International: All stories
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.
Vancouver wants to be the world's greenest by 2020
20 Sep 2017
Vancouver - the mountain-fringed, bicycle-friendly, pot-loving host of the 2010 Winter Olympics - wants to be the world’s greenest city by 2020.
London welcomes first plastics-free shop
20 Sep 2017
London has welcomed the opening of its first package-free food store opened In an effort to eliminate plastic pollution.
Trump told Paris Agreement is non-negotiable
19 Sep 2017
The terms of the Paris Agreement are set in stone, the EU, China and Canada agreed at a summit in Montreal at thge weekend, while Washington was forced to deny that the US is planning to stay in the accord.
Jerry Brown’s climate coalition spreads the word
19 Sep 2017
California governor Jerry Brown's climate coalition list of city, state and national governments nears 200 and is shifting climate diplomacy beyond the caprices of national leaders.
DYING BREED: Our oceans are no place to be a senior fish
19 Sep 2017
Fishing has dramatically reduced the number of senior fish left in the ocean.
Trump might replace Obama's big climate rule
18 Sep 2017
The Trump administration is opening the door to offering its own replacement for former President Barack Obama's landmark climate regulation — rather than just erasing it altogether.
UK wind power prices reach lowest level
18 Sep 2017
Three new windfarms are to be built in the United Kingdom as offshore wind prices reach their lowest levels ever.
CLIMATE CHORUS: Baez finds something new to sing about
18 Sep 2017
Folk legend Joan Baez will join Patti Smith in the line-up for November’s historic Pathway to Paris concert for climate action in New York.
Chocolate industry drives rainforest disaster in Africa
15 Sep 2017
The world’s chocolate industry is driving deforestation on a devastating scale in West Africa.
Shrinking glaciers threaten water supply of millions
15 Sep 2017
Asia’s mountain glaciers will lose at least a third of their mass through global warming by the century’s end, with dire consequences for millions of people.
EU extends respite from airline carbon fees
15 Sep 2017
The European Parliament has approved a plan to keep commercial flights in and out of Europe exempt from the EU’s carbon emission controls until 2021.
China takes aim at high-end solar market
15 Sep 2017
China is looking to dominate the high-end of the global solar power market.
We need coal power, Joyce tells Australians
15 Sep 2017
Australia's deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, says any new investment mechanism for the energy sector, be it a clean energy target or an alternative, will need to keep coal-fired power stations open.
China, EU and Canada to take lead on climate
14 Sep 2017
New partners China, Canada and the EU move to take on global climate leadership at meeting in Canada this weekend as US influence declines.
Coal plant closes but emissions still on the rise
14 Sep 2017
Australia’s overall greenhouse gas emissions last financial year were the highest since 2011, despite the closure of the Hazelwood coal-fired power plant.
China readies for ethanol fuels binge
14 Sep 2017
China’s bold plan to blend renewable fuels into its gasoline supply within three years will revolutionize its fledging biofuels industry, and likely spur billions of dollars in investment in ethanol factories.
PEDESTRIAN POWER: Where is the world's most walkable city?
14 Sep 2017
From New York’s cafe squares to the laneways of Melbourne, pedestrian paradises combine safety, beauty and comfort. Now urban planners are taking note as they seek to hand back cities to the walkers.
EU moves closer to ‘genuine energy union’
14 Sep 2017
European lawmakers this week approved a new security of gas regulation, which includes a solidarity principle in case of supply disruptions and will make it more difficult for other countries to “blackmail” the EU’s members.
Macron to pitch global environmental rights charter
13 Sep 2017
French president Emmanuel Macron is set to call for a global pact affirming universal principles for environmental protection at the UN general assembly next week.
Third of Earth's soil is acutely degraded due to agriculture
13 Sep 2017
Fertile soil is being lost at rate of 24 billion tonnes a year through intensive farming as demand for food increases, says a UN-backed study.
South Australia commits $150m to new-energy fund
13 Sep 2017
The government of South Australia has just announced it will invest $A150 million in renewable energy projects as part of its Renewable Technology Fund.
Tiny part of oceans could help to feed plenty
13 Sep 2017
Marine aquaculture could produce as much seafood as all of the world’s wild marine fisheries, using less than 0.015 per cent of the space in the oceans.
China’s sponge cities aim to re-use 70% of rainwater
12 Sep 2017
China’s "sponge city" initiative has an ambitious goal: by 2020, 80 per cent of urban areas should absorb and re-use at least 70 per cent of rainwater.
ACID TEST: The global crisis you’ve never heard of
12 Sep 2017
Cyanidation was the breakthrough gold mining technology of the 1890s, when it enabled Anglo mining conglomerates to make colossal profits from low grade ores. Today, the legacy is life-threatening.
TRAGEDY TOWN: Community that took on the Kochs
12 Sep 2017
A new film tells the story of Crossett, Arkansas – a small town dominated by a Koch brothers-owned paper mill, blamed for dumping cancer-causing chemicals.
China to ban sale of fossil-fuel cars
11 Sep 2017
China wil set a deadline for carmakers to end sales of fossil-fuel powered vehicles, a move aimed at pushing companies to speed efforts in developing electric vehicles.
SEASHORE SHOCK: We're approaching peak sand
11 Sep 2017
Exploitation of global supplies of sand is damaging the environment, endangering communities, causing shortages and promoting violent conflict.
Storms lay costs of climate denial at Trump’s door
11 Sep 2017
The US president’s dismissal of scientific research is doing nothing to protect the livelihoods of ordinary Americans.
DANGEROUS DIET: Sea salt is sucking up plastic pollution
11 Sep 2017
Sea salt around the world has been contaminated by plastic pollution, adding to experts’ fears that microplastics are becoming ubiquitous in the environment and finding their way into the food chain.
Easter Island becomes one of world's largest marine parks
11 Sep 2017
One of the world’s largest marine protection areas has been created off the coast of Easter Island.
Mars (the bars kind) counters Trump's climate craziness
8 Sep 2017
The corporate backlash is growing against Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, with Mars launching a $1bn sustainability plan and an M&M’s campaign centred on renewable 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
Today 11:00am
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
Today 11:00am
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
Wed 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.
