International: All stories
ROYAL BAN: Queen says no more plastic in my houses
15 Feb 2018
The Queen has banned plastic straws and bottles from being used across the various Royal homes and palaces.
Why we can't afford to miss the 1.5deg target
14 Feb 2018
A UN draft report says missing the 1.5deg warming target will multiply hunger, migration and conflict, but staying under will require unprecedented global cooperation.
Has China's growth shaken free of carbon?
14 Feb 2018
The annual debate over whether China has peaked its greenhouse gas emissions faces a watershed moment.
Major US emitters getting away with it
14 Feb 2018
The US Environmental Protection Agency’s enforcement activity against polluters has fallen to its lowest level in a decade.
Paris might take fuel companies to court
13 Feb 2018
Paris could become the first city in Europe to try to defray the cost of climate change by taking fossil fuel companies to court.
Australia's solar boom could almost double capacity in a year
13 Feb 2018
A record-breaking month of rooftop installations and a flood of large-scale solar farms could almost double Australia’s solar power capacity in a single year, industry analysts say.
Korea real cool, but the games are getting warmer
13 Feb 2018
PyeongChang turned on typical freezing South Korea weather for the first few days of the Winter Olympics … but overall the event is getting warmer.
Pedals pump half-a-billion pounds into Scotland
13 Feb 2018
Pedal power is worth more than half-a-billion pounds to the Scottish economy, a report shows.
If we build these coal plants, climate goals are doomed
12 Feb 2018
If all planned plants are constructed, the world would have little chance of meeting its climate change goals, say scientists.
Rail company rethink another blow to Adani mine
12 Feb 2018
Adani's plans for a mega coal mine in Queensland have taken a fresh hit with freight company Aurizon no longer seeking federal funding to build the project’s rail line.
How Trudeau welcomed Trump and oil lobby pipeline help
12 Feb 2018
The Trudeau government treated Donald Trump’s election as “positive news” for Canada’s energy industry and welcomed the help of Canada’s main corporate oil group in lobbying the US administration, documents show.
First foreign Holden ‘missed opportunity’ to be hybrid
12 Feb 2018
The new Holden Commodore – the first to be made overseas – is a “missed opportunity” to launch a high-profile electric or hybrid car in Australia, according to pro-renewables groups.
Why hasn’t Trump affected carbon markets?
9 Feb 2018
US President Donald Trump's fight against climate change reduction efforts hasn't had a noticeable impact - yet. Why not?
Thawing permafrost reveals massive doses of mercury
9 Feb 2018
Rising temperatures are waking a sleeping giant in the North - the permafrost - and scientists have identified a new danger that comes with that: massive stores of mercury.
'We don't want green finance, but for finance to be green'
9 Feb 2018
Industry and regulators should be given until 2020 to boost climate risk disclosure or face government intervention, Britain’s Commons Environmental Audit Committee has been told.
Tourism Australia's least prepared for climate change
9 Feb 2018
Tourism is Australia’s most vulnerable and least-prepared industry to deal with climate change despite the fact it is already feeling its effects, according to a new report.
Top universities form climate change coalition
9 Feb 2018
Leading universities across North America have launched the University Climate Change Coalition to leverage their research and resources to spur local climate action.
Half of US bases worldwide under threat from weather
9 Feb 2018
Nearly half of US military sites are threatened by wild weather linked to climate change, according to a new Pentagon study.
EU to define what exactly is green investment
8 Feb 2018
The European Commission will present legislation in May to define what represents "green" investment.
Europe’s biggest fossil fuel project gets public loan
8 Feb 2018
The European Investment Bank has approved a loan to the Southern Gas Corridor, in a move environmentalists described as a “historical mistake”.
Edinburgh University divests from all fossil fuels
8 Feb 2018
The University of Edinburgh is dumping all its fossil fuel investments, making it the largest UK university endowment fund to be completely free of all coal, oil and gas holdings.
How Bill Gates aims to clean up the planet
7 Feb 2018
It’s a simple idea: Strip CO2 from the air and use it to produce carbon-neutral fuel. But can it work on an industrial scale?
Tesla to outfit 50,000 homes with solar and Powerwalls
7 Feb 2018
Tesla will install solar arrays and Powerwalls on 50,000 homes in South Australia to create the biggest virtual power plant in the world.
EU says no trade deals with countries not in Paris pact
7 Feb 2018
The EU has backed French calls to make trade deals with the world’s second-biggest economy contingent on membership of the Paris climate agreement.
Florida Keys raising road levels to beat the sea
7 Feb 2018
Parts of the Florida Keys will spend millions on raising roads before they are inundated by rising sea levels.
Almost four environmental defenders a week killed in 2017
7 Feb 2018
The slaughter of people defending their land or environment continued unabated in 2017, with new research showing almost four people a week were killed worldwide.
Poland urges ‘common sense’ over climate ambition
5 Feb 2018
Poland’s special climate envoy has called for the world to put “common sense” above climate ambition at this year’s COP24 summit.
Carmakers could face prosecution in UK
5 Feb 2018
Carmakers who cheat emissions rules could face prosecution in the UK for deceiving environmental tests under new measures set to be introduced in the wake of the Volkswagen scandal.
How used coffee beans can help your garden
5 Feb 2018
Your morning cup of coffee contributes to six million tonnes of spent coffee grounds going to landfill every year.
Australian firms strike first forest credits deal
2 Feb 2018
Australian companies have struck the first long-term deal in that country to sell carbon credits generated from plantation forestry.
Indonesia has bold plan to rewet the swamps
2 Feb 2018
A controversial Indonesian project to restore 2.5 million hectares of tropical peatland hinges on sustainable farming.
New index will track EU sustainable investment
2 Feb 2018
A sustainability index has been launched to track the performance of environmentally and socially responsible European companies.
EU renewables overtake coal for first time
1 Feb 2018
Renewable technologies - wind, solar and biomass - have beaten coal generation for the first time in the EU.
Scientists worry about climate altering rainforest
1 Feb 2018
Climate change could be causing shifts to the natural cycle of life in the tropical rainforest, scientists have suggested.
ECO ANYONE? Teabags next to go free of plastic
1 Feb 2018
The war on plastic waste is extending to the UK’s favourite beverage, with a major retailer developing a biodegradable paper teabag that does not contain plastic.
How will China’s new carbon trading scheme work?
31 Jan 2018
China last month announced the initial details of its much- anticipated emissions trading scheme, following several years of regional pilot projects.
France to close coal plants two years early
31 Jan 2018
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that all the country’s coal-fired plants will shut down by 2021- two years earlier than initially planned.
Would you host a nuclear waste disposal plant for £1m a year?
31 Jan 2018
Communities around England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be offered £1m a year to volunteer to host an underground nuclear waste disposal facility.
California wants five million electric cars by 2030
31 Jan 2018
California Governor Jerry Brown wants to put five million electric cars on the state’s roads by 2030.
Urban forests add to cities’ health ... and wealth
31 Jan 2018
Planting more urban forests is a simple way not only to improve the health of a city’s people, but to make them wealthier, too.
Chile creates five national parks over 10m acres
31 Jan 2018
Chile has created five sprawling national parks to preserve vast tracts of Patagonia – the culmination of more than two decades of land acquisition by two US philanthropists.
NZ and island nations pay climate fee on time
30 Jan 2018
New Zealand and five small states in the area are among the handful of countries that have paid this year’s dues to the United Nations’ climate change work.
Britain takes another look at personal carbon accounts
30 Jan 2018
The UK is getting serious about tackling collective individual behaviour which threatens the environment.
Local people tackle tide of beach plastic
30 Jan 2018
Local volunteers have collected more than 12,000 tonnes of plastic from a beach in Mumbai.
Capitalism must be changed, says major investor
26 Jan 2018
Capitalism must change to avert climate change, says the world’s largest asset manager, Blackrock.
Gas field earthquakes put firms on notice
26 Jan 2018
Two hundred of the Netherlands’ biggest companies have been told by their government to stop sourcing fuel from a major Dutch gas field within four years following a series of increasingly significant earthquakes.
German emissions rise for second year in a row
26 Jan 2018
An increase in transport sector emissions drove up Germany’s total greenhouse gas emissions for the second time in a row in 2016.
The climate solution no-one in Davos will be talking about
25 Jan 2018
Economists say a global carbon tax would efficiently shift the world to safer energy production. So why is it barely mentioned?
Angry scientists condemn Trudeau's climate research cut
25 Jan 2018
In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, 250 Canadian scientists highlight their concern over the imminent end of a research programme to better understand climate change.
Trump tariffs will cost thousands of solar jobs
25 Jan 2018
President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a tariff on imported solar panels will cost the US solar industry about 23,000 jobs this year and risks slowing the growth of clean energy.
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.
