International: All stories
To be sure, Ireland's long on words and short on action
28 Jul 2017
There’s no shortage of good intentions in Ireland’s climate plan, but they are too vague to cut emissions significantly.
US powercos knew of climate threat decades ago
28 Jul 2017
The US electric industry knew as far back as 1968 that burning fossil fuels might cause global warming, but cast doubt on the science of climate change.
Climate science meets a stubborn obstacle: Students
28 Jul 2017
To Gwen Beatty, a junior at the high school in a proud, struggling, Trump-supporting town, the new science teacher’s lessons on climate change seemed explicitly designed to provoke her. So she provoked him back.
PARIS PACT: We might have less time than we thought
27 Jul 2017
A new global temperature baseline casts doubt on humanity's ability to meet the Paris target.
Exxon, Shell face action over US sea level rises
27 Jul 2017
As a trio of lawsuits in California claim compensation for sea rises resulting from fossil fuel emissions, campaigners say carbon majors must change their business models.
Solar not cheaper than coal, says former mining boss
27 Jul 2017
India’s future is still tied to coal and fixing woeful inefficient plants will create huge new generation at a price solar cannot match.
Aboriginals take carbon farming to Canada
27 Jul 2017
Australia’s world-leading indigenous land management and carbon farming programmes are spreading internationally, with a formal agreement signed to help to build a similar programme in Canada.
World watches as 49 million acres of forest disappear
26 Jul 2017
About 49 million acres of forest disappeared worldwide in 2015, mainly in North America and the tropics, putting the year’s global deforestation level at its second-highest point since data gathering began in 2001.
All hell breaks loose as the tundra thaws in Siberia
26 Jul 2017
A recent heatwave in Siberia’s frozen wastes has resulted in outbreaks of deadly anthrax and a series of violent explosions.
NZ in firing line of foreign species invasion
26 Jul 2017
Foreign animals and plants can cause huge damage in vulnerable nations like New Zealand, with the march of Argentine ants a new example of how climate change is boosting the threat.
UK businesses urge PM to raise climate ambitions
26 Jul 2017
A group of UK businesses and investors have written to Prime MInister Theresa May, urging her to raise the country’s ambitions to tackle climate change.
India diverts $25 billion away from clean energy
26 Jul 2017
The Indian government is diverting $25 billion earmarked for clean energy to an unrelated policy, a national news site has revealed.
Electric trams shuttle goods around Europe cities
26 Jul 2017
French and German cities using trams to move products are showing how to cut congestion while making a profit from the network.
Mayors demand English acts on climate change
25 Jul 2017
New Zealand’s mayors want a national emissions reduction plan and a stocktake of the likely cost to the country of climate change – something Prime Minister Bill English has steadfastly rejected.
Mexico has an idea ... insure coral reefs against damage
25 Jul 2017
A stretch of coral reef off Mexico is the testing ground for a new idea that could protect fragile environments around the world - insurance.
China to ban import of foreign waste
25 Jul 2017
China has anounced that it will no longer be importing foreign garbage shipments.
JUSTIN TRUDEAU: Climate warrior in love with Big Oil
25 Jul 2017
Justin Trudeau has proposed to end Canada's coal use, tax carbon pollution and invest in clean energy technology. But he also wants to keep Canadian oil flowing.
The changing climate is killing us ... as we speak
24 Jul 2017
The most obvious effect of global warming is not a doomsday scenario. Extreme heat is happening today, and wreaking havoc on vulnerable bodies.
Volvo e-car push reflects China’s leadership ambition
24 Jul 2017
Chinese-owned Volvo's move away from the internal combustion engine will fuel Beijing dominance in emerging clean technology.
Asian temperature rise could be disastrous
24 Jul 2017
Profligate fossil fuel use could cause Asian temperatures to rise by 6deg , bringing floods and food shortages for hundreds of millions.
Changing your diet could save animals from extinction
24 Jul 2017
Nearly one-third of tropical animal species face extinction if humans do not curb their growing appetites for beef, pork and other land-intensive meats.
Hanoi choking on fumes of five million motorbikes
24 Jul 2017
The roads of Vietnam’s capital have been taken over by the two-wheeled horde, but bringing in a ban by 2030 will be a tough ask.
Big brands in illegal forest destruction, says report
24 Jul 2017
Pepsico, Unilever and Nestlé have been accused of complicity in the destruction of Sumatra’s last tract of rainforest shared by elephants, orangutans, rhinos, and tigers together in one ecosystem.
Rising seas spark tobacco-style lawsuits in California
21 Jul 2017
Several flood-prone municipalities in California filed first-of-their-kind lawsuits against fossil fuel companies this week as they attempt to recoup the cost of coping with rising seas.
Plastic pollution risks near-permanent contamination
21 Jul 2017
Humans have produced more than eight billion tonnes of plastic since the 1950s with the majority ending up in landfill or polluting the world’s continents and oceans.
Asia coal boom bankrolled by foreign money
21 Jul 2017
The much-discussed boom in coal-fired power in south-east Asia is being bankrolled by foreign governments and banks, with the vast majority of projects apparently too risky for the private sector.
CON JOB: We must stop fighting as individuals
21 Jul 2017
OPINION: Stop obsessing with how personally green you live – and start collectively taking on corporate power.
Work for me, says Macron, and scientists flock to France
21 Jul 2017
Hundreds of climate scientists, including many from the United States, have applied to work in France under a multi-million dollar scheme set up by President Emmanuel Macron.
Satellites zero in on dangerous urban heat islands
21 Jul 2017
Cities are getting hotter as the planet warms, and the consequences can be deadly - a heat wave hit Russia in 2010 and killed 55,000 people.
Cape Town shares water lessons of record drought
21 Jul 2017
Cape Town, experiencing its worst drought in 100 years, has taken the situation as an opportunity to seek solutions which could be of use in other parts of Africa.
Let buyers borrow more on greener homes, says report
20 Jul 2017
Homebuyers could take out bigger mortgages if the energy ratings of properties were factored into the lending criteria of banks and building societies, new research has found.
Fiji COP presidency must not fail climate victims
20 Jul 2017
Despite warm words about protecting the vulnerable, the island presidency of this year’s UN climate talks is showing no urgency on “loss and damage”.
At halfway point, 2017 is second-hottest year on record
20 Jul 2017
At the halfway point of the year, 2017 remains the second-hottest year to date — a surprise given the demise of the El Niño that helped to boost temperatures to record levels last year.
World’s young face $535 trillion bill for climate
20 Jul 2017
The next generation will have to pay a $535 trillion bill to tackle climate change, relying on unproven and speculative technology.
Get together and slash emissions, Australians told
20 Jul 2017
Australians collectively could slash greenhouse gas emissions by a staggering 70 per cent if they joined forces to become energy and climate trailblazers in their own backyards.
Protesters die as Canadian company mines hills of silver
20 Jul 2017
In Guatemala, one of the world’s largest silver deposits reaps millions for its Canadian owners - but for local farmers the price is their land and even their lives
EU slapped for breaching access to environmental justice
20 Jul 2017
The European Union has accepted a UN ruling that found the bloc in breach of international laws requiring the public to have access to justice on environmental matters.
Rising seas threaten scores of Pacific species with extinction
19 Jul 2017
The Chuuk flying fox. The Black-spotted Cuscus. The Fijian crested iguana. The Mariana skink. The greater monkey-faced bat. Poncelet’s giant rat. They live on islands in the Pacific and they are facing extinction.
California extends cap-and-trade to 2030
19 Jul 2017
California lawmakers have voted to extend the state's signature programme for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Australian powerco head supports Paris targets
19 Jul 2017
The head of Australia’s biggest energy utility – and its biggest coal generator – says that if any Clean Energy Target is to be effective it has to take into account global climate targets.
GROW FOOD ON MARS: Los Angeles startups get inventive
19 Jul 2017
Geeks are inventing ways to keep Los Angeles cool with products and services that aim to avert environmental disaster – and make a profit.
Bloomberg and California launch climate action plan
18 Jul 2017
California Governor Jerry Brown and Michael Bloomberg have announced the launch of America’s Pledge, which will allow US states, cities and businesses to stay aligned with the Paris Agreement.
US approves oil drilling off Alaska
18 Jul 2017
An Italian multinational oil and gas company has received permission to move ahead with drilling plans in federal waters off Alaska.
Activists being murdered in record numbers
18 Jul 2017
Some 200 environmental and land-rights activists were killed in 2016, making it the deadliest year on record.
Is it a human right to have a healthy environment?
18 Jul 2017
Do we have a fundamental right to breathe clean air, drink clean water and eat safe food?
AA fights plan to cut car greenhouse gas emissions
17 Jul 2017
The Australian Automobile Association has tried to kill any government move to cut greenhouse gas emissions from cars, arguing it would increase the cost to consumers and contradicting comprehensive government modelling.
Japan to export renewable energy expertise
17 Jul 2017
Japan plans to export its expertise in renewable energy technologies such as low-emitting geothermal, solar and hydrogen power.
Steel town sets out to redesign the rustbelt
17 Jul 2017
The world is urbanising at a pace never before seen in human history. By 2050, 66 per cent of the world is projected to live in cities.
Communities and cities are getting on with the job
17 Jul 2017
As the international community putters along, cities and local communities are already staking out the front lines of the fight against climate change.
China signed big coal deal days before G20 pledge
14 Jul 2017
Chinese president Xi Jinping endorsed a G20 plan calling on development banks to support poor countries to lower their emissions, just days after his own development bank had signed a $1.5 billion loan deal to build a South African coal plant.
‘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.
