International: All stories
Special report to scrutinise feasibility of 1.5deg
23 Aug 2016
The head of the United Nation’s climate body has called for a thorough assessment of the feasibility of the international goal to limit warming to 1.5deg.
Forest restoration can turn the clock back
23 Aug 2016
The ecological and carbon cost of rainforest destruction goes on accumulating for years after nations halt the conversion of canopy into farmland, scientists have found.
Here's how homeowners can beat the worry of rising seas
23 Aug 2016
A market-based initiative could help houseowners to escape from coastal properties under threat from rising seas.
Sustainability at the heart of Tokyo Games
23 Aug 2016
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has declared that sustainability will be a key objective of the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
Arctic faces boom in shipping as ice melts
22 Aug 2016
The luxury cruise ship Crystal Serenity is embarking on an historic voyage through the Arctic, and it’s likely to herald a surge in similar trips.
Australia home the Bear Grylls of desert plants
22 Aug 2016
It was in the mid-20th century when the American agricultural scientist Norman Borlaug showed us how to make wheat and rice stems shorter, to increase their yield.
Scientists must have Plan B for climate change
22 Aug 2016
Fertilising the oceans, painting the deserts white or sending umbrellas into orbit are some of the real things being explored by scientists as a Plan B for dealing with climate change.
Vancouver adopts zero-emissions building plan
22 Aug 2016
The city of Vancouver has sent a message to the green building sector: Efficient isn’t good enough. The city will require zero emissions from any new buildings by 2030.
Paris Agreement set to become law this year
19 Aug 2016
Fifty-seven countries accounting for 57.88 per cent of global emissions have now indicated they will ratify the Paris climate agreement before the end of 2016.
Philippines now likely to back UN climate deal
19 Aug 2016
Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte has backed down on his threat to ignore the Paris climate deal after a meeting with top US diplomat John Kerry.
Louisiana deluge could be just the start of something big
19 Aug 2016
Warmer air and sea temperatures conspire to add water vapor to the atmosphere, fueling intense rain events like the one that has devastated Louisiana this week.
It's time to listen to the ice scientists
19 Aug 2016
The Arctic’s ice is disappearing. We must reduce emissions, fast, or the human castastrophe predicted by ocean scientist Peter Wadhams will become reality.
Coal burning takes huge toll in China
19 Aug 2016
Burning coal has the worst health impact of any source of air pollution in China and caused 366,000 premature deaths in 2013, Chinese and American researchers said.
Barrier Reef donations could dry up
19 Aug 2016
Australia’s biggest environmental philanthropist says private investment to clean up the Great Barrier Reef reef ‘doesn’t make sense’ with current land clearing.
Japan moves on ratifying Paris this year
18 Aug 2016
The Japanese government has begun preparations to ratify the Paris climate deal by the end of the year.
UN host Peru cuts red tape for mining
18 Aug 2016
Peru has slashed environmental regulation in an effort to boost the economy, raising questions about its credibility as host of this year’s UN climate talks.
July Earth's hottest month in recorded history
17 Aug 2016
Earth just broiled to its hottest month in recorded history, according to NASA.
Mexico to trial cap-and-trade scheme
17 Aug 2016
Mexico will launch a year-long simulation of a cap-and-trade programme in November, in a test run for a national carbon market expected to launch in 2018.
CLIMATE CALL: Why America must go to war
16 Aug 2016
America’s next president must declare war on climate change in the same way President Franklin Roosevelt fought the Axis powers during World War Two, says climate activist Bill McKibben.
Toyota, Tesla and Vestas among top green companies
16 Aug 2016
Toyota, Tesla, Vestas, DONG Energy and Panasonic are among the top-ranked companies in the first Carbon Clean 200 list, which claims the world's greenest large companies are outperforming their more polluting counterparts by as much as three to one.
BARRIER BLUES: See the reef while you can
16 Aug 2016
The health of the Great Barrier Reef is declining – a fact that has not been lost on the world’s media.
Ethiopia chairs influential climate group
16 Aug 2016
Ethiopia has assumed the chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum from the Philippines, taking charge of a 43-country strong group committed to tougher climate targets.
Hillary Clinton signs up an army of climate experts
15 Aug 2016
Hillary Clinton has assembled a virtual army of formal and informal advisers on energy, the environment and climate change.
Global heat threatens to upset Paris climate summit targets
15 Aug 2016
The Earth is so hot this year that a limit for global warming agreed by world leaders at a climate summit in Paris just a few months ago is in danger of being breached.
HEAT'S ON: Climate will change the Olympic game
12 Aug 2016
Heat stress due to climate change will limit where and when the summer Olympics can be held in the future, according to new research from Auckland University.
Climate risk poorly represented by US firms
12 Aug 2016
Corporate America has a split personality when it comes to climate change.
ADB issues $1.3bn in global green bonds
12 Aug 2016
The Asian Development Bank has issued its inaugural green bond, and has now gathered $1.3 billion in order to finance climate change mitigation and adaptation projects.
Middle East heat wave could be global curtain-raiser
12 Aug 2016
Record-shattering temperatures this summer have scorched countries from Morocco to Saudi Arabia and beyond, as climate experts warn that the severe weather could be a harbinger of worse to come.
The world of climate change ... according to Donald Trump
11 Aug 2016
United States Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has repeated his pledge to get rid of his country’s climate change policies – including its commitment to the Paris Agreement – if he becomes president.
Global warming hit 1.46deg
11 Aug 2016
The first half of 2016 has seen astonishing growth in global average temperatures, building on similar growth in 2015, meaning that it is now all but certain that we will see a record, fifth, successive annual increase this year.
$81bn mobilised to tackle climate change
11 Aug 2016
Climate finance totaling $81 billion was mobilised for projects funded by the world’s six largest multilateral development banks in 2015.
Scientists make a bold prediction about sea level
11 Aug 2016
Climate scientists have just made a very bold prediction regarding sea level rise ... and we should know in a few years if they are correct.
Court backs Obama's climate change accounting
11 Aug 2016
The US Court of Appeals has unanimously upheld the Department of Energy's use of a carbon cost-benefit analysis to justify energy efficiency standards for commercial refrigerators.
Deadly bacteria spread as ocean temperatures rise
10 Aug 2016
Deadly bacteria are spreading through the oceans as waters warm up, and are increasing infection risks, according to a new study.
Republican ex-environment chiefs endorse Clinton
10 Aug 2016
Two Republican former chiefs of the US Environmental Protection Agency are endorsing Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton.
Why social inclusion matters for green growth
10 Aug 2016
From wetland protection in South Africa to scrapping fossil fuel subsidies in Indonesia, the best climate policies are pro-poor.
Bennett: We can look after the Pacific
9 Aug 2016
The climate change minister says New Zealand’s post-2020 emissions reduction target is sufficient to help to protect Pacific nations from the impacts of climate change.
Global climate deal likely to enter into force this year
9 Aug 2016
A global agreement on climate change looks likely to enter into force this year, a new study shows.
Residents to get cash payments from fracking
9 Aug 2016
UK Prime Minister Theresa May has intervened to allow people who live near sites used for shale gas exploration to be given cash payments so that they benefit from the developments.
Waste of resources seen as biggest threat to planet
9 Aug 2016
Scotland’s environment agency has warned the country’s industries and farmers that their waste and inefficiency is now the biggest threat to the environment, overtaking pollution.
Rio opening ceremony calls for action on climate change
8 Aug 2016
Rio de Janeiro opened its Olympics with a deeper message regarding the planet.
Why Siberian anthrax outbreak is a bad sign for our future
8 Aug 2016
The anthrax outbreak in Siberia is offering us a preview: What was once considered a future theoretical possibility  - a re-animated deadly bacterium emerging from the permafrost  - is now a reality.
Greenland melt could expose Cold War waste
8 Aug 2016
When the US military abandoned Camp Century, a complex of tunnels dug into the ice of northwest Greenland, in the mid-1960s, they left behind thousands of tonnes of waste, including hazardous radioactive and chemical materials.
Scientists tease out climate-zika link
8 Aug 2016
Athletes and tourists in Brazil are crowding into a country where rapid environmental change and natural weather fluctuations nurtured a viral epidemic that has gone global.
Can ‘climate corridors’ help species to adapt?
8 Aug 2016
If you flip over a log in a forest in the southeastern US, you are likely to find a squirming salamander. A healthy forest floor, full of fallen branches and rotting leaves, provides these amphibians with the moisture, protection and food they need to survive and thrive.
'Virtual' battery storage plant will ease price spikes
8 Aug 2016
A 5MW battery storage ‘virtual power plant’ will be established in South Australia in a bid to stabilise volatile power prices and support renewable energy.
Turnbull orders CSIRO jobs u-turn
5 Aug 2016
Only 20 climate science positions will be lost from Australia's CSIRO, down from an initial 96, after the Turnbull government intervened, issuing a ministerial directive to the independent agency.
Cities rush to join climate drive after Paris
5 Aug 2016
The Paris climate deal has inspired a surge of cities signing up to do their bit in preparing for weird weather and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
California issues first-in-US compliance plan
5 Aug 2016
California's landmark cap-and-trade programme for carbon emissions and proposed amendments to extend that system will be used to comply with US EPA's Clean Power Plan.
500 Australian businesses back 75% climate target
Today 10:46am
Atlassian, Canva and Fortescue are among a coalition of more than 500 businesses operating in Australia that are backing a 75% emissions reduction target for 2030, which modelling from Deloitte found was technically achievable.
Ørsted shares at all-time low after Trump halts work on US windfarm
Today 10:46am
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
Today 10:46am
China will tighten its carbon trading market by introducing absolute emissions caps in some industries for the first time starting by 2027.
EU wildfires hit new record as flames scorch area larger than Cyprus
Mon 25 Aug 2025
The area burned this year has exceeded the 1 million hectare mark for the first time since records started in 2006.
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.
India needs $467 billion climate finance by 2030 to decarbonise 4 key sectors
Mon 25 Aug 2025
India will need to mobilise USD $467 billion in climate finance by 2030 to put four of its most carbon-intensive sectors – power, steel, cement and transport – on a low-carbon pathway.
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'
Fri 22 Aug 2025
Scientists say there is emerging evidence of abrupt and potentially unstoppable changes in the Antarctic environment.
Africa’s top climate change challenges: a fairer deal on phasing out fossil fuels and mobilising funds
Fri 22 Aug 2025
African countries have made binding commitments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. To do this, they will need to shift to renewable energy and stop mining and using fossil fuels like oil and coal.
Amazon nations pledge support for Brazil's COP30 rainforest fund
Today 10:46am
The fund will be backed by an initial, one-time $25-billion contribution from donor nations, along with $100 billion in private funds.
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.
