov 2018
The Trump administration has tried to downplay the stark findings of its own climate change assessment, as Democrats sought to pressure the White House to avert looming economic and public health disaster.
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.
