International: All stories
Attenborough: 'I remember being told plastic doesn't decay, it's wonderful'
27 Sep 2017
In his sequel to The Blue Planet, David Attenborough will focus on the threats to our oceans and explain why plastic pollution, climate change and overpopulation are problems too urgent to be left to ecologists.
New worry as key Antarctic glacier loses chunk of ice
27 Sep 2017
An enormous Antarctic glacier has given up an iceberg over 100 square miles in size, the second time in two years it has lost such a large piece in a process that has scientists wondering whether its behavior is changing for the worse.
Brazil backs off mining bid in Amazon reserve
27 Sep 2017
The Brazilian government has pledged to reinstate a mining ban in an Amazonian nature reserve, reversing its earlier course after an international outcry.
Green-building rating is sustainability's secret weapon
27 Sep 2017
Green building rating systems are an essential tool in the fight to achieve a net zero emissions built environment.
Weakened Merkel means boost for coal phaseout
26 Sep 2017
A three-way coalition in Germany is the most likely outcome of a surprising election, putting the Greens in a position to pursue their goal of ending coal power.
Australia failing to meet Paris targets, report says
26 Sep 2017
With the Coalition still hamstrung by internal divide over a clean energy target, a new report shows Australia is in danger of not meeting its Paris agreement commitments unless it acts soon.
Palm oil giant makes debut in sustainability index
26 Sep 2017
Singapore palm oil company Golden Agri-Resources has been featured in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for the first time.
Ontario joins California-Quebec carbon market
26 Sep 2017
Ontario has signed an agreement with California to enter its joint carbon cap and trade market with Quebec, from next January 1.
Plastic chunks on Arctic icefloe show how pollution has spread
26 Sep 2017
A discovery by scientists is prompting fears that melting ice will allow more plastic to be released into the central Arctic Ocean – with huge effects on wildlife.
Land defenders call on UN to act against violence
25 Sep 2017
Land rights defenders from 29 countries have written to the UN asking it to act against violent corporate and state-sponsored groups which they say are threatening their lives and trashing the environment.
Can the United States afford another hurricane?
25 Sep 2017
The 2017 North Atlantic hurricane season still has about five weeks to go, but it’s already one of the most expensive on record. Repeated storms are stretching the public and private sectors thin.
Innovation fuels Europe’s leadership on shared mobility
25 Sep 2017
European cities are stepping up their efforts on shared mobility, aiming to reduce traffic jams and pollution while generating the most profitable business in this field on the planet.
London could cut waste by 60% through circular model
25 Sep 2017
London could reduce its waste by 60 per cent by 2041 through a circular economy approach, says a new report.
Long-lost Congo notebooks may shed light on tree secrets
25 Sep 2017
A cache of decaying notebooks found in a crumbling Congo research station has provided unexpected evidence with which to help to solve a crucial puzzle – predicting how vegetation will respond to climate change.
Nicaragua yes leaves US and Syria out in the cold
22 Sep 2017
President Daniel Ortega has announced that Nicaragua will sign the Paris Agreement, leaving the US and Syria the only two countries not taking part in the global accord.
May speaks out against Trump climate stance
22 Sep 2017
Theresa May has issued a veiled warning to Donald Trump, arguing that his plan to withdraw from the Paris climate change treaty ranks alongside North Korea’s nuclear missile tests as a threat to global prosperity and security.
Fiji’s COP 23 message: ‘We are all in the same canoe’
22 Sep 2017
Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has urged leaders in New York to look beyond narrow self-interest as he outlined his plans for the COP23 climate talks presidency.
EU aims for 100% emission cuts in new mid-century roadmap
22 Sep 2017
The European Commission is preparing an update of its low-carbon economy roadmap for 2050, acknowledging that the bloc’s current target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions at least 80 per cent by mid-century are insufficient.
TRASH TOWERS: Eleven-storey mansion made from rubbish
22 Sep 2017
First prize in a tropical architecture design competition went to an 11-storey marvel built using recycled building materials, waste plastic and glass bottles.
India is about to embark on stupendous e-car changes
21 Sep 2017
India, the world’s fifth-largest car market is readying for a stupendous transformation: moving completely toward electric vehicles by 2030.
United Nations must do more on climate change
21 Sep 2017
Right now, the capability of the UN’s institutions to understand, prepare and respond to climate change risks is terrifyingly inadequate.
Angela Merkel the world's leading eco-vandal
21 Sep 2017
Ignore Angela Merkel's reputation for supporting green initiatives. The German chancellor’s record on environmental policy has been a disaster.
Melting Arctic ice cap falls to well below average
21 Sep 2017
The Arctic ice cap melted to hundreds of thousands of square miles below average this summer, according to data just released.
OCTLANTIS: Underwater city built (and run) by octopuses
21 Sep 2017
The discovery of aquatic architecture has led scientists to compare the behaviour of cephalopods to humans – but octopus city life is no utopia.
MIGHTY MOROCCO: There's only one country doing the job
20 Sep 2017
Just one country – Morocco – is promising to cut emissions to a level that will keep warming to 1.5deg, according to an updated analysis.
Figueres wants EU action on ‘imported deforestation’
20 Sep 2017
Former UN climate chief Christiana Figures has called on the EU to step up regulatory action against deforestation in the global south by tackling emissions of imported agricultural goods like beef, soy and palm oil.
Evaporation drains level of world's largest inland sea
20 Sep 2017
The impact of rising temperatures on the Caspian Sea is gradually reducing the world’s largest inland body of water to catastrophically low levels.
Vancouver wants to be the world's greenest by 2020
20 Sep 2017
Vancouver - the mountain-fringed, bicycle-friendly, pot-loving host of the 2010 Winter Olympics - wants to be the world’s greenest city by 2020.
London welcomes first plastics-free shop
20 Sep 2017
London has welcomed the opening of its first package-free food store opened In an effort to eliminate plastic pollution.
Trump told Paris Agreement is non-negotiable
19 Sep 2017
The terms of the Paris Agreement are set in stone, the EU, China and Canada agreed at a summit in Montreal at thge weekend, while Washington was forced to deny that the US is planning to stay in the accord.
Jerry Brown’s climate coalition spreads the word
19 Sep 2017
California governor Jerry Brown's climate coalition list of city, state and national governments nears 200 and is shifting climate diplomacy beyond the caprices of national leaders.
DYING BREED: Our oceans are no place to be a senior fish
19 Sep 2017
Fishing has dramatically reduced the number of senior fish left in the ocean.
Trump might replace Obama's big climate rule
18 Sep 2017
The Trump administration is opening the door to offering its own replacement for former President Barack Obama's landmark climate regulation — rather than just erasing it altogether.
UK wind power prices reach lowest level
18 Sep 2017
Three new windfarms are to be built in the United Kingdom as offshore wind prices reach their lowest levels ever.
CLIMATE CHORUS: Baez finds something new to sing about
18 Sep 2017
Folk legend Joan Baez will join Patti Smith in the line-up for November’s historic Pathway to Paris concert for climate action in New York.
Chocolate industry drives rainforest disaster in Africa
15 Sep 2017
The world’s chocolate industry is driving deforestation on a devastating scale in West Africa.
Shrinking glaciers threaten water supply of millions
15 Sep 2017
Asia’s mountain glaciers will lose at least a third of their mass through global warming by the century’s end, with dire consequences for millions of people.
EU extends respite from airline carbon fees
15 Sep 2017
The European Parliament has approved a plan to keep commercial flights in and out of Europe exempt from the EU’s carbon emission controls until 2021.
China takes aim at high-end solar market
15 Sep 2017
China is looking to dominate the high-end of the global solar power market.
We need coal power, Joyce tells Australians
15 Sep 2017
Australia's deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, says any new investment mechanism for the energy sector, be it a clean energy target or an alternative, will need to keep coal-fired power stations open.
China, EU and Canada to take lead on climate
14 Sep 2017
New partners China, Canada and the EU move to take on global climate leadership at meeting in Canada this weekend as US influence declines.
Coal plant closes but emissions still on the rise
14 Sep 2017
Australia’s overall greenhouse gas emissions last financial year were the highest since 2011, despite the closure of the Hazelwood coal-fired power plant.
China readies for ethanol fuels binge
14 Sep 2017
China’s bold plan to blend renewable fuels into its gasoline supply within three years will revolutionize its fledging biofuels industry, and likely spur billions of dollars in investment in ethanol factories.
PEDESTRIAN POWER: Where is the world's most walkable city?
14 Sep 2017
From New York’s cafe squares to the laneways of Melbourne, pedestrian paradises combine safety, beauty and comfort. Now urban planners are taking note as they seek to hand back cities to the walkers.
EU moves closer to ‘genuine energy union’
14 Sep 2017
European lawmakers this week approved a new security of gas regulation, which includes a solidarity principle in case of supply disruptions and will make it more difficult for other countries to “blackmail” the EU’s members.
Macron to pitch global environmental rights charter
13 Sep 2017
French president Emmanuel Macron is set to call for a global pact affirming universal principles for environmental protection at the UN general assembly next week.
Third of Earth's soil is acutely degraded due to agriculture
13 Sep 2017
Fertile soil is being lost at rate of 24 billion tonnes a year through intensive farming as demand for food increases, says a UN-backed study.
South Australia commits $150m to new-energy fund
13 Sep 2017
The government of South Australia has just announced it will invest $A150 million in renewable energy projects as part of its Renewable Technology Fund.
Tiny part of oceans could help to feed plenty
13 Sep 2017
Marine aquaculture could produce as much seafood as all of the world’s wild marine fisheries, using less than 0.015 per cent of the space in the oceans.
China’s sponge cities aim to re-use 70% of rainwater
12 Sep 2017
China’s "sponge city" initiative has an ambitious goal: by 2020, 80 per cent of urban areas should absorb and re-use at least 70 per cent of rainwater.
‘Off like a rocket’: Battery rebate prompts massive rooftop power surge
Thu 28 Aug 2025
The federal government’s home battery rebate has proved so popular it is adding the equivalent to South Australia’s big battery to the grid every 8.7 days.
Ørsted shares at all-time low after Trump halts work on US windfarm
Wed 27 Aug 2025
Shares drop by 17% after stop-work order on $1.5bn project off Rhode Island, which was 80% complete.
China's carbon market to introduce absolute emissions caps from 2027
Wed 27 Aug 2025
China will tighten its carbon trading market by introducing absolute emissions caps in some industries for the first time starting by 2027.
Apple Watch not a 'CO2-neutral product,' German court finds
Thu 28 Aug 2025
Apple can no longer advertise its Apple Watch as a "CO2-neutral product" in Germany, following a court ruling on Tuesday that upheld a complaint from environmentalists, finding that the U.S. tech company had misled consumers.
What happens to net zero if the trees don’t survive?
20 Aug 2025
When climate change undermines the climate plan.
Challenges persist in bid to mine the deep sea, even after boost from Trump
29 Jul 2025
After years of delay, the deep-sea mining plans of Canadian firm The Metals Company (TMC) now appear to be progressing as it pursues a controversial new path to securing a license to mine in international waters under U.S. jurisdiction.
Singapore seals carbon credit deal with Thailand, its first South-east Asian partner
Thu 28 Aug 2025
The agreement, the eighth for Singapore, helps both nations meet climate targets under the Paris Agreement, directing finance to Thai projects.
Rise in dengue fever outbreaks across the Pacific driven by the climate crisis, experts say
13 Aug 2025
Samoa, Fiji and Tonga among the worst affected amid warning the disease and others will become ‘more common and more serious’ as the planet warms.
Iconic Antarctic species at risk amid 'regime shift', with 'rapid and self-perpetuating changes'
22 Aug 2025
Scientists say there is emerging evidence of abrupt and potentially unstoppable changes in the Antarctic environment.
Is Africa about to see the solar energy boom it needs?
Thu 28 Aug 2025
African countries imported a record number of solar panels in the past year, which could be the beginning of a green energy boom on the continent.
Lessons from the Incas: How llamas, terraces and trees could help the Andes survive climate change
Thu 28 Aug 2025
New research suggests solutions may lie in environmental knowledge that the Incas and their predecessors developed centuries ago.
Brazil issues last-ditch plea for countries to submit climate plans ahead of COP30
20 Aug 2025
Only 28 countries have submitted carbon-cutting proposals to the UN, with some of the biggest emitters yet to produce plans.
