International: All stories
Campaign aims to name plastic polluters
19 Sep 2018
A global call has gone out to combat plastic pollution with plans to name and shame the most pervasive polluting companies.
Pollution particles found in mothers' placentas
19 Sep 2018
New research shows direct evidence that toxic air – already strongly linked to harm in unborn babies – travels through mothers’ bodies.
France plans to go big on bikes
19 Sep 2018
France plans to launch a major endeavour to triple the amount of cyclists on its streets within the next seven years.
Pay more for your clothes, workers tell fashion brands
19 Sep 2018
Garment workers in Bangladesh have rejected an increase in the minimum wage, urging global brands to pay more for the clothes they buy.
CONCRETE FACTS: Why cement emissions matter for the globe
18 Sep 2018
If the cement industry were a country, it would be the third largest emitter in the world.
Financial watchdog chases big firms over climate risk
18 Sep 2018
Budget airline EasyJet and three other major companies have been reported to the UK’s Financial Reporting Council for failing to adequately report to shareholders on their climate change exposure.
New tree named ... in time for its headstone
18 Sep 2018
A tree species discovered in Cameroon nearly 70 years ago has been named -just in time to etch that name on its headstone.
Australian emissions soar over Paris targets
17 Sep 2018
New studies show Australia is on track to miss its Paris Agreement emissions target by nearly a billion tonnes.
Europe must cut meat and dairy by 2050, says expert
17 Sep 2018
Europe’s animal farming sector has exceeded safe bounds for greenhouse gas emissions, nutrient flows and biodiversity loss, and urgently needs to be scaled back, according to a new report.
HOME INVASION: It's time to move away from the coasts
17 Sep 2018
For an increasing number of people, coastal flooding and erosion is a real threat to property, the local economy and, in some cases, life.
Nations face bottom-up pressure to act
17 Sep 2018
Cities, states and business from around the world called on national governments to redouble their efforts to fight climate change, as a summit in San Francisco ended at the weekend.
MEMO AUSTRALIA: The Kiwis have a good plan
14 Sep 2018
As Australia prepares for another climate policy reset, it's easy to look to New Zealand and wonder what might have been.
Australia stuck in the slow lane on transport
14 Sep 2018
Australia is stuck in the slow lane on transport pollution as one of the only OECD countries without greenhouse gas emission standards for vehicles, says a new report.
Court orders Frankfurt to ban diesels
14 Sep 2018
The German city of Frankfurt has received a court-ordered ban on diesel after regularly exceeding pollution limits.
$6 TRILLION: That's how much Big Oil will not now be banking
13 Sep 2018
The funds committed to fossil fuel divestment now total more than $6 trillion with almost 1000 institutional investors having made the pledge, according to a new report.
Poland plans to leave its mark on climate talks
13 Sep 2018
Declarations on forests, electric vehicles and the impact of climate action on coal workers will be a central legacy of this year’s talks in Katowice.
Europe air pollution killing 1000 a day
13 Sep 2018
Governments are failing to tackle an air pollution crisis that causes 1000 early deaths a day, says a damning EU report.
UN chief calls for urgent stand against fossil fuels
12 Sep 2018
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that the world is facing “a direct existential threat” and must rapidly shift from dependence on fossil fuels by 2020 to prevent “runaway climate change”.
EPA loses 1600 employees under Trump
12 Sep 2018
The US Environmental Protection Agency lost 1600 employees in the first 18 months of the Trump administration, including 260 scientists and 185 specialists. Fewer than 400 people have been hired.
How Australia could be 100% renewable by 2030s
12 Sep 2018
Australia could reach the equivalent of 100 per cent renewables for its electricity needs by the early 2030s by doing nothing more than maintaining the current pace of wind and solar development, a new report has found.
End nuclear power war, says France’s new minister
12 Sep 2018
France’s new environment minister François de Rugy is calling for an end to what he called the “religious war” on nuclear power and pleading for a more pragmatic approach to environmental policy.
California governor ups the clean-energy game
12 Sep 2018
California solidified its role as a world leader on climate action as Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation to shift the state to 100 per cent carbon-free electricity by 2045.
Sylvia tackles Australia in her Tesla ... and look what it cost
12 Sep 2018
Sylvia Wilson, a 70-year-old retired farmer, drove around Australia in an electric car. It cost her $150.90.
Rich countries out to weaken Paris rules, say critics
11 Sep 2018
Complaints are growing that the United States and other wealthy countries are trying to manipulate the Paris Agreement rules to protect polluters and weaken their own commitments.
Thousands march across US to protest at environment crisis
11 Sep 2018
Tens of thousands of people took part in marches and other events across the US at the weekend, calling for a swift transition to renewable energy.
China cracks down on distant fishing fleets
11 Sep 2018
China’s fishery authorities have introduced hard-hitting punishments for overfishing and illegal fishing by the country’s distant fishing vessels.
Morrison says national energy guarantee 'dead'
10 Sep 2018
Australia's new government remains committed to meeting its Paris emissions targets even as it moves to dump climate change moves that led to the demise of the previous leadership.
Countries inch forward on Paris Agreement
10 Sep 2018
The Bangkok climate change talks have closed with uneven progress on the guidelines that will tell the world how to implement the Paris Agreement.
THIS IS THE BBC: How to best report climate change news
10 Sep 2018
The BBC, one of the world’s largest and most respected news organisations, has issued formal guidance to its journalists on how to report climate change.
Global drink firms back plan to drop plastic
10 Sep 2018
Global soft drink companies have made their biggest commitment yet to eliminating the use of throwaway plastic bottles, in an action plan presented to UK parliament.
Work begins on universal environment pact
10 Sep 2018
Governments have taken the first steps on a path that might lead to the creation of a global environment treaty.
Australia tried to water down Pacific stand, says PM
7 Sep 2018
Australia tried to water down a resolution on climate change agreed by country representatives at the Pacific Islands Forum, a leader attending the event has claimed.
World's largest offshore windfarm opens
7 Sep 2018
The world’s biggest offshore windfarm has officially opened in the Irish Sea, amid warnings that Brexit could increase costs for future projects.
Plastic can holders on way out as Carlsberg beer goes for glue
7 Sep 2018
Familiar plastic can holders used for lager and beer multipacks could be on their way out after global brewing giant Carlsberg revealed plans to replace them with recyclable glue.
NZ backs Pacific call for UN to do more
6 Sep 2018
New Zealand is backing other Pacific nations calling for the United Nations to up its game over the security threats posed by climate change.
Bangkok negotiators racing the clock
6 Sep 2018
Climate change negotiators who began an important meeting in Bangkok yesterday are under the gun.
Brazil court overturns glyphosate ruling
6 Sep 2018
Brazilian farmers will continue to have access to the world’s most-used weed killer after a court reversed a ruling which had suspended the existing and new registration of glyphosate-based products.
Macron under pressure to up his game
6 Sep 2018
French environment campaigners have warned president Emmanuel Macron is doing too little to combat climate change and must radically rethink his environment policy if he is to honour his promise to “make this planet great again”.
Soggy Bangkok struggles to stay afloat
6 Sep 2018
As Bangkok hosts climate-change talks, the sprawling city of more than 10 million is itself under siege from the environment, with dire forecasts warning it could be partially submerged in just over a decade.
Deforestation claims movie-star macaw
6 Sep 2018
Spix’s macaw, a brilliant blue species of Brazilian parrot that starred in the children’s animation Rio, has become extinct this century, according to a new assessment of endangered birds.
Nations scramble for power as warming opens up the Arctic
5 Sep 2018
On Monday, a Danish container ship sailed from South Korea. On September 22, it will dock in Germany. The bit in between could change the world.
Polish climate chief phones a friend (or two)
5 Sep 2018
Polish deputy energy minister Michaù Kurtyka, who will lead the most important climate talks since the Paris Agreement, though he'd better phone a few friends.
Australian Greens back Labor and climate action
5 Sep 2018
Australian Greens leader Richard Di Natale will promise to work with a new Labor government to get action on climate change back on track.
How deforestation is affecting global water cycles
5 Sep 2018
Destruction of tropical forests is disrupting the movement of water in the atmosphere, causing major shifts in rainfall.
Animal waste is turning China's lakes green
5 Sep 2018
Animal husbandry is contaminating China’s water and has been linked to turning lakes bright green, a phenomenon known as eutrophication.
It's time to deliver at Bankok climate talks
4 Sep 2018
Since the Paris Agreement was adopted in December 2015, negotiators have been grappling with how to set it in motion with a strong framework of rules, commonly known as “the Paris Rulebook.”
BLOCKS BAN: Lego says no more plastic pieces by 2030
4 Sep 2018
Lego has announced plans to stop the production of plastic blocks by 2030.
Mental hospital best for some leaders, says Samoa PM
3 Sep 2018
Samoan leaderTuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has called climate change an “existential threat ... for all our Pacific family” and said that any world leader who denied climate change’s existence should be taken to a mental hospital.
Burgeoning bugs might monster grain crops
3 Sep 2018
Growing swarms of hungrier and hyperactive insects might wipe out big percentages of the world's three most important grain crops, wheat, corn and rice, scientists warn.
Fish populations could rise in warming climate
3 Sep 2018
Better management of fisheries and fishing rights around the world could increase profits and leave more fish in the sea as long as measures to meet climate obligations are taken, new research has found.
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.
