International: All stories
Anxious oil countries look at low-carbon future
13 Dec 2016
Squeezed budgets and rising energy demand will significantly heighten the demand and use of renewable and energy efficiency technologies across the Middle East, says a new white paper.
Canada sets first carbon price at $10 a tonne
12 Dec 2016
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that carbon pollution will cost $10 ($NZ10.63) a tonne in 2018, rising by $10 a year until it reaches $50 ($NZ53.16) in 2022.
Trump lines up ardent climate denier for key green post
12 Dec 2016
Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a sixth-term Republican from Washington State who is a climate change denier and an ardent opponent of regulations for greenhouse gas emissions, has been nominated by US President-elect Donald Trump for Secretary of Interior.
Earth's bulging wasteline is becoming a problem
12 Dec 2016
In school, we learnt that the tropical zone is defined as the hot region of our planet – between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.
Climate deniers face scientific pushback
12 Dec 2016
People who argue that climate change is not happening or that the scientific case for it is overstated – climate deniers – should probably start preparing for a more robust response from scientists themselves.
Trump pick to head EPA is climate sceptic
9 Dec 2016
Donald Trump has reportedly nominated an attorney-general who has sued and reviled the Environmental Protection Agency to be the body’s new chief.
South Australia says states could go it alone
9 Dec 2016
States could go it alone on a carbon scheme for the electricity sector after the federal government ruled one out, South Australia’s premier says.
Chief scientist criticises climate policy chaos
9 Dec 2016
Australia's chief scientist Alan Finkel says investment in the electricity sector has stalled because of “policy instability and uncertainty”. And he has warned that current federal climate policy settings will not allow Australia to meet its emissions reduction targets under the Paris agreement.
Indonesia bans destruction of peatlands
9 Dec 2016
In potentially one of the biggest climate commitments since the 2015 Paris deal was agreed, Indonesia has banned development on its remaining 15 million hectares of peatlands.
London to double funding to tackle air pollution
9 Dec 2016
Campaigners, health charities and neighbourhood groups have welcomed plans by London mayor Sadiq Khan to more than double funding to clean up the capital’s dirty air.
GLASS GIANTS: How cities are forcing skyscrapers to evolve
8 Dec 2016
Slick, glassy skyscrapers cast their shadows over the streets and spaces of cities all over the world.
Climate change threatens risk management
8 Dec 2016
The ability of the global insurance industry to manage society’s risks is being threatened by climate change, according to a new report.
Protesters get court to block plans for Polish coal plant
8 Dec 2016
Campaigners have won a court case to block construction of a 1.6GW coal plant in northern Poland.
Anxious states await extreme bushfire season
8 Dec 2016
New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory are bracing for another severe bushfire season, as climate change continues to drive extreme conditions, a new report says.
There’s a secret UN climate summit taking place in Mexico
8 Dec 2016
There’s a UN climate change meeting involving nearly 200 governments taking place right now in the Mexican holiday resort of Cancun.
Japan's emissions drop to five-year low
7 Dec 2016
Japan's greenhouse gas emissions fell 3 per cent to a five-year low in the financial year through March due to lower power demand, growing renewable energy and the restart of nuclear power plants.
Frydenberg backtracks on emissions trading
7 Dec 2016
Australia's energy and environment minister, Josh Frydenberg, has folded in the face of internal pressure, declaring the Turnbull government will not pursue emissions trading as part of adjusting its climate policy.
Climate change will stir ‘unimaginable’ crisis
7 Dec 2016
Climate change is set to cause a refugee crisis of “unimaginable scale,” according to senior military figures, who warn that global warming is the greatest security threat of the 21st century.
Fiji turns beauty queen into climate queen
7 Dec 2016
Miss Pacific Islands 2016, 23-year-old law graduate Anne Dunn, has been appointed Fiji’s ambassador for climate change and the environment.
Anxious investors plead for clear climate policy
6 Dec 2016
Australian investors want clear climate policy that delivers certainty – and access to international carbon markets, says the Investor Group on Climate Change.
Australian lines companies call for carbon trading
6 Dec 2016
Australia’s electricity and gas transmission industry is calling on the Turnbull government to implement a form of carbon trading in the national electricity market by 2022 and review the scope for economy-wide carbon pricing by 2027.
GORE on TRUMP: No time for despair
6 Dec 2016
The urgent threat of climate change means there is “no time to despair” over the election of Donald Trump, according to former vice-president Al Gore.
China sets 2020 target for clean air in big cities
6 Dec 2016
China aims to provide clean air in its largest cities for 80 per cent of each year, or more than nine-and-a-half months, by 2020, up from a figure of 76.7 per cent last year.
GRITTY GIFT: Windborne dust is Africa's export to the world
6 Dec 2016
Climate scientists have identified Africa’s single biggest export – the windborne dust that fertilises the Amazon forests, nourishes life in the Atlantic ocean and softens the noonday blaze of the sun.
Denmark slashes food waste by 25 per cent in just five years
6 Dec 2016
Denmark has cut food waste by 25 per cent in five years, thanks to a new approach to damaged and out-of-date food.
Canberra climate review to focus on emissions target
5 Dec 2016
The Turnbull government will maintain its blanket ban on the introduction of an emissions trading scheme and has ruled out an increase to the renewable energy target ahead of its long-awaited review of its climate change policy next year.
Soil holds 50 trillion kilograms of carbon
5 Dec 2016
More than 50 trillion kilograms of carbon could be released into the atmosphere from the soil by mid-century if no moves to mitigate climate change are successful, says a new report.
More and more people are getting into bigger trouble
2 Dec 2016
On average, one person is displaced each second by a disaster-related hazard. In global terms, that’s about 26 million people a year.
Why the world's cities need to go on a resource diet
2 Dec 2016
The importance of cities is only going to increase in coming decades as another 2.5 billion people move to urban centres.
Trading group hails EU climate strategy move
2 Dec 2016
The European Commission’s Winter Package is a further step toward harmonising the bloc’s climate and energy strategy, says the International Emissions Trading Association.
Antarctic search begins for world's oldest ice
1 Dec 2016
As the short Antarctic spring ends and long summer days approach, geoscientists are flocking to the frozen continent to start a new kind of exploration.
EU targets energy waste and coal in new climate deal
1 Dec 2016
Europe will begin phasing out coal subsidies and cut its energy use by 30 per cent before the end of the next decade, under a major clean energy package just announced.
Cement giants get €5b carbon market windfall
1 Dec 2016
The EU carbon market's generous handouts to industries deemed at risk of losing business abroad are undermining the system, a watchdog has warned.
How two clothing tycoons saved Patagonia
1 Dec 2016
Alongside her husband, Doug, Kris McDivitt Tompkins bought up vast swaths of Patagonia to save it from developers.
Paris deal needs US, warns White House
30 Nov 2016
The world will not achieve its climate goals without an active US administration leading on greenhouse gas cuts, the White House has warned.
Americans begin to fear for public lands
30 Nov 2016
Donald Trump’s election portends a major shift in how one of America’s greatest bulwarks against the impacts of climate change will be protected and used for fossil fuel development.
Antarctic ice sheet breaking from the inside out
30 Nov 2016
An ice sheet in West Antarctica is breaking from the inside out.
As envoys bicker, it’s time to focus on real climate action
29 Nov 2016
Countries have two years of arguing over the fine-print of the Paris climate deal ahead of them: it’s time to focus on what’s happening in the real world.
Weapons of war litter the ocean floor
29 Nov 2016
At least one million tonnes of chemical weapons were dumped in the oceans between 1919 and 1980. Now what?
Arctic ice melt could trigger uncontrollable global change
28 Nov 2016
Arctic scientists have warned that the increasingly rapid melting of the ice cap risks triggering 19 “tipping points” in the region that could have catastrophic consequences around the globe.
Sydney finds a use for billions of takeaway coffee cups
28 Nov 2016
Standalone bins for takeaway coffee cups could soon be a common sight in offices across Sydney as cups are collected and made into useful items.
Bolivia battles water crisis as glaciers vanish
28 Nov 2016
The government of Bolivia has been forced to declare a state of emergency as it faces its worst drought for at least 25 years.
Floods do an important job, so get out of their way
28 Nov 2016
Floods are often seen as a force of destruction, but river ecologists find it hard not to see a positive side to the events.
Fish found to thrive in high levels of CO2
28 Nov 2016
British scientists have identified a paradox in research on the impact of extra carbon dioxide on the world’s oceans.
Tesla powers entire Pacific island using solar energy
25 Nov 2016
American automaker and energy storage company Tesla Motors has powered the Pacific island Ta’u almost entirely from solar energy.
Can Americans turn Black Friday green?
25 Nov 2016
While shoppers scramble for Black Friday bargains this year, outdoor retailer REI is closing its 145 US stores. This is the second consecutive year the Seattle-based company will ignore the frenzy that traditionally marks the start of the holiday shopping season.
How seasonal weather can affect human health
25 Nov 2016
Melbourne has suffered what appears to be the most lethal episode of thunderstorm asthma on record.
Will China and Europe form a powerful climate bloc?
24 Nov 2016
It seems almost certain that US President-elect Donald Trump will walk away from the Paris climate agreement next year. In the absence of US leadership, the question is: who will step up?
Australia welcomes Trump's fossil fuels vow
24 Nov 2016
Australia’s environment and energy minister Josh Frydenberg has welcomed Donald Trump’s commitment to lift Obama administration’s restrictions on fossil fuel exploration within his first 100 days in the White House, saying the move will be a boon for consumers.
EU pollution rules could save 200,000 lives a year
24 Nov 2016
The European Parliament has voted in favour of new EU rules to cap air pollution, which will curb the single largest environmental cause of premature death in urban Europe.
Battery subsidy scheme set for 'urgent' overhaul as costs run out of control
16 Dec 2025
Australian Energy Minister Chris Bowen has announced big changes to the government's battery subsidy scheme amid claims most of its $2.3 billion budget has been spent in just six months.
EPA erases references to human-caused climate change from websites
19 Dec 2025
EPA has scrubbed references to people’s contribution to rising temperatures from some of its climate change webpages.
Verra cancels four tree planting projects in China. And starts reviews of 45 more projects
16 Dec 2025
“Multiple carbon projects in China are facing serious allegations regarding the authenticity of government approval documents."
France updates its 2050 carbon neutrality roadmap
17 Dec 2025
To mark the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, France released a revamped climate plan promising to phase out oil and gas and sharply increase electricity use.
Net-zero scenario is ‘cheapest option’ for UK, says energy system operator
15 Dec 2025
A scenario that meets the “net-zero by 2050” goal would be the “cheapest” option for the UK, according to modelling by the National Energy System Operator (NESO).
The ecological havens flourishing beneath power lines
19 Dec 2025
Initiatives to foster native wildflowers, grasses and shrubs are turning utility corridors into wildlife corridors.
‘Not normal’: Climate crisis supercharged deadly monsoon floods in Asia
12 Dec 2025
Cyclones like those in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Malaysia that killed 1,750 are ‘alarming new reality’.
Pacific fisheries summit gives a boost to albacore and seabirds
19 Dec 2025
Much of the world’s albacore tuna catch, which usually ends up in a can, comes from the southwestern Pacific Ocean, where fishery managers just passed a new set of conservation rules.
Arctic endured year of record heat as climate scientists warn of ‘winter being redefined’
18 Dec 2025
Region known as ‘world’s refrigerator’ is heating up as much as four times as quickly as global average, Noaa experts say.
Are rainforests now a cause of, rather than the answer to, climate change?
15 Dec 2025
A new study finds that Africa’s forests, responsible for one-fifth of global carbon removal, are beginning to generate carbon as the result of human activity.
Thousands of climate disasters are not included in official reports from Amazonian countries
12 Dec 2025
More than 12,500 extreme weather events impacted the Amazon and its population in 10 years, but countries have not generated enough information about it, according to a new scientific study.
UN environment report 'hijacked' by US and others over fossil fuels, top scientist says
11 Dec 2025
A key UN report on the state of the global environment has been "hijacked" by the United States and other countries who were unwilling to go along with the scientific findings, the co-chair has told the BBC.
