International: All stories
Rising tides lap at the Pacific's dome of poison
29 Nov 2017
Rising seas caused by climate change are seeping inside a United States nuclear waste dump on a remote and low-lying Pacific atoll.
What do the Koch brothers want from Time?
28 Nov 2017
That Charles and David Koch are putting $650m into Meredith Corp’s purchase of Time would ordinarily be cause for great soul-searching in media. But these are not ordinary times.
China reverses flow of carbon emissions
28 Nov 2017
The flow of China’s carbon emissions has reversed, according to new research led by scientists at the University of East Anglia.
Cleaner coolants fund gets $540m
28 Nov 2017
Rich countries will pay $540 million over three years into a fund to support a shift to cleaner coolants, under a deal agreed in Montreal on Saturday.
Swedish power plant burns clothes instead of fossil fuels
28 Nov 2017
A Swedish power plant is turning to recycled wood and trash for alternatives, including discarded clothing from a retail chain.
ROAD RAGE: Highways could open a Pandora's Box of ills
27 Nov 2017
Within the next 30 years, there could be another 25 million kilometres of road worldwide – enough to encircle the planet 600 times.
Drilling awakens sleeping faults in Texas
27 Nov 2017
Since 2008, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and a handful of other states have experienced unprecedented surges of earthquakes.
Musk's Australia battery poised for final testing
27 Nov 2017
The world’s largest lithium-ion battery, which is being built in South Australia by Tesla to store renewable energy, is about to enter final testing.
Melbourne consortium underwrites windfarm
27 Nov 2017
Three Melbourne councils, two universities, Zoos Victoria, and half a dozen corporations have banded together to underwrite a windfarm in western Victoria.
City trees feel the heat ... and love it
27 Nov 2017
City trees are responding to climate change and urban growth, making the most of the heat island effect.
China likely to hit peak emissions around 2030
24 Nov 2017
China’s carbon emissions will probably peak on or before 2030, a new survey has found.
Disaster on Australia's doorstep, officials warn
24 Nov 2017
Climate change is creating a disaster on Australia’s doorstep, according to a government white paper.
Bonn talks bring a poison pill for Poland
24 Nov 2017
If anything came out of the COP23 climate conference in Bonn, it’s a poison pill for Poland.
India to add 10,000 e-vehicles to official fleet
24 Nov 2017
India has called tenders for 10,000 electric vehicles as replacements for its official fleet.
Community solar heads for rooftops of New York
24 Nov 2017
New York City’s public housing authority is taking bids in a plan to lease its roofs for community solar projects that could power thousands of urban homes.
THIN ICE: Antarctic glaciers could flood the planet
24 Nov 2017
In a remote region of Antarctica known as Pine Island Bay, 2500 miles from the tip of South America, two glaciers hold human civilisation hostage.
LIGHT FRIGHT: Nights getting brighter and not in a good way
24 Nov 2017
Nights are getting alarmingly brighter – bad news for all sorts of creatures, humans included – as light pollution encroaches on darkness almost everywhere.
Climate change drove Trumps out of Germany
24 Nov 2017
Climate change contributed to the wave of German immigration to the US that included Donald Trump’s grandfather.
California nets $860 million from carbon auction
23 Nov 2017
California will collect $860 million from auctioning carbon-emissions permits after the allowances sold out at a record price for the second straight quarter.
You're spies, Russia tells green campaigners
23 Nov 2017
The Russian government is using anti-spying legislation to silence environmental campaigners, a leading watchdog has warned.
As oceans warm, kelp forests begin to disappear
23 Nov 2017
Kelp forests are being wiped out from Tasmania to California, replaced by sea urchin barrens that are nearly devoid of life.
Senate bill would cut EPA funding by $150 million
23 Nov 2017
The US Senate Appropriations Committee this week introduced a bill that would cut nearly $150 million in funding for the Environmental Protection Agency next year.
Poland faces $170,000-a-day fines over illegal logging
23 Nov 2017
Poland has been given two weeks to stop illegal deforestation in a Unesco-protected forest or face fines of at least $NZ170,000 a day.
BEAN BUSES: In London, it's wake up and smell the traffic
23 Nov 2017
Seeking to curb toxic diesel fumes, London transport officials are hunting for new sources of energy for buses. The latest idea? Coffee grounds.
Meet the green gurus who use 1400 disposable cups a day
23 Nov 2017
More than 2.5 million disposable cups have been purchased by the UK’s environment department for use in its restaurants and cafes over the past five years – equivalent to nearly 1400 a day.
EPA revises social cost of potent greenhouse gas
22 Nov 2017
The Trump administration is tweaking how it measures the costs of emitting a potent greenhouse gas, a move that will have major impacts for climate rules.
CARBON PRICING: Five questions for Nicholas Stern
22 Nov 2017
Economist NICHOLAS STERN spoke in Oxford this month. The Conversation asked him about recent developments in the transition of the world toward an economy adapted to climate change.
Let's handle climate change the way we dealt with cigarettes
22 Nov 2017
What would happen if we treated climate change as a health problem rather than an environmental one?
Could this be beginning of the end for the beloved axolotl?
22 Nov 2017
Although abundant in captivity, the axolotl has nearly disappeared from its natural habitat - and that is a problem.
Former UN climate chief lobbies against Adani loan
21 Nov 2017
Former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres has made a rare intervention in Australian politics, urging the Turnbull government not to grant a controversial coal project a near A$1 billion loan.
Past climate lessons prompt present rethink
21 Nov 2017
European scientists have just reached two chilling conclusions about today’s Earth by studying past climate lessons.
Three ways cities are leading the climate change fight
21 Nov 2017
Cities account for 75 per cent of the world’s energy use and 76 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions.
Electric highway will link Norway and Italy
21 Nov 2017
A German utility is planning a string of electric vehicle fast chargers every 120 to 180 kilometers along highways in seven European countries, from Italy to Norway.
Indonesia to roll out 1000 eco-mosques
21 Nov 2017
Worshippers in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, are set to go green with a new initiative that aims to establish 1000 eco-mosques by 2020.
Climate pioneer calls for wave of lawsuits
20 Nov 2017
One of the fathers of climate science is calling for a wave of lawsuits against governments and fossil fuel companies that are delaying action on what he describes as the growing, mortal threat of global warming.
Bonn summit slow and steady but King Coal looms
20 Nov 2017
The climate talks in Bonn saw little drama other than some star turns and a pantomime villain. All eyes are now on Poland, the next summit host.
It's not a done deal, low-lying islands can shape a future
20 Nov 2017
While the plight of low-lying Pacific islands should not be ignored, it is just as damaging to assume that their fate is already sealed.
Norway’s wealth fund eyes divesting from fossil fuels
20 Nov 2017
Norway’s $1 trillion fund is to consider divesting from oil and gas stocks to protect the country's economy from oil price risk.
Australia a Top 10 nation - for cutting down trees
20 Nov 2017
Eastern Australia ranks in the top 10 of the world’s major deforestation fronts – the only area in a developed nation.
The inconvenient truth about smart cities
20 Nov 2017
Plans for more wired, networked, connected urban areas face challenges if they fail to account for existing, local, non-digital elements such as government and socioeconomic conditions.
Shaw commits NZ to leading on climate challenge
17 Nov 2017
New Zealand has just committed itself on the world stage to being carbon-neutral by 2050 and being a Pacific leader on climate change.
NZ signs up to cut methane and black carbon
17 Nov 2017
New Zealand has signed up to a plan to cut methane and black carbon emissions from agriculture and waste.
Global pledge to phase out coal gets full backing of NZ
17 Nov 2017
New Zealand is part of a new alliance launched at the Bonn climate talks that hopes to signal the end of coal.
Carbon markets back in vogue at Bonn
17 Nov 2017
Carbon markets have become a vital piece of common ground for defenders of the climate. The tool is gradually extending around the world, bringing with it higher revenues.
Indigenous groups win greater climate recognition
17 Nov 2017
Indigenous groups claimed a victory at the Bonn climate talks in Bonn as governments acknowledged for the first time that they can play a leadership role in protecting forests and keeping global temperatures at a safe level.
Wildfires are making Americans sick
17 Nov 2017
As climate change fuels large wildfires, the pollution they're releasing is making Americans sick and undermining decades of progress in cleaning the air.
MERKEL MESSAGE: Climate change decides our destiny
16 Nov 2017
“Climate change is an issue determining our destiny as mankind – it will determine the wellbeing of all of us,” the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has told the world’s nations gathered at the Bonn climate summit.
Activists sue Norway over Arctic exploration plan
16 Nov 2017
The Norwegian government is being sued by climate activists over a decision to open up areas of the Arctic Ocean for oil exploration.
Global insurance plan aims to defuse bombshell
16 Nov 2017
A scheme unveiled at the Bonn climate summit aims to help to protect 400 million poor people from extreme weather by 2020 - but not everyone is convinced.
Brazil’s recession grows as emissions rise
16 Nov 2017
Brazil’s recession has earned it an unhappy distinction: it is the only major country in the world where damage to the climate is growing while people are becoming poorer.
Oil refinery fire at key Victoria facility
16 Apr 2026
Explosions and towering flames were reported as a significant fire broke out at one of Australia’s major oil refineries.
Trump takes a ‘wrecking ball’ to independent scientific advisory board
Thu 30 Apr 2026
Without the impartial oversight of its board, the National Science Foundation is now “fully at the behest of the White House,” experts warn.
China’s leadership calls for ‘strict control’ of fossil fuels
Tue 28 Apr 2026
Chinese government leaders published a policy document on 22 April – Earth Day – calling for stricter controls on fossil-fuel consumption and greater oversight of heavy emitters.
EU faces ‘China shock’ as EV imports drive Beijing’s record surplus with bloc
Fri 1 May 2026
The EU is experiencing a prolonged “China shock” as a flood of Chinese EVs into Europe helped push Beijing to a record surplus with the bloc.
UK scientists to fire salt water into the sky in bid to tackle climate crisis
Fri 1 May 2026
Government supporting new geoengineering techniques as race against unregulated companies seeking to capitalise on need for climate cooling tech heats up.
Canada, Alberta close in on carbon price agreement, sources say
Wed 29 Apr 2026
Canada and Alberta are expected to strike a deal in the next two weeks that will increase the price on carbon for the province's industrial emitters, but a broader agreement to tackle oil sands greenhouse gases and green-light a new crude oil export pipeline remains elusive.
India submits new climate action pledges to UN body, flags condition to fulfil promise
Wed 29 Apr 2026
India has formally submitted its pledge to the UN climate body, underline importing conditions noting the developing countries' committments cannot be fulfilled without adequate support in terms of finance and technology transfer.
Tuvalu to host world leaders before COP31 summit
16 Apr 2026
Tuvalu, the Pacific nation at the forefront of the global climate crisis, will host a special meeting of world leaders before this year’s Cop31 summit, as the conference president expresses “complete faith” in Chris Bowen to lead tough negotiations.
Drowned chicks and food scarcity: Emperor penguin and Antarctic fur seal now endangered
13 Apr 2026
The primary drivers are shrinking sea ice and warming oceans driven by climate change.
Rationing power and diluting petrol – how African countries are coping with effects of Iran war
30 Mar 2026
Countries across Africa have taken measures such as diluting petrol and restricting electricity consumption to cope with the fuel crisis triggered by the US and Israel's war in Iran.
Beef production drives 40% of agriculture-linked forest destruction, Brazil leads
26 Mar 2026
Beef production is the leading driver of agriculture-linked deforestation, accounting for 40% of all forest clearing done to open space for food production, according to details of a study released on Tuesday.
Extreme heat threatens global food systems, UN agencies warn
23 Apr 2026
Extreme heat is pushing global agrifood systems to the brink, threatening the livelihoods and health of more than a billion people, according to a new report by the U.N.'s food and weather agencies.
