International: All stories
Can Australia avoid drifting into a slow, painful decline?
20 Jun 2019
Australia has been warned it risks "drifting into the future" if it fails to respond to challenges in a fast-changing world.
Floridians set record for underwater cleanup
20 Jun 2019
The Florida city of Deerfield has put 633 divers into the water in what it claims is the world’s largest underwater clean-up.
More countries back EU neutrality goal
19 Jun 2019
Germany, Greece, Italy and Slovenia have added their names to a growing list of EU countries supporting a carbon neutrality objective for 2050, increasing the chances that a deal will be struck at a summit later this week.
Deaths rise among reporters telling environment stories
19 Jun 2019
Thirteen journalists who were investigating damage to the environment have been killed in recent years and many more are suffering violence, harassment, intimidation and lawsuits.
Warmer world will be more dangerous
18 Jun 2019
A warmer world will be more dangerous. As the thermometer rises, so does the risk of conflict and bloodshed in more vulnerable regions.
Ireland has bold plan to tackle climate crisis
18 Jun 2019
Ireland has unveiled an ambitious plan to tackle the climate emergency by weaning the state, businesses, farms and households off fossil fuels.
Drought forces Namibia to sell wild animals to highest bidder
18 Jun 2019
Drought-hit Namibia has authorised the sale of at least 1000 wild animals – including elephants and giraffes – to limit loss of life and to raise money for conservation.
Poor nations could be future species guardians
18 Jun 2019
Developing countries are better than richer nations at promising to protect important agricultural species in the future, but do less well in safeguarding existing biodiversity.
Arctic permafrost melting 70 years ahead of time
17 Jun 2019
Permafrost has begun thawing in the Canadian Arctic more than 70 years early because of climate change, according to new research.
Australia gives go-ahead to Adani mine
14 Jun 2019
Australia has given the final approval for construction to begin on a controversial coal mine to be built by Indian company Adani.
Coal-dependent Japan sets neutral goal
14 Jun 2019
Heavy on tech, light on any plans to tackle its coal dependency, Japan has released its climate legislation.
UK commits to 2050 emissions target
13 Jun 2019
Greenhouse gas emissions in the UK will be cut to almost zero by 2050, under the terms of a new government plan to tackle climate change.
African city heat set to grow intolerably
13 Jun 2019
The entire African continent faces lethal weather conditions for many of its people.
Thirty years to climate meltdown – or not?
12 Jun 2019
How much of a threat is climate meltdown? Should we treat it as the biggest danger to life in the 21st century, or as one of many problems − serious, but manageable?
Brazil leader guts environmental agencies
12 Jun 2019
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro appears intent on decriminalizing Amazon deforestation, ending most fines, straitjacketing law enforcement, and gutting environmental agencies with mass firings.
Survey finds number of plant extinctions is 'frightening'
12 Jun 2019
Human destruction of the living world is causing a “frightening” number of plant extinctions, according to scientists who have completed the first global analysis of the issue.
At this rate, we'll have more plastic than fish in the ocean
11 Jun 2019
If humanity continues dumping plastics into nature at the current rate, there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s seas by 2050.
Bloomberg mission is to close all US coal plants
11 Jun 2019
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has a new $500 million mission - to close every coal plant in the US by 2030.
What's worrying the plastics industry?
10 Jun 2019
This year’s Global Plastics Summit revealed an industry that sees big growth ahead but also serious challenges, from plastics in the ocean to climate impact.
Trump disses climate change after meeting Charles
10 Jun 2019
US President Donald Trump dismissed climate change as “a change in weather” just hours after holding talks on the issue with Prince Charles.
Some day soon, people might be queueing to get to Siberia
10 Jun 2019
Siberia, currently one of the most sparsely populated places in the northern hemisphere, could become a target for mass migration as the climate warms.
There’s more CO2 in the atmosphere than you think
7 Jun 2019
Carbon dioxide levels recorded last month at the Mauna Loa atmospheric observatory in Hawaii reached an average of 414.7 parts per million. But in truth, the amount of greenhouse gas in our atmosphere is higher still.
Australia's rising emissions spark row
7 Jun 2019
Data showing the latest increase in Australia's greenhouse emissions was released late, in defiance of a Senate order, but leaked to a major newspaper.
Meet the coastal dwellers who don't fear rising seas
7 Jun 2019
Half of the people living in New South Wales’ coastal communities think rising sea levels will not affect them, and a quarter of accommodation businesses on the coast are unsure if sea-level rise is even occurring, new data shows.
Coal-dependent Chile vows to come clean by 2040
7 Jun 2019
Chile, host of the next UN climate talks, has unveiled its plan to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, which will require one of the fastest coal shutdowns anywhere.
Australian musicians band together to run solar farms
7 Jun 2019
Midnight Oil, Cloud Control, Vance Joy and Regurgitator have signed up to FEAT, a new platform encouraging their industry to back sustainability.
Interpol names most-wanted eco criminals
6 Jun 2019
International police have asked for help in tracking down the world’s most wanted environmental criminals.
Britain powers to two weeks free of coal
6 Jun 2019
Britain has not used coal to generate electricity for two weeks - the longest period since the 1880s.
Changing climate has seabirds dying in their thousands
6 Jun 2019
The bodies started washing ashore on St Paul Island, Alaska, in October 2016. One after another, the small carcasses of seabirds - mostly puffins - landed on the beach in extraordinary numbers.
Lawmakers want to pay homeowners for bee gardens
6 Jun 2019
Minnesota aims to offer financial support to homeowners who want to transform their yards into bee-friendly gardens.
Pacific sucks up more anthropogenic emissions
5 Jun 2019
The rate that the Pacific Ocean takes up human-caused emissions of carbon has increased between 1991 and 2017, a new study finds.
Finns going carbon-free faster than we are
5 Jun 2019
Finland is outbidding New Zealand in the drive to carbon-neutrality, saying its economy will be effectively carbon-free by 2035 - 15 years earlier than New Zealand plans to get there.
Climate crisis seriously damaging human health
4 Jun 2019
A report by experts from 27 national science academies has set out the widespread damage global heating is already causing to people’s health.
What happens now with Adani?
4 Jun 2019
By mid-June, if everything goes as expected, Adani Australia will receive the final environmental approvals for its proposed Carmichael coal mine and rail line development.
Students must plant 10 trees to graduate
4 Jun 2019
The PhilippineS Senate has passed a law requiring all students to plant 10 trees in order to graduate.
Macedonians might have done battle with climate change
4 Jun 2019
Alexander the Great's Macedonian ancestors might have been struck by one of the earliest environmental disasters linked to human activity.
Scientists fight Brazilian leader's cutbacks
31 May 2019
Brazil’s scientists are fighting back against President Jair Bolsonaro’s plans to slash funding for research and education programmes.
Florida creates office to take on climate crisis
31 May 2019
To say Dr Tom Frazer faces a daunting workload as he begins his new job as Florida’s first chief science officer would be an underestimation.
Author of dystopian climate novel is 'deeply optimistic'
31 May 2019
People have “a moral obligation” to be optimistic about the climate crisis because the alternative would be to despair, The Wall author John Lanchester has said.
Malaysia loses last male rhino
31 May 2019
The last male Sumatran rhino in Malaysia has died in a nature reserve on Borneo.
Pope pleads for 'startling' inaction to end
30 May 2019
If the world is to win the fight against climate change, its leaders must stop profiting from fossil fuels that threaten the survival and well-being of the planet and its inhabitants, says Pope Francis.
Rising seas threaten Australia’s major airports
30 May 2019
Most major airports in Australia are located on reclaimed swamps, sitting only a few metres above the present sea level.
Triumphant Greens demand more radical action
29 May 2019
Europe’s Greens, big winners in the weekend's EU elections, will use their newfound leverage in a fractured parliament to push an agenda of urgent climate action, social justice and civil liberties, the movement’s leaders say.
South Africa signs carbon tax into law
29 May 2019
In a first for a developing country, South Africa will put a price on pollution, but campaigners say it is not high enough.
China succeeds in greening its economy
29 May 2019
From an appalling environmental scorecard 20 years ago, China has pioneered a “global green shift” towards renewable energy and recycling.
TREATED LIKE TRASH: Asians send back the West's rubbish
29 May 2019
South-east Asia has begun to push back against the deluge of plastic and electronic waste from the UK, US and Australia.
Inaction poses trillion-dollar risk for investors
28 May 2019
Delaying the implementation of climate policies could cost the world’s top companies US$1.2 trillion over the next 15 years, according to a new UN report.
Amazon staff demand Bezos act on climate crisis
28 May 2019
Amazon chief Jeff Bezos has refused to address employees demanding the company take action on the climate crisis.
Instore or online - what’s the greenest way to go shopping?
28 May 2019
Drones, robots, crowd-shipping and more offer new options for solving the sticky “last-mile” problem of bringing your purchases home.
France’s nuclear industry stumbles along
28 May 2019
With its new reactors needing modifications and its older ones awaiting costly updates, France’s nuclear industry is in trouble.
Australia opens first carbon refinery, making new products from captured CO2
Wed 24 Jun 2026
Australia’s first carbon refinery opened in New South Wales, capturing carbon dioxide from explosives giant Orica's ammonia-making operations on Kooragang Island and turning it into products such as concrete, paper and glass.
US defence spending on critical minerals surges in the last decade
Mon 22 Jun 2026
Members of communities affected by some of these projects said that U.S. state backing has meant projects are being fast-tracked without the necessary social and environmental checks or meaningful consultation.
China's coal power on the rise again in 2026, reversing first-in-a-decade decline
Today 10:45am
China's coal-fired power generation is set to rebound this year from its first fall in a decade, analysts said, due to the impact of El Nino and the Iran war and as renewable sources of energy have failed to keep pace with demand.
France records hottest day ever as 40 people drown across country
Today 10:45am
France has registered its hottest day on record as 40 people across the country were confirmed to have drowned while swimming in unsupervised areas over the last few days.
London event on extreme heat adaptation cancelled as heatwave grips
Today 10:45am
An event due to be held in central London about how the world can adapt to extreme heat has been cancelled due to soaring temperatures.
Canada signs landmark LNG energy deal with Germany
29 May 2026
Canada has announced a landmark energy agreement with Germany that will see the first-ever long-term shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Canada to Europe in the coming years.
Asia warming nearly twice as fast as before
Fri 19 Jun 2026
A new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) highlights record ocean heat, accelerating glacier loss and a series of extreme weather events causing significant human and economic losses across Asia.
‘Those blocking climate science are not our friends': Pacific leaders warn at Bonn talks
Tue 23 Jun 2026
Pacific nations and civil society groups have united at UN climate talks, pushing back against efforts to weaken agreed language on global temperature limits as negotiations continue behind closed doors.
Antarctica’s west coast missing an area of sea ice the size of France as temperatures peak 20C above average
16 Jun 2026
A vast area of the Bellingshausen Sea should be covered by sea ice by now, with one expert calling the loss of ice ‘depressing’.
Verra reinstates Kenya carbon project despite ongoing court case
Today 10:45am
The Northern Kenya Grassland Carbon project is “the world’s largest soil carbon removal project” according the organisation running the project. It is also one of the most controversial carbon projects anywhere in the world.
Colombia’s climate crossroads: Trumpism casts shadow over presidential battle
26 May 2026
Colombia is a global leader in climate activism. Could US influence drag country to a future of mining and fracking?
UN chief says fossil fuel industry must cut methane for warming “relief”
Today 10:45am
UN chief António Guterres called for stronger action to cut emissions of planet-heating methane, taking aim at the fossil fuel industry’s practices and profits, and pointing to coal, oil and gas as the root of today’s climate and energy crises.
