International: All stories
China smashes solar power target ... by three years
1 Sep 2017
China has reached its 2020 solar power target three years ahead of schedule after installed capacity topped well over its 105GW target.
More states powering ahead on climate targets
1 Sep 2017
Australian states and territories are powering ahead, developing policies that will meet the federal government’s internationally agreed greenhouse gas emission targets, with South Australia, the ACT and Tasmania leading the race.
Invasive insect chewing through Mississippi delta
1 Sep 2017
An invasion of tiny insects is killing swaths of coastal marsh at the mouth of the Mississippi River, and has turned an already unraveling landscape into open water in a matter of months.
US to abolish job of climate change envoy
31 Aug 2017
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has informed Congress that the US will no longer have a special envoy for climate change, the official that has led delegations to UN climate talks since 2009.
Indonesia chases firms to pay for forest damage
31 Aug 2017
The Indonesian government is struggling to collect fines from companies found guilty of damaging the environment, leaving trashed rainforests and peat swamps to stay barren.
Renewable energy boom could turn to bust
31 Aug 2017
Australia produced enough renewable energy to power 70 per cent of households last financial year, but advocates warn the booming industry will flounder unless the Turnbull government commits to a clean energy target.
Himalayas hold their ground as world weather gets warmer
31 Aug 2017
Asia’s glaciers are holding out against global warming and are melting more slowly than expected.
Volcanic eruptions did climate damage 56m years ago
31 Aug 2017
A dramatic period of global warming 56 million years ago that saw temperatures climb by up to 5deg was down to volcanic eruptions and offers insights into the scale and possible impact of global warming today.
How did climate change make Hurricane Harvey much worse?
30 Aug 2017
At least 14 people have died and tens of thousands evacuated as Houston continues to be battered by catastrophic rainfall. Can we decode the disaster?
Overlooked flood risks put many in danger
30 Aug 2017
Governments and insurance companies are failing to educate people on how to avoid flood risks, which are increasing as the climate warms.
Oslo puts ecological riches at the heart of the city
30 Aug 2017
Norway wants urban gardeners to cultivate wildflowers and keep hives to reverse a decline in biodiversity.
In these highlands climate change is a death sentence
30 Aug 2017
Climate change should be taken as seriously as fighting insurgents, say those witnessing the savage impact first-hand.
ARCTIC FIRST: Ship sails top of the world without icebreaker
29 Aug 2017
A Russian tanker has travelled through the northern sea route in record speed and without an icebreaker escort for the first time, highlighting how climate change is opening up the high Arctic.
Climate change threatens Pacific Rim farm trade
29 Aug 2017
The United Nations agriculture agency is calling on Asia-Pacific economies to take a leading role in climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Kenya gets tough on plastic bags: four years or $40,000
29 Aug 2017
Kenyans producing, selling or even using plastic bags will risk imprisonment of up to four years or fines of $40,000.
Brazil abolishes huge Amazon reserve
29 Aug 2017
Brazilian president Michel Temer has abolished an Amazonian reserve the size of Denmark, prompting concerns of an influx of mineral companies, road-builders and workers into the species-rich forest.
Coal to power India for decades, says government
29 Aug 2017
Coal will maintain its dominant share of India’s electricity production for decades to come, according to a major report from the government.
Australian firm converts carbon emissions into 'green' concrete
28 Aug 2017
An Australian pilot project capturing carbon emissions and storing them in building materials aims to have a full-scale production plant by 2020.
Attenborough sees signs of hope for environment
28 Aug 2017
Sir David Attenborough says heis more encouraged about the future health of Earth than he has been for some time after a “worldwide shift” in attitudes.
I was an Exxon-funded climate scientist
28 Aug 2017
ExxonMobil’s deliberate attempts to sow doubt on the reality and urgency of climate change and their donations to front groups to disseminate false information about climate change have been public knowledge for a long time, now.
Victoria moves to enshrine renewables targets in law
25 Aug 2017
The Victorian government has introduced legislation to enshrine its renewable energy targets in law and establish a reverse auction mechanism to build 650 megawatts worth of new projects.
California pollution permits sell at highest price ever
25 Aug 2017
California has raised more than $640 million auctioning off permits for businesses to emit greenhouse gases as part of a program aimed at fighting climate change.
WALL WARS: Stop fighting and make Rio Grande grand again
25 Aug 2017
Rather than spending billions of dollars and squabbling about a border wall, the US and Mexico could adopt an alternative vision: regenerating the Rio Grande.
Big emissons savings as air passengers fly to rail
24 Aug 2017
A shift in travel from planes to trains between London and Central Scotland has helped to slash 681,064 tonnes of emissions.
There’s no saving the world without business
24 Aug 2017
The “We Are Still In” movement launched to send a message to US president Donald Trump over his Paris Agreement threat has grown to include more than 1500 businesses and investors, as well as nine states, more than 200 cities and counties, and more than 300 colleges and universities.
Brazilian downpours oust familiar drizzle
24 Aug 2017
Misty rain is giving way to fear of flash floods as Brazilian downpours cause chaos in the country’s biggest city.
COLOURFUL CANINES: Waste gives Mumbai dogs the blues
24 Aug 2017
Authorities in Mumbai have shut down a manufacturing company after it was accused of dumping untreated industrial waste and dyes into a local river that resulted in dogs turning blue.
Ford UK will pay to scrap 'dirty' pre-2009 cars
24 Aug 2017
Ford has announced a car and van scrappage scheme in a bid to get dirtier vehicles off the roads in the UK.
Tributes pour in for islands' climate hero Tony de Brum
24 Aug 2017
Friends and colleagues remember Tony de Brum as a fighter for nuclear justice and a safe climate future, after his death in Majuro aged 72.
Solar towers and storage plants will reshape energy markets
23 Aug 2017
The 150MW solar tower and molten salt storage plant to be built in South Australia could help to reshape Australian power markets, including the end of “baseload” power.
Premier renews warning states could go it alone
23 Aug 2017
South Australian premier Jay Weatherill has renewed his warning that Labor-led state governments could go it alone on energy policy if the Turnbull government can’t resolve its internal battle over the clean energy target.
Denmark just generated 140% of its power demand from wind
23 Aug 2017
On a particularly windy day recently, Denmark’s wind farms produced between 116 per cent and 140 per cent of the national electricity requirements ... and they weren’t even trying.
Will the US ever build another big coal plant?
23 Aug 2017
About 16 per cent of the US coal fleet has retired in the past five years, but don't expect major new coal-fired plants to fill that void.
UN fund puts millions into Egypt renewables
23 Aug 2017
In its biggest project to date, the UN’s flagship climate finance scheme is putting $150m toward developing wind, hydro and solar power in Egypt.
We can reach climate goals by 2040, says new study
22 Aug 2017
Countries could cut global carbon emissions in half by 2040 and stay well below the 2deg warming mark agreed to in the Paris Agreement, says a new report.
Islands need better data to manage climate losses
22 Aug 2017
In the Pacific and the Caribbean, island nations are already hit by climate change, but lack tools to measure the damage for leverage in international negotiations.
Dry winter primes NSW for 'horrific' fire season
22 Aug 2017
After a dry winter, NSW is preparing for an early start to bushfires with fire fighters forecasting an “horrific” season.
Swiss trees swelter as climate warms
22 Aug 2017
Foresters are being urged to plant tree species resilient to climate change to save the timber industry as Swiss trees swelter.
It's a good bet Norway will be first fully electrified society
21 Aug 2017
Norway has the renewable resources and political will to become the first country to use entirely clean electricity for its power demands.
How will the world's hottest city survive climate change?
21 Aug 2017
The summer temperature in Kuwait now frequently touches 50deg. The Gulf state last year was awarded the grim prize of being the hottest place on Earth, when temperatures reached a staggering 54deg.
Doomed by climate – but they still don't get it
21 Aug 2017
The Louisiana town of Cameron could be the first in the US to be fully submerged by rising sea levels – and yet locals, 90 per cent of whom voted for Trump, still aren’t convinced about climate change.
Walruses mob beach as Arctic sea ice disappears
21 Aug 2017
A remote island off Alaska has been mobbed by thousands of Pacific walruses in the earliest known "haul out" for the species.
Anchovies eat plastic because it smells like prey
21 Aug 2017
More than 50 species of fish have been found to consume plastic trash at sea ... bad news, not only for fish but potentially for humans who eat fish.
Trump cans no-sales rule on plastic bottles in parks
21 Aug 2017
The Trump administration's reversal of ban on the sale of plastic water bottles in national parks shows ‘the corporate agenda is king and people and environment are left behind’, say campaigners
Norway selling out-of-date food to help to tackle waste
18 Aug 2017
Supermarkets selling out-of-date produce and apps that identify food at risk of being binned are part of an ambitious plan to slash the nation’s food waste
Not burning fossil fuels saves thousands of US lives
18 Aug 2017
Fossil fuel not burnt because of wind and solar energy helped to avoid between 3000 and 12,700 premature deaths in the US between 2007 and 2015, says a new report.
INTERVIEW: New tack for Gore, but message just as powerful
18 Aug 2017
Al Gore's new film An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power is different from his first film – it is much more biographical and focuses on how Gore became the great climate change communicator.
California eyes massive climate research move
18 Aug 2017
California scientists are sketching plans for a home-grown climate-research institute - to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars per year.
Drought legacy can be a lingering death
18 Aug 2017
A climate hazard that doesn’t disappear when the rainclouds gather, drought’s lingering death can delay recovery a very long time.
South Australia to build solar thermal plant
18 Aug 2017
South Australia will build a 150MW solar thermal plant to bring clean, reliable power to the state.
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.
