International: All stories
'We can't see a future' group takes EU to court
29 May 2018
Litigants from eight countries are claiming EU institutions are not protecting their fundamental rights.
Five ways hospitals can reduce their carbon footprint
29 May 2018
Picture this: Iron ore from Western Australia is shipped to China and smelted, fashioned into stainless steel surgical instruments in Pakistan and exported as single-use instruments. Clinicians use these instruments once, then discard them.
TEA TROUBLE: Weather changes could put Darjeeling in danger
29 May 2018
Gradual change in temperature and rainfall patterns in India's Darjeeling hills is beginning to affect production of one of the country's most famous teas.
New rules make investors report on e-risks
28 May 2018
The European Commission has released fresh proposals to ensure the financial sector contributes to combating climate change.
Exxon sets new targets to reduce gas emissions
28 May 2018
ExxonMobil, the world’s largest public oil producer, is planning to reduce its methane emissions by 15 per cent by 2020.
Changing climate might be killing off bees
28 May 2018
Beekeepers in the US have reported an increase in honeybee deaths over the past year, possibly the result of erratic weather patterns brought on by a changing climate.
WEASEL WORRY: It's important to have the right winter clothes
28 May 2018
Finding oneself improperly dressed for the weather can have fatal consequences – just ask a white-coated weasel.
EPA ‘secret science’ proposal alarms health experts
25 May 2018
The EPA this month could finalise a controversial rule to limit what scientific research the agency can use in writing US environmental regulations.
Shell sees off vote on climate change
25 May 2018
Royal Dutch Shell has seen off the two most debated issues at its shareholder meeting this week - the boss’s pay and responsibility in tackling climate change.
Climate change a clear and present danger to Australia
25 May 2018
The changing climate means Australia is facing a range of important domestic and international security implications, a Senate report has found.
Indian police kill 11 pollution protesters
25 May 2018
At least 11 people were killed and 80 wounded when police fired at protesters calling for the closure of a copper smelter in southern India.
Humans threaten third of nature reserves
24 May 2018
Roughly one-third of the global protected area estate - a staggering six million square kilometres - is under intense human pressure, a new study reveals.
How dry rivers can add to carbon emissions
24 May 2018
Dry rivers can emit significant amounts of carbon dioxide when water starts to flow, new research shows.
Policy makers dragging the chain, say scientists
23 May 2018
An increasing number of reports are identifying limiting global warming to 1.5deg as critical for the future of humans and nature.
Proud Norfolk wants to remake itself as seas rise
23 May 2018
US Navy town Norfolk sees itself as a living lab for coastal resilience, one in desperate need of solutions as flooding worsens. Not every neighborhood will be saved.
Ex-coal plant to try new carbon capture system
23 May 2018
A former coal plant in the north of England will become the test site for a new way to remove carbon dioxide from electricity generation.
New York wants to end coal-fired power
23 May 2018
New York State has proposed telling coal plants to change the way they operate, or close down.
Shareholders put pressure on Shell
22 May 2018
Royal Dutch Shell faces a shareholder challenge over climate change this week, as investors insist oil and gas firms should offer more transparency and action on carbon emissions.
Brexit could wreck green agenda, says UN
22 May 2018
The United Nations has warned the UK government that the country's reputation is at risk over plans that would significantly weaken protections for the environment after Brexit.
Almost everything you know about e-waste is wrong
22 May 2018
Electronic devices need to be repaired - and upgraded - if we are to slow our production of e-waste.
Kelp forests under threat from acid seas
22 May 2018
The kelp forests – those towering submarine tangles of brown seaweeds – might not survive the steady change of ocean chemistry.
Birds go hungry as warmth means earlier springs
22 May 2018
Climate change means warmer and earlier springs. And that may be of no help to those bird species that get the timing wrong.
Oil-rich Alaska plans to tackle climate change
21 May 2018
Alaska, a major oil and gas producer, is crafting a plan to address climate change.
The world according to GOP ...
21 May 2018
The Earth is not warming. The White Cliffs of Dover are tumbling into the sea and causing sea levels to rise. Global warming is helping grow the Antarctic ice sheet. Those are some of the skeptical assertions echoed by Republicans in the US House of Representatives last week.
Middle of nowhere ... yet it’s still awash with microplastics
21 May 2018
Point Nemo in the Pacific is so far flung that the nearest humans are often those aboard the International Space Station. But even that hasn’t saved it from the scourge of microplastics.
Scientists detect mysterious rise in ozone-eater
18 May 2018
Scientists have detected a sharp and mysterious rise in emissions of a key ozone-destroying chemical centred somewhere in east Asia.
Green economy can create 24 million jobs by 2030
18 May 2018
The Paris climate agreement will create 24 million jobs by 2030, according to a report released by the International Labor Organisation
India eyes hybrid solar-wind power plants
18 May 2018
India has released a draft policy for setting up hybrid wind-solar plants where both windmills and panels are put up on the same piece of land.
London considering car-free days
18 May 2018
London is considering introducing car-free days in an attempt to tackle the city’s air pollution crisis that experts say is responsible for thousands of early deaths each year.
GAS BYPASS: UK could go from coal to clean
17 May 2018
The UK has been told there's no need to build large gas-fired power stations to replace the coal plants that the government has pledged to switch off by 2025.
Europe renewables up - so are emissions
17 May 2018
A bumper year for renewable energy didn’t stop Europe from increasing its emissions.
Modern mammoths could help stop Arctic ground emissions
17 May 2018
Geneticists from Harvard think that reintroducing mammoth-like creatures to Arctic tundra environments could help to stop the release of greenhouse gases from the ground.
Order under threat ... so where's the Security Council?
17 May 2018
Scientists, think-tanks, NGOs, and militaries agree that climate change threatens human safety and well-being. Yet the organisation charged with global security has remained relatively silent.
Australian businesses back renewables
16 May 2018
Australian businesses are jumping on board the renewables boom with almost half of the nation's major companies making the switch to clean, affordable and reliable renewable energy.
Eleven ways the Paris deal is working in the real world
16 May 2018
As climate talks stall, it’s clear the UN process is no longer the major driving force of the climate transition. But does that matter?
Investors urge oil firms to shun Trump's Arctic plan
16 May 2018
Investors managing more than $2.5 trillion have warned oil firms and banks to shun moves by US president Donald Trump to open an Arctic national wildlife refuge to drilling.
UK proposes new law to create Green Brexit
16 May 2018
The UK Government is seeking to reassure the public that environmental laws will not be watered down after the country’s planned departure from the European Union.
Lloyds Bank pumps £2b into green projects
16 May 2018
Lloyds Bank is making an extra £2 billion available to help UK businesses implement sustainability initiatives.
How will drought-hit farmers feed Australia?
15 May 2018
Australia has just experienced the eighth-driest April on record with rainfall across grain, sheep and cattle heartlands well below normal. So how do farmers plan to keep the country fed?
Green homes earn more mortgage money
15 May 2018
Borrowers in the UK will be able to take out a bigger mortgage when buying greener properties for the first time, under a pioneering scheme to encourage energy efficiency.
California turns farms into carbon-sucking factories
15 May 2018
In a grand experiment, California switched on a fleet of high-tech greenhouse gas removal machines last month.
Personal grooming products might be polluting urban air
15 May 2018
New evidence suggests that compounds in deodorants, lotions, hair gels and perfumes are major sources of air pollution in urban areas.
California orders solar panels on all new homes
14 May 2018
California will require solar panels on new homes and low-rise apartment buildings starting in 2020.
No money in Aussie budget to fight climate change
14 May 2018
Australia's response to intensifying extreme weather events remains at the bottom of the national agenda, after the Federal Budget failed to deliver funding for measures to tackle climate change.
London plans to be one of greenest cities
14 May 2018
Ambitious plans have been released which seek to transform London into one of the world’s greenest cities.
Costa Rica reckons it can be the first country free of carbon
14 May 2018
Costa Rica’s newly elected president is vowing to make his country the world's first truly carbon-zero territory.
More talks set as Bonn ends in stalemate
11 May 2018
Climate negotiators gathered in Bonn to negotiate the rules that will govern the Paris Agreement have gone back home with little to show after almost two weeks of negotiation.
HAND-OUTS: More variable climate means a less just world
11 May 2018
A more variable climate spells another injustice in a warming world, with the poorest people likely yet again to feel the heat most intensely.
California faces long road to reach e-car target
11 May 2018
California continues to lead the US in electric car sales but it faces a long, hard road before it can achieve its goal of getting five million emissions-free vehicles on the road in 12 years.
Energy service finds best deal for customers
11 May 2018
An Australian consumer group Choice has launched a $99 service to compare prices from electricity retailers, monitor them for 12 months and automatically switch subscribers to the best deal.
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.
