International: All stories
China eyes $1 trillion for low-carbon cities
15 Jun 2016
Investment of $1 trillion is needed over the next five years to build low-carbon cities in China, according to a new report.
Flood-hit farmers demand climate action
15 Jun 2016
Flood-affected Tasmanian farmers want to see more action on climate change, a topic which has received little debate during the election campaign.
Farewell, 400 parts per million
14 Jun 2016
The past 12 months have seen a record surge in carbon dioxide emissions say scientists, driven by the burning of fossil fuels and boosted by a rampant El Nino phenomenon.
Ex-Deutsche banker jailed for carbon trading fraud
14 Jun 2016
A former Deutsche Bank employee has been sentenced to three years in jail for his part in a scheme trading carbon emission permits to fraudulently collect $NZ350 million in sales tax.
Plastic-bag recycling heads to southern stores
13 Jun 2016
A plastic-bag recycling programme is being extended to Christchurch, and is expected to collect 75 tonnes of soft plastic a year.
New map shows the dark side of artificial light at night
13 Jun 2016
More than a third of humanity cannot see the Milky Way due to light pollution, and a new wave of energy-efficient lighting could make the problem much worse.
EU gears up to ratify Paris agreement
13 Jun 2016
The Brussels bureaucracy has made its first step towards ratifying the Paris climate agreement. In a nudge to national governments, the European Commission published a draft motion for the Council of Leaders to consider.
Trump once backed urgent climate action
13 Jun 2016
As negotiators headed to Copenhagen in December 2009 to forge a global climate pact, concerned U.S. business leaders and liberal luminaries took out a full-page ad in the New York Times calling for aggressive climate action.
Victoria sets date to be carbon neutral
10 Jun 2016
The State of Victoria is pledging to be carbon-neutral by 2050.
Scientists puzzle over Antarctica’s long-term ice loss
10 Jun 2016
Analysis of satellite data records reveals that the worrying loss of hundreds of square kilometres of ice along West Antarctica’s coastline has been occurring for decades.
Arctic sea ice falls to record low for May
10 Jun 2016
Arctic sea ice fell to its lowest-ever May extent, prompting fears that this year could beat 2012 for the record of worst ever summer sea ice melt.
US and India sign $1b renewable energy pact
9 Jun 2016
The US and India partnered on new renewable energy initiatives totalling a $1 billion during Prime Minister Narenda Modi’s visit to the White House this week.
Carbon story part three out now
9 Jun 2016
Are you ready for the next instalment in the story of the birth of the world’s carbon markets?
EU climate negotiations set to strain unity
9 Jun 2016
A united Europe pushed for an ambitious global climate pact in Paris last December – and got it. Now it is time to deliver, that unity will be put to the test. Between a wayward Warsaw, refugee crisis and the Brexit threat, the European project is coming under strain.
Norway brings forward carbon neutral target to 2030
9 Jun 2016
Norway has agreed on a 2030 target to cut net greenhouse gas emissions to zero, 20 years earlier than the previous deadline.
Bennett reaffirms energy aid for islands
8 Jun 2016
Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett has repeated New Zealand’s commitment to helping Pacific communities to withstand the impacts of climate change, after witnessing them first-hand.
Cities need a clean-up as massive storms pump pollution into the sea
8 Jun 2016
The massive storms that have lashed Australia’s east coast over the past few days are not just a threat to lives and property, but also to marine wildlife.
Great Barrier Reef a catastrophe laid bare
8 Jun 2016
Australia’s natural wonder is in mortal danger. Bleaching caused by climate change has killed almost a quarter of the Great Barrier Reef's coral this year and many scientists believe it could be too late for the rest.
Korea looks for ways to boost carbon trading
7 Jun 2016
The Korean government is seeking ways to boost carbon emissions rights trading, which is failing to take root in the country.
EU companies embrace circular economy thinking
7 Jun 2016
A new survey says 70 per cent of EU companies are implementing a circular economy strategy, but there is still work to be done on renewable energy and water consumption.
Queensland bankrolls council climate projects
3 Jun 2016
The Queensland Labor government will bankroll projects by coastal councils to mitigate the effects of rising sea levels, less than two years after its Liberal National predecessor banned mentions of climate change impacts from planning policy.
Temperature records tumble in Australia
3 Jun 2016
Australia has posted its hottest autumn on record, with Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane among the cities to post their warmest temperatures for the season, as the giant El Nino in the Pacific wound down.
Part two of carbon trading story out now
2 Jun 2016
The second chapter of From Kyoto to Paris, an oral history of the development of emissions trading, has been released.
Genghis could conquer anything … except climate change
2 Jun 2016
Climate fluctuation not only miight have paved the way for Genghis Khan’s conquests of Asia in the 13th century, sudden climatic change might also have halted the Mongol invasion of Europe, according to new research.
China hitting climate targets ahead of schedule
2 Jun 2016
China’s 13th five-year plan is quite possibly the most important document in the world in setting the pace of acting on climate change.
Temperature spiral has an update and it's not pretty
1 Jun 2016
The temperature spiral that took the world by storm has an update. If you think the heat is on in our current climate, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Indian army marches into climate change battle
1 Jun 2016
As part of its effort to improve forest cover and so soak up climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions, the government in India has an unlikely partner – the Indian Army.
China set to blitz 2020 climate goal
1 Jun 2016
China expects coal use to fall and greenhouse gas emissions to flatline through 2016, according to analysis of the government’s energy strategy by Greenpeace.
Most Australian voters support renewable energy
1 Jun 2016
Battery storage technology has the potential to reshape not just the energy and transport sectors but also the upcoming Australian federal election, according to a new report.
TEN YEARS ON: How An Inconvenient Truth made its mark on climate debate
31 May 2016
Ten years ago, An Inconvenient Truth opened in cinemas in the United States.
G7 pledges to end fossil fuel subsidies by 2025
31 May 2016
The G7 nations have for the first time set a deadline for the ending most fossil fuel subsidies, saying government support for coal, oil and gas should end by 2025.
Is the real rich v poor climate battle about to start?
31 May 2016
Two weeks of UN talks in Bonn underline the scope and scale of the challenge facing governments as they work out the implications of the 2015 Paris deal.
Green Climate Fund has more money than projects
31 May 2016
The UN’s flagship climate fund says it will miss a target to approve $2.5 billion of new projects in 2016 unless more countries submit proposals.
We’re kidding ourselves if we think we can reset Earth’s damaged ecosystems
30 May 2016
Earth is in a land-degradation crisis.
Australia’s low-emissions roadmap a trip to nowhere
30 May 2016
The Australian Government on Friday made a low-key announcement of its new Low Emissions Technology Roadmap. To be developed by the CSIRO, it will aim to “highlight areas of growth in Australia’s clean technology sector”.
Under the sea, life's good in the octopus’ garden
30 May 2016
Squid are on the move, octopus are going up in the world, and cuttlefish have made themselves at home in a changing ocean.
Australia scrubbed from UN climate change report
30 May 2016
Every reference to Australia was scrubbed from the final version of a major UN report on climate change after the Australian government intervened, objecting that the information could harm tourism.
UP or OUT: Which way for our growing cities?
27 May 2016
We almost expect that any large-scale, big impact inner-city development will be a skyscraper, but for smaller cities in the UK these proposals can still appear as fairly extreme, and their approval contentious.
California cap-and-trade auction falls well short
27 May 2016
The latest auction in California’s cap-and-trade market for greenhouse gases fell sharply below expectations, as buyers purchased just 2 per cent of the carbon credits whose sale funds a variety of state programmes -- notably, the proposed high-speed rail project.
Exxon tried to censor climate scientists
26 May 2016
ExxonMobil moved to squash a well-established congressional lecture series on climate science just nine days after the presidential inauguration of George W Bush, a former oil executive.
Bayer readies massive cash offer for Monsanto
25 May 2016
German pharmaceutical giant Bayer has announced its intention to offer $62 billion in cash to take over agrochemical company Monsanto, as the debate over the use of the pesticide glyphosate continues.
Climate groups join forces for election blitz
25 May 2016
An unprecedented level of coordination between Australian climate activists and conservation groups is aiming to raise the profile of climate change in this year’s election.
Coastal climate law shift is a landmark reform
25 May 2016
Coastal management in Australia is subject to competing interests and challenges. These range from land use and strategic planning issues to ecosystems preservation.
Schools ditch textbooks that question climate change
25 May 2016
Schools in Portland, Oregon, have voted to abandon textbooks that “express doubt about the severity of the climate crisis or its root in human activities”.
EATING AUSSIES: Dining on kangaroos and camels could help the environment
24 May 2016
We might be what we eat, but our dietary choices also affect the health of the environment, and farmers' back pockets.
World could warm by 10deg if all fossil fuels are burned
24 May 2016
The planet would warm by searing 10degC if all fossil fuels are burned, according to a new study, leaving some regions uninhabitable and wreaking profound damage on human health, food supplies and the global economy.
Cities ‘woefully unprepared’ for rising disaster risk
24 May 2016
Cities around the world are failing to plan for fast-increasing risks from extreme weather and other hazards, particularly as population growth and surging migration put more people in the path of those threats, the World Bank says.
Early oil company records show patents for e-cars
23 May 2016
The forerunners of ExxonMobil patented technologies for electric cars and low emissions vehicles as early as 1963 – even as the oil industry lobby tried to squash government funding for such research, according to a trove of newly discovered records.
ELECTION 2016: Climate politics off to a chilly start
23 May 2016
One week into Australia's extended federal election campaign, climate has not featured prominently.
Want to know if the Paris climate deal is working?
23 May 2016
The Paris climate agreement has been praised for sending a strong signal to the world that we are now serious about cutting greenhouse emissions.
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.
