International: All stories
ACID TEST: The global crisis you’ve never heard of
12 Sep 2017
Cyanidation was the breakthrough gold mining technology of the 1890s, when it enabled Anglo mining conglomerates to make colossal profits from low grade ores. Today, the legacy is life-threatening.
TRAGEDY TOWN: Community that took on the Kochs
12 Sep 2017
A new film tells the story of Crossett, Arkansas – a small town dominated by a Koch brothers-owned paper mill, blamed for dumping cancer-causing chemicals.
China to ban sale of fossil-fuel cars
11 Sep 2017
China wil set a deadline for carmakers to end sales of fossil-fuel powered vehicles, a move aimed at pushing companies to speed efforts in developing electric vehicles.
SEASHORE SHOCK: We're approaching peak sand
11 Sep 2017
Exploitation of global supplies of sand is damaging the environment, endangering communities, causing shortages and promoting violent conflict.
Storms lay costs of climate denial at Trump’s door
11 Sep 2017
The US president’s dismissal of scientific research is doing nothing to protect the livelihoods of ordinary Americans.
DANGEROUS DIET: Sea salt is sucking up plastic pollution
11 Sep 2017
Sea salt around the world has been contaminated by plastic pollution, adding to experts’ fears that microplastics are becoming ubiquitous in the environment and finding their way into the food chain.
Easter Island becomes one of world's largest marine parks
11 Sep 2017
One of the world’s largest marine protection areas has been created off the coast of Easter Island.
Mars (the bars kind) counters Trump's climate craziness
8 Sep 2017
The corporate backlash is growing against Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, with Mars launching a $1bn sustainability plan and an M&M’s campaign centred on renewable energy.
Norway vote could be turning point for Arctic oil
8 Sep 2017
Norway has a general election on Monday. The future of its oil industry has become – to the surprise of the three largest parties – one of the most debated and divisive campaign themes.
France to ban oil, gas output on home soil
8 Sep 2017
France has unveiled a law to ban all production and exploration of oil and natural gas by 2040 on the country’s mainland and overseas territories.
BLOOM AND BUST: Sick seas hurt the housing market
8 Sep 2017
In the real estate business, it’s all about location, location, location. Except when it’s about water quality. And large algal outbreaks are a great way to dampen the value of waterfront property.
Climate fiction really can make a difference
8 Sep 2017
Cli-fi has the potential to make people care about and individually connect to climate change, motivating them to seek out the scientific evidence for themselves.
Merkel under pressure to tackle toxic smog
7 Sep 2017
With less than three weeks until the German elections, pressure is mounting on Angela Merkel to tackle the deadly smog in a large number of cities or face a court-enforced diesel ban and backlash from millions of motorists faced with plummeting resale values.
Scotland sets 2032 ban on new diesel and petrol cars
7 Sep 2017
Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has declared that the country will end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2032.
TICK-TOCK: Parasites on countdown to extinction
7 Sep 2017
As many as one in three parasites could become extinct as a result of climate change by 2070, new research suggests.
Parents face fines for driving children to school
7 Sep 2017
Parents across the UK face tough restrictions – and even fines – over driving their children to the school gates, in a push by councils on road safety and pollution.
Trump wants climate science denier to run NASA
6 Sep 2017
The White House has announced that President Donald Trump plans to nominate Republican Jim Bridenstine, a climate science denier, to be administrator of NASA.
Scotland claims tidal power world record
6 Sep 2017
August was a record-breaking month for Scottish tidal energy, after a power station managed to generate 700 megawatt-hours of electricity.
Insurance industry eyes Hurricane Harvey cost
6 Sep 2017
Because US infrastructure is not built to withstand climate change the cost of the Hurrican Harvey disaster will be relatively high.
Australian business gets the tech message
6 Sep 2017
Australian businesses are now starting to grasp the fact they need to cut greenhouse gas emissions, says a company that had to take its carbon dioxide-capture technology to Europe because there was no interest at home.
Going to Dubai? Take a bike
6 Sep 2017
Dubai has approved the construction of 500km of bicycle lanes as part of air pollution mitigation efforts.
Australia’s record winter linked to climate change
5 Sep 2017
Australia’s winter had the highest average daytime temperatures on record. It was also the driest in 15 years.
Your fancy organic T-shirt is doomed to end up in a dump
5 Sep 2017
Fashion magazine Marie Claire has published its first sustainability issue, representing one of the first times mainstream fashion has turned an eye on environmental and social issues.
Faded favourite jeans might be causing a health threat
5 Sep 2017
The faded, “distressed look” of a favorite pair of blue jeans, might come with a hidden price.
Glyphosate ban will kill ‘conservation agriculture’
5 Sep 2017
Farmers in France have reacted strongly to the government's intention to block the reauthorisation of glyphosate, pointing out the negative effects the ban would have on conservation farming.
Global warming doubles growth of Antarctic marine fauna
5 Sep 2017
Marine life on the Antarctic seabed is likely to be far more affected by global warming than previously thought, say scientists who have conducted the most sophisticated study to date of heating impacts in the species-rich environment.
California wants law setting 100% renewable power goal
4 Sep 2017
California, the world’s sixth-largest economy, is aiming for an entirely clean power grid by 2045 with legislation that pits technology start-ups against utilities.
Chaco forests go up in smoke as the West's barbecue fuel
4 Sep 2017
No tropical forests anywhere in the world are being destroyed more rapidly than the Chaco, stretching across Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay. Mostly, the trees provide fuel for barbecues.
Abbott to be keynote speaker at climate sceptics' meeting
4 Sep 2017
Former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott next month will give the annual lecture to a London-based climate sceptic group.
Women need much more say in climate change debate
4 Sep 2017
Globally, women are more affected by climate change. Sweden’s deputy prime minister and the head of the Green Climate Fund say women must be brought into the discussion.
Finland doubles down on nuclear power
4 Sep 2017
Finland is set to embrace a decarbonised future by increasing carbon taxes and introducing laws in 2018 that will begin to phase out the use of coal, with more nuclear capacity waiting to offer an alternative fuel source.
More carmakers launch scrappage schemes
4 Sep 2017
Five more carmakers have launched scrappage schemes as the industry tries to kickstart the stuttering UK market by offering thousands of pounds off new, less polluting models.
China smashes solar power target ... by three years
1 Sep 2017
China has reached its 2020 solar power target three years ahead of schedule after installed capacity topped well over its 105GW target.
More states powering ahead on climate targets
1 Sep 2017
Australian states and territories are powering ahead, developing policies that will meet the federal government’s internationally agreed greenhouse gas emission targets, with South Australia, the ACT and Tasmania leading the race.
Invasive insect chewing through Mississippi delta
1 Sep 2017
An invasion of tiny insects is killing swaths of coastal marsh at the mouth of the Mississippi River, and has turned an already unraveling landscape into open water in a matter of months.
US to abolish job of climate change envoy
31 Aug 2017
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has informed Congress that the US will no longer have a special envoy for climate change, the official that has led delegations to UN climate talks since 2009.
Indonesia chases firms to pay for forest damage
31 Aug 2017
The Indonesian government is struggling to collect fines from companies found guilty of damaging the environment, leaving trashed rainforests and peat swamps to stay barren.
Renewable energy boom could turn to bust
31 Aug 2017
Australia produced enough renewable energy to power 70 per cent of households last financial year, but advocates warn the booming industry will flounder unless the Turnbull government commits to a clean energy target.
Himalayas hold their ground as world weather gets warmer
31 Aug 2017
Asia’s glaciers are holding out against global warming and are melting more slowly than expected.
Volcanic eruptions did climate damage 56m years ago
31 Aug 2017
A dramatic period of global warming 56 million years ago that saw temperatures climb by up to 5deg was down to volcanic eruptions and offers insights into the scale and possible impact of global warming today.
How did climate change make Hurricane Harvey much worse?
30 Aug 2017
At least 14 people have died and tens of thousands evacuated as Houston continues to be battered by catastrophic rainfall. Can we decode the disaster?
Overlooked flood risks put many in danger
30 Aug 2017
Governments and insurance companies are failing to educate people on how to avoid flood risks, which are increasing as the climate warms.
Oslo puts ecological riches at the heart of the city
30 Aug 2017
Norway wants urban gardeners to cultivate wildflowers and keep hives to reverse a decline in biodiversity.
In these highlands climate change is a death sentence
30 Aug 2017
Climate change should be taken as seriously as fighting insurgents, say those witnessing the savage impact first-hand.
ARCTIC FIRST: Ship sails top of the world without icebreaker
29 Aug 2017
A Russian tanker has travelled through the northern sea route in record speed and without an icebreaker escort for the first time, highlighting how climate change is opening up the high Arctic.
Climate change threatens Pacific Rim farm trade
29 Aug 2017
The United Nations agriculture agency is calling on Asia-Pacific economies to take a leading role in climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Kenya gets tough on plastic bags: four years or $40,000
29 Aug 2017
Kenyans producing, selling or even using plastic bags will risk imprisonment of up to four years or fines of $40,000.
Brazil abolishes huge Amazon reserve
29 Aug 2017
Brazilian president Michel Temer has abolished an Amazonian reserve the size of Denmark, prompting concerns of an influx of mineral companies, road-builders and workers into the species-rich forest.
Coal to power India for decades, says government
29 Aug 2017
Coal will maintain its dominant share of India’s electricity production for decades to come, according to a major report from the government.
Australian firm converts carbon emissions into 'green' concrete
28 Aug 2017
An Australian pilot project capturing carbon emissions and storing them in building materials aims to have a full-scale production plant by 2020.
‘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.
