International: All stories
Is China the leader UN climate talks need?
3 Nov 2017
china is more assertive than ever about its climate leadership ambitions, as 195 countries head to Bonn for the annual UN summit.
Fossil fuel companies undermining Paris agreement negotiations – report
2 Nov 2017
Global negotiations seeking to implement the Paris agreement have been captured by corporate interests and are being undermined by powerful forces that benefit from exacerbating climate change, according to a report released ahead of the second meeting of parties to the Paris agreement – COP23 – next week.
EPA aims to block scientists who get EPA funding
2 Nov 2017
US Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt is poised to jettison scientists who have received grants from the EPA and replace them with industry experts and state government officials.
Pacific Islanders call on Australia not to fund Adani
2 Nov 2017
Pacific Islanders whose homes face eradication by rising sea levels have called on Australia to not fund the Adani Carmichael coalmine, as a new report reveals the worsening impact of climate change across Oceania.
Whyalla steel goes green with solar and storage
2 Nov 2017
UK billionaire Sanjeev Gupta has made good on his commitment to transform his newly acquired Australian steel business into a renewable energy powerhouse.
Ice cracks again close Antarctic research station
2 Nov 2017
A British research station in Antarctica is being shut down for the second winter in a row following concerns over growing cracks in the 150-metre thick ice shelf on which it stands.
Merchants believe in the business case for bikes
2 Nov 2017
Merchants in an Oregon town believe new walking and biking infrastructure will attract cusatomers to their businesses.
Billion-dollar renewables boom boosts Queensland
1 Nov 2017
Queensland is a leader in Australia’s renewables boom, with more than $1.6 billion dollars invested in large-scale projects creating more than 1300 construction jobs.
Brazil’s carbon emissions rose 8.9% in 2016
1 Nov 2017
Despite Brazil’s worst recession in history, national greenhouse gases emissions are estimated to have risen 8.9 per cent in 2016 and reached the highest level since 2008.
Winter coming later ... and leaving earlier
1 Nov 2017
Across the United States, the year’s first freeze has been arriving further into the calendar, according to more than a century of measurements.
CARS CRUNCH: More and more cities say they don't want them
1 Nov 2017
After more than 100 years of living with cars, some cities are slowly starting to realize that the automobile doesn’t make a lot of sense in the urban context.
Heat stress, malnutrition ... climate change makes us sick
1 Nov 2017
Climate change is already having an impact on our health, by exposing people to dangerous heat waves and more extreme weather.
Global atmospheric CO2 levels hit record high
31 Oct 2017
The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased at record speed last year to hit a level not seen for more than three million years.
Sea could rise 1.3m unless coal power ends by 2050
31 Oct 2017
Sea levels could rise 1.3m this century unless coal-generated electricity is virtually eliminated by 2050, according to a new paper that contains the latest understanding of Antarctica’s contribution.
Demand for fresh vegetables all year round is killing soils
31 Oct 2017
Consumers’ expectations that certain types of produce will be available all year round mean that farmers must engage in unsustainable and destructive practices.
Why California’s wine country fires were so destructive
31 Oct 2017
As of late October, more than a dozen wildfires north of San Francisco had killed more than 40 people, burned approximately 160,000 acres and destroyed more than 7000 structures.
Regional businesses use renewables to slash costs
31 Oct 2017
From solar to running generators, some regional businesses in Australia have quit the energy grid and several others are showing interest in defecting.
For cattle farmers in Brazil, money can’t buy love
31 Oct 2017
In regions of the Amazon where farmers could choose to grow more sustainable and lucrative crops like fruit or vegetables, ranchers persist in their low-income cattle business.
Climate change looms like a tragedy for Greeks
31 Oct 2017
Greece is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change in Europe, according to experts, and faces a gloomy future.
WHALE TALE: 100 years of protection and still hurting
31 Oct 2017
For some whale populations, even 100 years of protection is not long enough to recover from the excesses of commercial hunting.
Super-rich's supersonic private jets will be super-polluting
30 Oct 2017
Hundreds of supersonic jets could be flying businesspeople over Europe within 10 years, but documents show the EU preparing to cede oversight of their huge CO2 emissions.
Italy eyes a coal-free future with new energy strategy
30 Oct 2017
Italy plans to phase out coal power plants by 2025, the country’s industry minister said during a presentation of a new energy strategy.
Changing climate is blurring the lines for map makers
30 Oct 2017
As soon as cartographers had finished drawing the Arctic ice sheet in 2013, their map was already out of date.
Big sweet firms 'breaking promises over palm oil use'
30 Oct 2017
Nestlé, Mars and Hershey have been accused of breaking pledges to stop using conflict palm oil from deforested Indonesian jungles with the annual Halloween confectionery frenzy just around the corner.
Rising seas are flooding Virginia’s vast naval base
27 Oct 2017
The giant United States naval base at Norfolk is under threat by rising seas and sinking land - and little is being done to hold back the tides.
EPA scrubs website clean of ‘climate change’
27 Oct 2017
The US Environmental Protection Agency has removed dozens of online resources dedicated to helping local governments address climate change.
US unprepared to face costs of climate change
27 Oct 2017
The risks to the US are big, and they’re rising, a new report says - just as the Trump administration is changing how it calculates costs to make them look smaller.
If nothing is done, we will be 'toasted, roasted and grilled'
27 Oct 2017
If we don't do anything about climate change now, in 50 years we will be toasted, roasted and grilled, says International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde.
China’s carbon market exposes Australia’s energy paralysis
27 Oct 2017
When China’s national carbon market is launched later this year it will be the world’s second-largest carbon market, after the European emissions trading scheme.
Fewer poor means more climate work for the rich
26 Oct 2017
Ending poverty means the world’s rich will have to work harder to keep climate change under control, new research shows.
EU eyes green clause in trade deals (including ours)
26 Oct 2017
As Europe embarks on a new round of trade talks with New Zealand, Japan, Australia, and various South American countries, calls are growing for the EU to enforce environmental and social clauses in commercial agreements.
Pollution getting in the way of China's solar goals
26 Oct 2017
Although China is increasing its solar energy supply, air pollution is blocking sunlight and reducing energy output, according to a new study.
BBC apologises over interview with climate denier
26 Oct 2017
The BBC has apologised for an interview with climate change denier Lord Lawson after admitting it had breached its own editorial guidelines for allowing him to claim unchallenged that global temperatures have not risen in the past decade.
WINE WOBBLES: Production is heading for a 50-year low
26 Oct 2017
If you haven’t got a wine cellar, it’s time to get one and start stockpiling because global wine production is about to fall to its lowest level in more than 50 years.
LEAPING LIZARDS: Giants thrive in wasted oil palm plantations
26 Oct 2017
Of Borneo’s large native scavengers, a giant lizard is the only species that has successfully adapted to the land devastated by oil palm plantations.
Fires last year cost an area of forest the size of New Zealand
25 Oct 2017
Forest fires in Brazil and Indonesia contributed to a record loss in global tree cover in 2016, equivalent to the size of New Zealand.
KIRIBATI CRISIS: A long time waiting for the tide to turn
25 Oct 2017
The 33 islands of Kiribati are under threat from climate change. But the islanders have not given up hope.
Texas power giant to shut coal-fired plants
25 Oct 2017
Texas power generator Luminant has announced it will close three coal-fired plants in early 2018. Combined, they account for 12 per cent of the state's coal power plant capacity.
Corals clue to sudden bursts of ocean rise
25 Oct 2017
Fossilised corals off Texas show that in the past, sea level rose several meters in just decades, probably due to collapsing glaciers.
Car lobby wants better testing to combat emissions
25 Oct 2017
Australia’s motoring lobby wants “real-world” vehicle emissions testing, arguing the current system is misleading consumers and regulators.
Twelve major cities vow to buy zero-emissions buses
25 Oct 2017
Twelve major cities including London, Paris, Los Angeles and Cape Town have promised to buy only zero-emissions buses from 2025.
Dirty cars must pay for using London streets
25 Oct 2017
Drivers of the most polluting vehicles must from now on pay a daily charge of up to $NZ40 to drive into central London.
Global pollution kills 9m a year and threatens human survival
24 Oct 2017
Pollution kills at least nine million people and costs trillions of dollars every year, according to the most comprehensive global analysis to date, which warns the crisis “threatens the continuing survival of human societies”.
No China, so what happens now to world’s recycling?
24 Oct 2017
In the wake of China's announcement earlier this year that it would cut imports of the world's waste there are concerns that much of the lower grade materials will have nowhere else to go.
Development banks join forces to fight climate change
24 Oct 2017
Credit institutions worth $3000 billion have joined forces to throw their weight behind sustainable development.
UK hints at e-bike subsidy to get people moving
24 Oct 2017
The UK government might consider providing subsidies for electric bicycles and electric cars as part of a concerted policy effort to get more people cycling.
Brazilian Amazon loses 660,000ha of forest in one year
24 Oct 2017
The Brazilian Amazon lost 6,624 sq km of forest between August 2016 and July 2017.
How can we cook a more sustainable Sunday roast?
24 Oct 2017
Messing with the Sunday roast proably is a step too far for many people. So how might we create a more sustainable Sunday roast?
Fiji announces $100m ‘climate bond’ ahead of climate talks
20 Oct 2017
Fiji aims to raise $100 million ($NZ68m) to build resilience to climate change and support a shift to 100 per cent renewable energy.
Environmental activism no racket, rules judge
20 Oct 2017
A judge has dismissed a Canadian logging company's lawsuit against Greenpeace and another activist group that accused them of running a criminal enterprise through their environmental campaigns.
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.
