International: All stories
Maersk moves in as warming Arctic opens up icy sea route
24 Aug 2018
Maersk, the world's largest container line, is about to test the frigid waters of the Arctic in a trial of shorter shipping lanes that could become viable as warmer temperatures open up the Northern Sea Route.
Better tree mix means better storage, says carbon study
24 Aug 2018
Forests containing several tree species could store twice as much carbon as the average monoculture plantation, research finds.
Sweden's reindeer at risk of starvation
24 Aug 2018
Sweden's indigenous Sami reindeer herders have urged the state to help to mitigate the impact of climate change in the Arctic circle.
Trump guts US climate control regulations
23 Aug 2018
The Trump administration has proposed to replace the nation's landmark climate regulations with a watered-down version that would do next to nothing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and wouldn't even set a specific national goal.
EU carbon prices could rise quickly, says report
23 Aug 2018
EU carbon prices could average 35-40 euros ($NZ60-70) a tonne over 2019-2023, says a new report.
Overloaded Thailand bans import of e-waste
23 Aug 2018
Thailand, struggling to deal with overflowing waste deposits following China’s trash ban last year, will bar the import of 432 types of scrap electronics.
We're going to throw away 66 tonnes of food every second
23 Aug 2018
The amount of food that is wasted each year will rise by a third by 2030, when 2.1 billion tonnes will either be lost or thrown away, equivalent to 66 tonnes per second, according to new analysis.
New York wants skyscrapers to slash emissions
23 Aug 2018
New York City lawmakers have announced a bill to order massive energy use cuts to big buildings, the largest source of carbon dioxide.
End game not far off, says Pope's weather man
22 Aug 2018
Climate change is now reaching the end game, where very soon humanity must choose between taking unprecedented action, or accepting that it has been left too late and bear the consequences, says the Pope's climate adviser.
Australian climate woes sank a raft of PMs
22 Aug 2018
Australia's inability to come to terms with climate change policy has cost a raft of political leaders their jobs.
On the world's first floating farm, robots milk the cows
22 Aug 2018
Rotterdam has become a pilot city for the world’s first floating farm where robots do the hard work.
We no longer need to conserve oil, says Trump
21 Aug 2018
Conserving oil is no longer an economic imperative for the US, the Trump administration has declared in a major new policy statement that threatens to undermine decades of government campaigns.
Trump closes in on Obama’s climate rules
21 Aug 2018
The Trump administration will shortly release its plan to replace Barack Obama’s ambitious attempts to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
THE GOOD FIGHT: Tracking the battles for green justice
21 Aug 2018
Environmental justice activism is to this age what the workers’ movement was for the industrial age - one of the most influential social movements of its time. But its stories seem to get lost.
Labor offers Victoria half-priced solar panels
21 Aug 2018
Owner-occupiers of homes in Victoria will get half-priced solar panels with no upfront cost under a $1.24 billion election promise by the state Labor government.
World finally waking up, says Hothouse Earth author
20 Aug 2018
The scorching temperatures and forest fires of this summer’s heatwave have finally stirred the world to face the onrushing threat of global warming, claims the climate scientist behind the recent Hothouse Earth report.
Turnbull goes for regulation to set carbon cuts
20 Aug 2018
The Turnbull government is preparing to set the Australian emissions reduction target for the national energy guarantee by regulation rather than legislation.
New Caledonia votes to protect coral reef
20 Aug 2018
New Caledonia has agreed to tougher protections around a huge swathe of some of the world’s last near-pristine coral reefs, in a move conservationists hail as a major breakthrough.
BOILING OVER: The city at 50deg is fast becoming reality
17 Aug 2018
It is the temperature at which human cells start to cook, animals suffer and air conditioners overload power grids. Once an urban anomaly, 50C is fast becoming reality.
OPINION: Capitalism can crack climate change. But only if it takes risks
17 Aug 2018
Anglo-Saxon capitalism’s drive to maximise profits in the short term won’t save the planet. Perhaps the Chinese model can?
Brazil candidate threatens to quit Paris pact
16 Aug 2018
Presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro is threatening to take Brazil out of the Paris Agreement if he wins the October election.
This new coal mine in Germany will soon gobble up 20 villages
16 Aug 2018
When the Garzweiler open cast coal mine in Germany is finished, 5000 people will have been relocated and 20 villages will have been wiped off the face of the Earth.
Europe facing trillion-euros coastal flooding bill
16 Aug 2018
Costs from coastal flooding in Europe could hit almost one trillion euros by 2100, according to researchers.
Rising sea levels threaten Sinatra's old hangout
16 Aug 2018
A proposed island to protect a resort that once was the haunt of stars like Frank Sinatra and Marlene Dietrich could be its ruin.
Pension funds could face legal action over risk
16 Aug 2018
Some of the UK’s largest pension funds are in danger of legal action over the risks posed by climate change.
HEAT BEAT: It's shaping up as the next big inequality issue
15 Aug 2018
The deadly global heatwave has made it impossible to ignore: in cities worldwide, we are now divided into the cool haves and the hot have-nots
France to set penalties on non-recycled plastic
15 Aug 2018
France plans to introduce a penalty system next year that would increase the costs of consumer goods with packaging made of non-recycled plastic.
Forgotten coal mines harbour methane problem
15 Aug 2018
Unregulated, unnoticed coal mines across the US are leaking a potent greenhouse gas with the same greenhouse effect as 13 million cars.
‘Natural pulses’ figure in Antarctic melting
15 Aug 2018
A 16-year study of ocean conditions in Antarctica suggests that the periodic arrival of warm currents as a result of natural variability is worsening the rate of ice mass loss from key glaciers.
Tax havens hide companies wrecking environment
14 Aug 2018
Money channelled through secretive tax havens has been used to fuel deforestation in the Amazon and illegal fishing around the world, racking up a heavy environmental toll.
EU carbon emissions price hits 10-year high
14 Aug 2018
The amount polluters pay for emitting carbon in the EU has hit a 10-year high, in a blow for coal power station owners and a boost for renewable energy.
A river restored breathes new life into Kuala Lumpur
14 Aug 2018
Ridiculed at first, the project to clean up Kual Lumpur's Klang river is on track to be completed on time and below budget.
What's the story with heatwaves?
14 Aug 2018
This year has seen record-breaking temperatures across the globe. What is at risk in this increased heat?
Giants came in handy for explaining climate damage
14 Aug 2018
Tales of giants helped people to explain the sometimes cataclysmic changes to the environment they saw around them.
Crucial climate fund facing massive challenges
13 Aug 2018
The future of the UN’s major climate fund hangs in the balance, with a looming cash shortfall and a boardroom locked in conflict.
Chemical recycling takes plastics back to oil
13 Aug 2018
Some plastics cannot be recycled yet, but turning them back to oil could help to solve the problem.
Brazil hits deforestation cuts ahead of schedule
13 Aug 2018
Brazil has already hit its 2020 targets for cutting emissions from deforestation, according to the government.
Cows could help ease methane leak impact
13 Aug 2018
Cows will play a key part in a nearly $120 million settlement which, if approved, aims to mitigate the climate impact of one of the largest US natural gas leaks.
Hotel chain grows own food at 600 sites
13 Aug 2018
Around 600 of AccorHotel's sites across the world now grow their own produce on site for use in its restaurants and bars as part of food waste drive.
LITTER TWITTER: In this park, clever crows do the dirty work
13 Aug 2018
Six crows trained to pick up cigarette ends and rubbish will be put to work this week at a French historical theme park.
California hits back at Trump's car pollution move
10 Aug 2018
California has struck back at the Trump administration over air pollution, unveiling a proposal that would force carmakers to comply with the state’s strict standards for tailpipe emissions.
Unhappy with fish poachers? Blow them out of the water
10 Aug 2018
Indonesia is taking an explosive approach to illegal fishing ... and it's putting the industry back on a path to suistainability.
Air pollution a lethal blight that shames politicians
10 Aug 2018
New studies linking heart disease to supposedly ‘safe’ levels of pollution lay bare the human cost of using fossil fuels.
The crisis facing California ... and what will happen next
10 Aug 2018
Three scientists explain the unprecedented danger facing the western US and call for new solutions to a growing threat.
China again starts building coal-fired plants
9 Aug 2018
Satellite imagery reveals that many coal-fired power projects that were halted by the Chinese government have quietly restarted.
Unions want Poland to push coal at UN climate talks
9 Aug 2018
Poland's trade unions are mounting a defence of coal workers against the impacts of climate policies in an effort to influence the agenda of the UN climate summit to be held in Katowice this December.
Huge grant to reef outfit a scandal, Greens say
9 Aug 2018
The awarding of $444 million in taxpayers’ money by the Australian prime minister to the small Great Barrier Reef Foundation without consultation “stinks” and the money should be handed back, the Greens say.
Japan eyes daylight savings time for 2020 Olympics
9 Aug 2018
Deadly heatwaves in Japan have caused government and Olympics officials to consider the benefits of adopting daylight savings time for the 2020 games to ensure athlete safety.
Ocean spot records warmest temperature in 100 years
9 Aug 2018
Researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography have recorded the warmest sea surface temperature in more than 100 years near a pier in San Diego.
Experts predict the arrival of Hothouse Earth
8 Aug 2018
Allowing the world to warm by even 2deg could threaten the existence of humans.
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.
