International: All stories
DC dawdles, so powerco chiefs go for green
10 Apr 2019
Patti Poppe used to drive around with an "I Love Coal" bumper sticker, but now the CEO of Michigan-based CMS Energy Corp. is eager to talk about phasing out the fossil fuel.
Threatening tide levels see UN launch push for floating cities
10 Apr 2019
A UN-backed partnership will study the futuristic prospect of floating cities, looking at how platforms at sea might help to bail out coastal cities at risk of flooding.
Europe’s food imports devour rainforests
10 Apr 2019
Human appetites drive global rainforest destruction. Now science has measured how Europe’s food imports leave scorched tropical soils and greenhouse gases.
Australia's fire forests might be changed forever
9 Apr 2019
Parts of Australia’s climate change-impacted forests might never be the same again, scientists say.
Climate change drives migrants to the US
9 Apr 2019
The northern triangle of Central America, the largest source of asylum seekers crossing the US border, is deeply affected by environmental degradation.
Sikhs aim to plant a million trees as 'gift to the planet'
9 Apr 2019
Sikhs around the world are marking 550 years since the birth of founder Guru Nanak by planting a million trees as a “gift to the entire planet”.
Global financial system must change, says UN
8 Apr 2019
A comprehensive overhaul of the world’s financial system is necessary if governments are to honour climate commitments, says a new UN-led report.
Norway’s giant oil fund dives into renewables
8 Apr 2019
Norway's trillion-dollar oil fund, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, is to plunge billions of dollars into wind and solar power projects.
Last Antarctic forests send a message on climate change
8 Apr 2019
Scramble across exposed rocks in the middle of Antarctica and it's possible to find the mummified twigs of shrubs that grew on the continent millions of years ago.
These countries have prices on carbon
5 Apr 2019
More than 40 governments have now adopted some sort of price on carbon, either through direct taxes on fossil fuels or through cap-and-trade programmes.
New York to make drivers pay for pollution
5 Apr 2019
New York is set to become the first US city to charge drivers a fee for releasing planet-warming pollution from their cars.
Chinese consumers ignore calls to eat less beef
5 Apr 2019
Despite increasing prices and evidence that too much beef is bad for health and the environment, the belief in China that eating red meat makes you strong persists and consumption is accelerating.
Science festival bans fossil fuel sponsorship
5 Apr 2019
The charity running the Edinburgh international science festival is to ban sponsorship from oil companies including Shell and Total after protests by climate campaigners.
Coalition tailors budget for climate denial
4 Apr 2019
The Australian government has delivered its last budget before May elections with long-term climate and clean energy policies and technologies being ignored.
German Greens want to become the people’s party
4 Apr 2019
Germany’s Greens want to stabilise their steep rise in popularity and formulate new basic principles. What do they want to do differently?
Termites show humans how to keep their high-rise cool
4 Apr 2019
Scientists are studying the architectural skills developed by termites so we can keep cool, dry and well-ventilated in tall buildings without using fossil fuels.
Trade war spells disaster for the Amazon
3 Apr 2019
An analysis of global soya-bean production forecasts massive deforestation in Brazil — and stakeholders must act fast to prevent it.
Labor climate policy is to hit big polluters
3 Apr 2019
A Bill Shorten Labor government in Australia would add about 100 high polluters to those subject to an emissions cap, and drastically slash the present cap’s level.
EU on track for 50% emission cuts by 2030
3 Apr 2019
While Germany and Eastern European countries continue to oppose raising the EU’s 40 per cent emission reduction target for 2030, a new analysis insists the bloc will actually manage at least 50 per cent cuts under a business-as-usual scenario.
Ryanair joins what used to be the EU's all-coal polluters' club
3 Apr 2019
Low-cost carrier Ryanair has made it to the list of Europe’s top 10 carbon emitters, meaning it now ranks as high as the continent’s coal power plants in terms of pollution.
Canada imposes carbon tax on four provinces
2 Apr 2019
Canada has imposed a landmark carbon tax on four provinces which had defied Ottawa’s push to combat climate change.
Slovakia's new leader will fight Big Coal
2 Apr 2019
Slovakia’s first female president, Zuzana Èaputová, will challenge long-standing industrial interests and the financing of coal mining after being elected at the weekend.
Judge blocks Trump's Arctic drilling plans
2 Apr 2019
A judge's ruling restores former president Barack Obama’s orders putting large parts of the Arctic off-limits to offshore drilling and throws Donald Trump’s oil and gas lease sale plans into question.
How the lion lost its mojo
2 Apr 2019
The legacy of colonial hunting has made the king of beasts genetically feebler and more vulnerable.
Japan to oppose new coal-fired power plants
2 Apr 2019
Japan’s environment minister has announced he will “in principle” oppose any new plans to build or expand coal-fired power stations, as further signs emerge of a dramatic energy pivot by Australia’s top export market for thermal coal.
Can the world quench China’s thirst for milk?
1 Apr 2019
China’s leaders have championed milk as the emblem of a modern, affluent society – but their radical plan to triple the nation’s consumption will have a huge environmental cost.
CLIMATE QUESTION: How do we keep the kids interested?
1 Apr 2019
Nearly 1.5m students walked out of school on March 15 to protest about the failure of the governments to tackle climate change. The job now is to find ways to mobilise their passion in the long-term.
Corporate giants join green-energy alliance
1 Apr 2019
Hundreds of US corporate companies have joined together for a renewable-energy alliance.
Canberra gets blame for failure to cut vehicle emissions
1 Apr 2019
Cuts to carbon emissions from vehicle efficiency standards have been left out of government projections for meeting Australia’s Paris climate commitments, indicating the policy has been shelved.
UNEQUAL EMISSIONS: The gulf between global rich and poor
1 Apr 2019
Being rich, especially ultra-rich, means being directly responsible for the majority of the world’s carbon emissions.
China and India are making a greener Earth
29 Mar 2019
Despite climate change, water scarcity and the many ills affecting the planet, this generation is living on an increasingly greener Earth.
Climate denial is evil, says Mary Robinson
29 Mar 2019
The denial of climate change is not just ignorant, but “malign and evil”, according to Mary Robinson, because it denies the human rights of the most vulnerable people on the planet.
Senate defeats Green New Deal proposal
28 Mar 2019
The US Senate has defeated a motion to take up the Green New Deal, the non-binding proposal spearheaded by progressive Democratic lawmakers.
Fossil fuel now costs more, says study
28 Mar 2019
Around three-quarters of US coal production is now more expensive than solar and wind energy in providing electricity to American households, according to a new study.
ON YER TRIKE! A new way to ensure the mail gets through
28 Mar 2019
The mail must get through ... and now it's the job of e-trikes to deliver letters and parcels.
I want plans, not speeches, says UN head
27 Mar 2019
UN chief Antonio Guterres is calling on world leaders to bring plans, not speeches to a climate summit he is hosting in September.
Don't know how to save the planet? This is what you can do
27 Mar 2019
Should we become vegetarians? Is it OK to fly? The author of There Is No Planet B, a Handbook for the Make or Break Years, answers the big questions.
Top companies accused of undermining Paris deal
26 Mar 2019
New analysis shows 22 of Australia’s largest companies are actively working to undermine the Paris Agreement targets, betting shareholders’ money on strategies that assume global climate change action fails.
Six ways to fill your wardrobe with sustainable clothing
26 Mar 2019
While the push for a more sustainable fashion market is in its early days, individuals can still make easy choices right now to have a more environmentally friendly style.
Russia floats first law to regulate emissions
25 Mar 2019
Russia is considering climate legislation that could give the world’s fifth largest emitter a framework for regulating carbon emissions for the first time.
How insurance could be out of reach for many
25 Mar 2019
Insurers have warned that climate change could make cover for ordinary people unaffordable after the world’s largest reinsurance firm blamed global warming for $24bn of losses in the Californian wildfires.
UK lines up first deep coal mine in decades
25 Mar 2019
Local councillors in Cumbria have voted unanimously to approve a new deep coal mine, Britain’s first in three decades.
Melting ice exposing bodies of Mt Everest's missing climbers
25 Mar 2019
Melting glaciers on Mount Everest have begun exposing the bodies of climbers who died on the mountain.
Attenborough to tell us the facts in new film
25 Mar 2019
The BBC has just announced that David Attenborough, 92, will present a 60-minute film, Climate Change - The Facts, which will be screened this northen spring.
US judge halts hundreds of drilling projects
22 Mar 2019
In the first significant check on the Trump administration’s “energy-first” agenda, a US judge has temporarily halted hundreds of drilling projects for failing to take climate change into account.
More gas mining threatens climate, water and health
22 Mar 2019
Australia, like its competitors Qatar, Canada and the US, aspires to become the world’s largest exporter of gas, arguing this helps importing nations reduce their greenhouse emissions by replacing coal.
Toyota's Melbourne plant to make hydrogen
22 Mar 2019
Toyota and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency will kick in $7.4m to transform part of the carmaker’s decommissioned Melbourne car manufacturing site into a commercial-grade hydrogen production and refuelling site.
Most US produce has pesticide residues - even after washing
22 Mar 2019
About 70 per cent of fresh produce sold in the US has pesticide residues on it even after it is washed, according to a health advocacy group.
FLANNERY: People are shocked; they should be angry
21 Mar 2019
Author and scientist Tim Flannery, who has returned to his roots at the Australian Museum, says the world is about to see a major shift towards climate action.
Good keen youths could form a Green Army
21 Mar 2019
A volunteer conservation army could mobilise young people who want to fight climate change by channelling them into work to restore ecosystems.
Australia opens first carbon refinery, making new products from captured CO2
Today 11:30am
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 to raise power prices for energy-intensive sectors in green transition push
Fri 19 Jun 2026
Beijing’s latest road map aims to cut carbon emissions by 200 million tonnes by 2028 – but analysts say implementation may vary across regions.
Half of France under red heat alert as alcohol banned at street music festival
Tue 23 Jun 2026
France has issued red heatwave alerts for around half the country including Paris for Monday as a heatwave pushes temperatures towards record levels.
UK heatwave: 40C in June must be wake-up call on climate crisis, scientists warn
Today 11:30am
Scientists are warning that politicians are failing to appreciate the magnitude of the climate crisis after the Met Office forecast that temperatures in the UK could hit 40C for just the second time since records began.
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’.
Mombasa ocean summit drives progress on marine protection, but threats persist
Tue 23 Jun 2026
At the 11th Our Ocean conference in Kenya, its founder John Kerry says the ocean must become central to climate solutions and needs to be looked after.
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?
Bonn climate talks end in “gridlock” on adaptation and emissions-cutting
Mon 22 Jun 2026
After two weeks of climate negotiations riven by arguments over finance and science, the UN climate chief expressed disappointment and denounced governments for “cherry-picking” commitments they have already made and waiting for others to move first.
