International: All stories
Ireland a spectacular climate change failure
4 Oct 2017
Ireland has failed spectacularly in its response to the challenges posed by climate change over the last 15 years, the Citizens’ Assembly has been told.
Sunny Southeast Asia just doesn't get solar
4 Oct 2017
Southeast Asia has double the solar energy potential of Northern Europe, but the market hype is not living up to the reality on the ground.
Post-hurricanes, wetlands take on a new role
4 Oct 2017
As communities rebuild after hurricanes, a study shows that wetlands can significantly reduce property damage.
Powerco changes name and abandons fossil fuels
4 Oct 2017
Denmark's DONG Energy has fully abandoned power generation from oil and gas, and is changing its name to Ørsted to pledge its commitment to clean energy technologies.
Morocco to invest millions in solar projects
4 Oct 2017
Morocco is getting ready to launch a €200 million ($NZ326m) programme to spark investment in solar power projects in the agricultural sector by 2021.
US eyes help for struggling coal and nuclear plants
3 Oct 2017
US Energy Secretary Rick Perry has taken sweeping steps to buttress a pair of financially strapped nuclear plants under construction and to redefine how coal and nuclear plants are compensated for the electricity they provide.
Tsunami wreckage serves as liferafts for invasive species
3 Oct 2017
Hundreds of species were carried across the Pacific to North America by debris — estimated to weigh a total of nearly 1.5 million tonnes — that was swept out to sea after the 2011 Japan earthquake.
Europe playing a two-faced climate change game
3 Oct 2017
EU member states risk undermining the diminishing confidence Europeans have in the union by playing a two-faced game on climate change.
Trump swaps 'climate change' for 'resilience'
3 Oct 2017
In the Trump administration's list of dos and don'ts, "climate change" is out and "resilience" is in.
Coca-Cola gave us a billion more plastic bottles last year
3 Oct 2017
Coca-Cola increased its production of throwaway plastic bottles last year by well over a billion, according to analysis by Greenpeace.
PROMISES, PROMISES: Does Big Business really mean business?
2 Oct 2017
Corporations globally have made hundreds of commitments on deforestation. But what do these pledges really mean and why do scandals keep happening?
Yes, says the UN, the planet can be pollution free
2 Oct 2017
Pollution is controllable and avoidable through political leadership, high-level champions and commitments, says a new UN report.
Trump's next climate act is a bit of a mystery
2 Oct 2017
President Trump is preparing to repeal Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan. But what would take its place remains a mystery.
RAW DEAL: Have children lost touch with the natural world?
2 Oct 2017
Studies show that children are better at identifying Pokémon characters than real animals and plants.
Delhi chokes on US exports of tar sands waste
29 Sep 2017
India has emerged as the world’s largest importer of petroleum coke, an oil byproduct that is now a major cause of pollution in the capital.
You must do more, IMF tells rich countries
29 Sep 2017
The International Monetary Fund has told rich countries they must do more to help poor nations cope with climate change or suffer the consequences.
VIVA VIKA: Giant rat lives in trees and eats coconuts
29 Sep 2017
A fabled giant rat known as the vika is the first new Solomon Islands rodent to be described in more than 80 years.
Antarctic sea ice levels hit record low - but why?
28 Sep 2017
Sea ice levels in Antarctica dropped to a record low this year, but experts say there is not a clear link to climate change.
David Suzuki: Australia's marine threat is sickening
28 Sep 2017
Growing global momentum to protect the world’s oceans from overfishing could be undermined by Australia, warns renowned conservationist David Suzuki and nearly 1500 other scientists.
EU climate chief’s Paris suggestion sparks anger
28 Sep 2017
A suggestion by the EU’s climate chief that the US might water down its carbon-cutting pledge to the Paris Agreement has sparked outrage among veteran negotiators and developing countries.
Diamonds and a bitter feud destroyed an Amazon reserve
28 Sep 2017
Family rivalry and Brazil’s Catholic church helped miners to devastate an indigenous territory that was once a leader in the fight against deforestation.
Green bonds expected to top $130b this year
28 Sep 2017
Green bonds issuance is set to reach a record $134.9 billion by the end of this year.
Mass wildlife extinction threatens global food supplies
27 Sep 2017
The sixth mass extinction of global wildlife already under way is seriously threatening the world’s food supplies, according to experts.
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.
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.
