International: All stories
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.
Climate death toll could be higher, says report
22 Jan 2019
Rising global temperatures could lead to many more deaths than the 250,000 a year predicted just five years ago, a new report says.
AUSSIE OVEN: ‘It’s like hell here’
22 Jan 2019
It was 48.9C last Tuesday in Port Augusta, South Australia, an old harbour city that now harvests solar power.
Why sea-ice cover is so low (it’s not just climate change)
22 Jan 2019
Sea-ice cover in Antarctica shrank rapidly to a record low in late 2016 and has remained well below average. But what’s behind this dramatic melting and low ice cover since?
Troubled Tesla cuts 7% of workforce
22 Jan 2019
Tesla is cutting its full-time staff headcount by about 7 per cent, as it tries to reduce the price of its cars and boost margins, CEO Elon Musk has announced
Poor losing the high ground in Miami
21 Dec 2018
Miami's poor are being pressured to leave their high-ground homes as rising sea levels threaten the city's wealthy coastal suburbs.
Global water supply shrinks in wetter world
21 Dec 2018
Even in a world with more intense rain, communities could begin to run short of water.
Risks of 'domino effect' greater than thought
21 Dec 2018
Policymakers have severely underestimated the risks of ecological tipping points, according to a study that shows 45 per cent of all potential environmental collapses are interrelated and could amplify one another.
How did grim Poland get such a strong carbon price?
21 Dec 2018
Strange as it might sound, the coal-promoting host of this year’s climate negotiations, Poland, has one of the strongest carbon prices in the world.
Scientists find plastic pollution at deepest point of the ocean
21 Dec 2018
The deepest point on Earth is heavily polluted with plastic, scientists have discovered, showing how pervasively the world has been contaminated.
Believe it or not, Australia's going to get hotter and drier
20 Dec 2018
Australia will experience more extreme heat, longer fire seasons, rising oceans and more marine heatwaves.
EU reaches coal deal (with caveat for Poland)
20 Dec 2018
EU legislators have reached agreement over a proposed reform of electricity market rules that includes a 2025 cut-off date for coal subsidies, and a special clause for Poland.
California insists on electric buses
20 Dec 2018
The Californian Air Resources Board has revealed its plan to have an all-electric bus fleet in California by 2040.
Warming pause didn't happen, say experts
20 Dec 2018
Claims of a global warming ‘pause’ in observed temperatures early this century are unfounded and lack statistical significance, researchers say.
Watch plastic toys, Christmas shoppers warned
20 Dec 2018
Christmas shoppers in Europe are being warned to avoid plastic toys after they appeared in more than half of EU intergovernmental alerts for products containing banned chemicals this year.
Stage set for humanity’s two most crucial years
19 Dec 2018
Decisions made from now to 2020 will determine to what extent Earth remains habitable.
EU agrees deal to cut emissions from cars
19 Dec 2018
The European Union has agreed to a goal of cutting carbon emissions from cars by 37.5 per cent in a decade, finally settling differences between vehicle-producing countries and environmentally-conscious lawmakers.
BBC under pressure to tell climate story
19 Dec 2018
A pressure group has called on the BBC, as Britain's public broadcaster, to convey the severity of the climate and ecological emergency.
NZ and Europe to strengthen market cooperation
18 Dec 2018
New Zealand is to strengthen its carbon market ties with Europe.
Anti-climate change strongmen still on the outer
18 Dec 2018
The COP24 talks just ended in Poland have shown that global warming treaties can survive the era of the anti-climate strongman.
Protesters to up pressure on governments
18 Dec 2018
Civil society groups have pledged growing international protests to drive rapid action on global warming after the UN climate summit in Poland.
Climate passports might come in handy
18 Dec 2018
As climate change leads to the flooding of whole countries a “climate passport” might allow the most distressed to settle in countries that have been largely responsible for the impact.
GOOD HEALTH: Let's hear it for yew trees and Gila monsters
18 Dec 2018
The Pacific yew tree and the Gila monster have an unlikely connection ... and that's good news for the future of the human race.
There's no problem a billion cockroaches can't handle
18 Dec 2018
China is producing so much food waste it has had to come up with some out-of-the-box thinking — like using a billion cockroaches to take care of the problem.
Shaw hopes for carbon market rules next year
17 Dec 2018
Climate minister James Shaw is optimistic that rules governing carbon markets will be settled next year.
Oil refinery fire at key Victoria facility
16 Apr 2026
Explosions and towering flames were reported as a significant fire broke out at one of Australia’s major oil refineries.
Trump takes a ‘wrecking ball’ to independent scientific advisory board
Thu 30 Apr 2026
Without the impartial oversight of its board, the National Science Foundation is now “fully at the behest of the White House,” experts warn.
China’s leadership calls for ‘strict control’ of fossil fuels
Tue 28 Apr 2026
Chinese government leaders published a policy document on 22 April – Earth Day – calling for stricter controls on fossil-fuel consumption and greater oversight of heavy emitters.
EU faces ‘China shock’ as EV imports drive Beijing’s record surplus with bloc
Fri 1 May 2026
The EU is experiencing a prolonged “China shock” as a flood of Chinese EVs into Europe helped push Beijing to a record surplus with the bloc.
UK scientists to fire salt water into the sky in bid to tackle climate crisis
Fri 1 May 2026
Government supporting new geoengineering techniques as race against unregulated companies seeking to capitalise on need for climate cooling tech heats up.
Canada, Alberta close in on carbon price agreement, sources say
Wed 29 Apr 2026
Canada and Alberta are expected to strike a deal in the next two weeks that will increase the price on carbon for the province's industrial emitters, but a broader agreement to tackle oil sands greenhouse gases and green-light a new crude oil export pipeline remains elusive.
India submits new climate action pledges to UN body, flags condition to fulfil promise
Wed 29 Apr 2026
India has formally submitted its pledge to the UN climate body, underline importing conditions noting the developing countries' committments cannot be fulfilled without adequate support in terms of finance and technology transfer.
Tuvalu to host world leaders before COP31 summit
16 Apr 2026
Tuvalu, the Pacific nation at the forefront of the global climate crisis, will host a special meeting of world leaders before this year’s Cop31 summit, as the conference president expresses “complete faith” in Chris Bowen to lead tough negotiations.
Drowned chicks and food scarcity: Emperor penguin and Antarctic fur seal now endangered
13 Apr 2026
The primary drivers are shrinking sea ice and warming oceans driven by climate change.
Rationing power and diluting petrol – how African countries are coping with effects of Iran war
30 Mar 2026
Countries across Africa have taken measures such as diluting petrol and restricting electricity consumption to cope with the fuel crisis triggered by the US and Israel's war in Iran.
Beef production drives 40% of agriculture-linked forest destruction, Brazil leads
26 Mar 2026
Beef production is the leading driver of agriculture-linked deforestation, accounting for 40% of all forest clearing done to open space for food production, according to details of a study released on Tuesday.
Extreme heat threatens global food systems, UN agencies warn
23 Apr 2026
Extreme heat is pushing global agrifood systems to the brink, threatening the livelihoods and health of more than a billion people, according to a new report by the U.N.'s food and weather agencies.
