International: All stories
Belt-and-road countries could top China’s emissions
14 Dec 2017
China is seeking to clean up its overseas investments and is calling for international support.
Europe utilities vow to be carbon neutral by 2050
14 Dec 2017
More than 3500 European utility companies have vowed to lead the low-carbon energy transition, calling on policymakers to accelerate electrification.
BUBBLE POWER: New device could stop plastic in its tracks
14 Dec 2017
When a river flows into the ocean, so does plastic. Lots of it. Globally, rivers transport as much as four million tonnes of plastic out to sea every year.
Macron pays US scientists to move to France
13 Dec 2017
Eighteen climate scientists from the US and elsewhere have hit the jackpot as France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, awarded them millions of euros in grants to relocate to France.
How Big Oil is tightening its grip on the White House
13 Dec 2017
The oil industry has stalled action on climate change from the inside and sold America on fossil fuels – and its influence goes back further than people realise.
GE's 12,000 job cuts highlight how it went wrong
13 Dec 2017
After spending years building up its gas-power business, General Electric is trying to figure out how to keep pace in a world that’s no longer all that interested in fossil fuels.
Tsunami of data could pump up global emissions by 2025
13 Dec 2017
Billions of internet-connected devices could produce 3.5 per cent of global emissions within 10 years and 14 per cent by 2040.
These high-speed trains could take 3m cars off the roads
13 Dec 2017
A $3 billion project that will introduce high-speed deisel trains to the US could take up to three million cars off the roads.
Australia's greenhouse gas emissions highest on record
12 Dec 2017
Australia’s emissions over the past year were the highest on record, when relatively unreliable emissions from land use are excluded, according to new estimates.
It's hard to get people to reduce food waste
12 Dec 2017
Seventy-six per cent of global consumers say sustainability is important – but only 42 per cent say they always attempt to minimise household food waste, a new survey shows.
To phase out coal, leaders should learn from tobacco
12 Dec 2017
A few countries are set to join the coal phase-out club at the One Planet Summit in Paris today, but more levers will be needed to bring major coal users in line.
Meat tax ‘inevitable’ to beat climate and health crises
12 Dec 2017
“Sin taxes” on meat to reduce its huge impact on climate change and human health look inevitable, according to analysts.
GRUB'S UP! Climate-conscious foodies swap cows for crickets
12 Dec 2017
A wave of social enterprises are trying to get people to eat insects instead of meat.
How planting trees changed lives in a former coal town
12 Dec 2017
The UK's National Forest has not only transformed an industrial landscape, it has given people a new sense of belonging and wellbeing, created jobs and boosted wildlife.
US judge sends Volkswagen exec to jail for seven years
11 Dec 2017
A senior Volkswagen executive has been sentenced to seven years in prison by a US court after being found guilty of concealing software used to evade pollution limits on nearly 600,000 diesel vehicles.
Europe's coal plants bleeding cash
11 Dec 2017
Almost all coal plants in the European Union will be outspending their income by the end of the next decade, relying on subsidies to stay open to back up wind and solar generation.
Fiji summit calls for action on climate migration
11 Dec 2017
Civil society leaders from more than 100 countries meeting in Suva have called for action on climate-induced displacement.
UK sees value in rebirth of the railways
11 Dec 2017
Proposals in the UK aimed at reversing decades of decline in the rail system, have been praised as the “rebirth of the railways”.
The most northerly town in the world is at risk of disappearing
11 Dec 2017
It’s freezing, snowing and so far north that the sun won’t rise again until March, but the 2000 residents of the world’s most northerly town wish it were much colder.
Farm grows food under streets of Paris
11 Dec 2017
La Caverne is an urban farm that grows mushrooms, herbs and greens beneath the streets of Paris.
Is this the end of the road for Adani’s megamine?
8 Dec 2017
Adani’s operations in Australia appear to be hanging on by a thread, as activists prove effective at undermining the company’s chances of getting the finance it needs.
Canada and China shake on carbon and climate
8 Dec 2017
The premiers of China and Canada have announced deeper collaboration on climate change and energy, including on carbon markets.
Air pollution could do huge harm to unborn babies
8 Dec 2017
Air pollution significantly increases the risk of low birth weight in babies, leading to lifelong damage to health, according to a large new study.
Hyundai building battery bigger than Tesla's
8 Dec 2017
Tesla’s South Australia battery system won’t hold the title of world’s largest for long - Hyundai is building one 50 per cent bigger.
Citizens fight EU weedkiller decision
8 Dec 2017
The public is fighting back against an EU decision to renew the licence of controversial pesticide Glyphosate.
London's new e-cabs come with all the mod cons
8 Dec 2017
Wi-Fi, USB charging and even a sunroof are among the features of London's new six-seat, battery-powered cabs.
Outlook grim for warmer Auckland, warns report
7 Dec 2017
Floods, fires, droughts, storms, slips, pests and diseases are Auckland’s future, threatening primary production and human health, warns a new report.
China’s footprint threatens to trample the natural world
7 Dec 2017
Many observers of China’s escalating global programme of foreign investment and infrastructure development are crossing their fingers and hoping for the best.
Oceans under greatest threat in history, says Attenborough
7 Dec 2017
The world’s oceans are under the greatest threat in history, according to Sir David Attenborough.
Iceland's new PM vows carbon neutrality by 2040
7 Dec 2017
Iceland's new Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir, 41, says she wants her nation to be carbon neutral by 2040.
In Poland’s coal heartland, miners imagine a greener future
7 Dec 2017
While the Polish government champions coal, the area around Katowice, host of next year’s UN climate summit, is starting to diversify its economy.
Sacre bleu! It seems the French are world's smartest farmers
7 Dec 2017
France has topped the 2017 edition of the Food Sustainability Index exhibiting the best performance across food loss and waste, sustainable agriculture and nutritional challenges.
Can a massive barrier save Venice from drowning?
6 Dec 2017
The engineering limitations and cost overruns of a huge barrier designed to protect Venice from sea level rise are raising questions about the mega-projects that many coastal cities are hoping can save them.
Military money in genetic extinction tech raises fears
6 Dec 2017
Technology could be used to wipe out malaria carrying mosquitos or other pests but UN experts say fears over possible military uses and unintended consequences strengthen case for a ban.
London mayor wants to put stopper on plastic water bottles
6 Dec 2017
London Mayor Sadiq Khan wants to see free water fountains and bottle refill stations across the city to reduce the use of plastic bottles.
Yes, it's a massive battery, but it does quite a lot
6 Dec 2017
Australians are watching in anticipation to see what impact South Australia's Tesla battery has on the local electricity market, and whether it could be a game-changer nationally.
Nature's drying up, so maybe we should be mining our cities
5 Dec 2017
Instead of extracting dwindling raw materials from nature, the time has come to start re-using materials from buildings and infrastructure in cities.
‘I don’t know how Turnbull faces his grandkids’
5 Dec 2017
Former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd talks about the failure of his country’s climate policy, the rise of China and the Carmichael coal mine.
Why remote Antarctica is so important in a warming world
5 Dec 2017
The Antarctic Treaty was signed 58 years ago this week, protecting the continent for peace and science.
Nations agree to ban Arctic fishing for 16 years
5 Dec 2017
Nine nations and the European Union have reached a deal to place the central Arctic Ocean off-limits to commercial fishers for at least the next 16 years.
How Airbus was allowed to write its own climate rules
4 Dec 2017
E-mails between the European Commission and Airbus show how the European aircraft manufacturer was offered privileged access to the EU decision-making process, allowing it to write its own environmental rules.
Tesla big battery officially switched on in South Australia
4 Dec 2017
The Tesla big battery – the world’s biggest lithium-ion battery storage installation – was officially switched on in South Australia on Friday.
Mangroves poorly equipped to survive changing climate
4 Dec 2017
New research shows that salt-water-loving mangrove plants are likely ill-equipped to cope with rising sea levels.
German court to hear Peruvian farmer's climate case
4 Dec 2017
A German court has ruled that it will hear a Peruvian farmer’s case against energy giant RWE over climate change damage in the Andes.
Don't bury bike-sharing, there's still room on the road
4 Dec 2017
Dramatic images of bike graveyards shouldn't be taken at face value – there's hope for bike-sharing schemes yet.
Victorian logging could trigger ecosystem collapse
4 Dec 2017
Decades of unsustainable logging has created an “extinction debt” in Victoria’s central highlands that will trigger an ecosystem-wide collapse within 50 years without urgent intervention.
Labor victory could spell end of Adani coal mine
1 Dec 2017
Queensland Labor looks certain to form a government promising to veto a $1b public loan, which observers say puts the giant Adani coal project in serious doubt.
Southern Spain is getting that sinking feeling
1 Dec 2017
When the heat is on, ground shrinkage means subsiding soils. Sustained drought could cause structural problems in parts of Spain.
Figueres to co-lead Formula E advisory board
1 Dec 2017
Formula E has announced that its new advisory board will be co-led by UN climate champion Christiana Figueres.
Can China actually lead on climate change?
30 Nov 2017
China is in the driving seat when it comes to international co-operation on climate, said President Xi Jinping at a major political meeting in Beijing ahead of the climate talks in Bonn.
Australian rainforests no longer a carbon sink – study
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Australia's tropical rainforests are among the first in the world to start emitting more carbon dioxide than they absorb, scientists said Thursday, linking the "very concerning" trend to climate change.
'We’re in God’s hands now': A dispatch from Western Alaska
Today 11:00am
An immense disaster has wrought deep trauma on Western Alaska’s Indigenous residents and is raising existential questions about the future of their low-lying communities amid a changing climate and a tightening state budget.
In China, climate litigation starts with the state
Thu 16 Oct 2025
With thousands of dedicated courts and more than a million recent cases, environmental and climate litigation is booming in China, but it often looks different to the trend seen elsewhere.
EU plans support for countries affected by carbon border levy
Today 11:00am
The European Union will offer development funding to countries affected by the bloc's carbon border tariff, the European Commission said on Thursday, as it attempts to soothe developing economies' concerns over the policy.
Government told to prepare for 2C warming by 2050
Thu 16 Oct 2025
The UK should be prepared to cope with weather extremes as a result of at least 2C of global warming by 2050, independent climate advisers have said.
Renewables are a global economic engine, not a culture war threat
2 Oct 2025
Energy companies are learning this lesson faster than Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
Indonesia restarts international carbon trade after four years
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto has issued a new decree to restart international carbon emission trading after a four year hiatus.
Familiar tensions emerge at the Pacific Islands Forum
26 Sep 2025
With China-Taiwan rivalry, China-Western competition, and big carbon emitters at odds with the islands on climate policy, there is plenty of tension to go around.
Scientists discovered something alarming seeping out from beneath the ocean around Antarctica
13 Oct 2025
Planet-heating methane is escaping from cracks in the Antarctic seabed as the region warms, with new seeps being discovered at an “astonishing rate".
Angola lowers climate ambition in blow to spirit of Paris Agreement
Tue 14 Oct 2025
Angola has scaled back its targets for reducing emissions in its new national climate plan, saying it chose “realism and implementability” over the Paris Agreement's calls for governments to set progressively more ambitious goals.
Four Brazilians to watch at COP30
Wed 15 Oct 2025
Influential Brazilians, from government figures to Indigenous activists, will take center stage during UN climate talks in the Amazon next month.
New UN carbon market rules could reshape how investors value nature
Today 11:00am
A debate over carbon permanence – how long CO2 must stay stored to count towards offsetting emissions – is reshaping global carbon markets and could determine whether nature remains investable.
