International: All stories
Norway's gas emissions rise despite promised cuts
23 May 2016
Norway's greenhouse gas emissions rose by 1.5 per cent last year, lifted by the oil and gas sector and industry, making it harder for Oslo to keep promises of deep cuts to limit global warming.
What does Trump really think about climate change?
23 May 2016
So far, Donald J. Trump has said very little about climate change and energy policy beyond his Twitter posts on the issues. But more clues about Trump’s views on environmental issues have emerged from a four-page briefing on energy policy prepared him by Republican Kevin Cramer, of North Dakota.
We might never again see CO2 levels drop below 400ppm
20 May 2016
Just three years ago this month, the carbon dioxide monitoring station atop Hawaii's Mauna Loa reached a significant milestone: the first measurement of CO2 concentrations that exceeded the benchmark of 400 parts per million. Now, they may never again dip below it.
The Earth is not flat, it is urban, says UN report
20 May 2016
The urban population of developing countries will double by 2030, while the area covered by cities could triple, says a new United Nations report.
It looks like this year will be the hottest ever recorded
20 May 2016
Odds are increasing that 2016 will be the hottest year on the books, as April continued a remarkable streak of record-warm months.
Carney backs insurance drive for Paris climate deal
20 May 2016
Bank of England governor Mark Carney has added his name to a high-level list of leading insurers who have committed to help developing countries to cope with climate impacts.
Queen's Speech: Govt will do something, just don't ask what
20 May 2016
The near complete absence of climate change from the UK's annual parliamentary set piece only underscores the sense of drift within government on a host of environmental and energy issues.
Go-ahead Ontario adopts carbon trading scheme
19 May 2016
The Canadian province of Ontario is going carbon trading.
Future climate could cast shade on renewables
19 May 2016
Fighting climate change will involve massive changes to the way Australia produces and distributes energy.
France sets kickstart carbon price floor at almost $50
18 May 2016
France will set a carbon price floor of about €30 ($NZ49.88) a tonne in its 2017 finance bill as the government seeks to kickstart broader European action to cut emissions and drive forward last year’s landmark international climate accord.
Climate adaptation gap grows wider
18 May 2016
The cost of coping with climate change in the developing world has just gone up. According to a report from the United Nations Environment Programme, it may have increased five-fold.
UN urges speed as records show wild warming
18 May 2016
Record global temperatures, raging forest fires and multiple droughts should spur countries to start ramping up greenhouse gas cuts, the UN’s climate chief warned in Bonn yesterday.
Vanuatu wants to be 100% renewable by 2030
18 May 2016
Vanuatu is planning to source 100 per cent of its electricity from renewables by 2030.
Ontario to spend $7bn on sweeping climate plan
17 May 2016
The Ontario government will spend more than $7 billion over four years on a sweeping climate change plan that will affect every aspect of life – from what people drive to how they heat their homes and workplaces – in a bid to slash the province’s carbon footprint.
Fairness key as UN begins strengthening Paris deal
17 May 2016
The dust has long settled from December’s Paris climate summit, which hammered out the first truly global deal to reduce emissions.
CHINA: Carbon trading in a non-market economy
17 May 2016
The world's leading emitter of greenhouse gases has spent 15 years scouting the globe to learn from the mistakes of other nations and find the best ways to build a trading system of its own, which could become the world's largest.
Coal-free SA could fill the gap with batteries
17 May 2016
South Australia’s last coal-fired power station closed last week, leaving the state with only gas and wind power generators.
Trump's new energy adviser is a climate sceptic
17 May 2016
Donald Trump's new energy adviser calls himself a climate sceptic, but he may urge the billionaire celebrity to address climbing temperatures through a hands-off government approach.
Summer storms will bring flash floods to cities
16 May 2016
Scientists warn that global warming will lead to more intense and concentrated summer storms, seriously testing city drainage systems already struggling to cope.
Naomi Klein criticises Australia's lack of climate action
16 May 2016
Canadian author and social activist Naomi Klein has criticised Australia’s climate change policies after winning the Sydney Peace prize for her work exposing the structural causes of the climate crisis.
Troubled Brazil prepares to roll back green laws
16 May 2016
Amidst the turmoil of the presidential impeachment process, members of Brazil’s Congress are set to dismantle environmental protection laws.
World’s poorest urge early climate change action
16 May 2016
A coalition of the world’s poorest countries will ask the developed world to boost their planned greenhouse gas cuts when they meet for UN climate talks in Bonn this week.
Unbearable heat will force populations to flee
13 May 2016
Temperatures in the Middle East and North Africa could reach unbearably high levels that would make some regions uninhabitable and increase the pressures of climate refugees.
Gates Foundation divests entire holding in BP
13 May 2016
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has sold off its entire holding in oil giant BP, in a move welcomed by fossil fuel divestment campaigners.
Air pollution rising at alarming rate in cities
13 May 2016
Outdoor air pollution has grown 8 per cent globally in the past five years, with billions of people around the world now exposed to dangerous air, according to new datafrom more than 3000 cities
GRAPHIC EVIDENCE: Watch the temperature spiral
12 May 2016
The steady rise of Earth’s temperature as greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere and trap more and more heat is sending the planet spiraling closer to the point where warming’s catastrophic consequences may be all but assured.
New York targets bike lanes record
12 May 2016
New York is on target to set a new record this year for laying down protected bike lanes in the city.
Could baby steps be best climate strategy?
12 May 2016
Could baby steps be the best way to make international progress on slashing greenhouse gas emissions instead of trying to strike a bold and grand bargain among world powers?
NOWHERE TO HIDE: Eyes in the sky would map all emissions
11 May 2016
The world’s space agencies are calling for a new generation of satellites that would be precise enough to map greenhouse gas emissions from individual nations.
Banks ignoring climate risk face credit downgrade
11 May 2016
Banks face credit rating downgrade if they fail to address risks associated with climate change, Standard&Poors has warned.
How your garden could help to stop city flooding
11 May 2016
Urban flooding represents the most common yet severe environmental threat to cities and towns worldwide.
Top palm oil producer sues green group
11 May 2016
One of the world’s largest palm oil producers is suing the green body that suspended its sustainability certification last month because of allegations it had deforested Indonesian rainforests.
Australia delays ETS report till after election
10 May 2016
The release of the results of a review into whether Australia should have an emissions trading scheme is being delayed until after that country’s general election in July, prompting suggestions of political interference.
Change to clean energy means massive social change
10 May 2016
Global climate change, driven by human emissions of greenhouse gases, is already affecting the planet, with more heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and floods, and accelerating sea-level rise.
Philippines probes oil companies over climate change
10 May 2016
Can Chevron, ExxonMobil and BP be held accountable for the vulnerable communities most affected by climate change? It’s a question a legal case in the Philippines could answer.
Exxon scrambles to contain climate crusade
10 May 2016
A green campaign to make the company pay for climate change is besieging the oil industry and its conservative allies.
Shanghai to allow use of surplus permits
10 May 2016
The Shanghai carbon market, one of China's pilot emissions trading schemes, will allow participants to use surplus permits from the past three years of trading to comply with emissions targets over 2016-2018.
Tourism firms urge Canberra to tackle climate change
10 May 2016
Tourism operators have broken their silence about the worst crisis ever faced by the Great Barrier Reef, with more than 170 businesses and individuals pleading with the Australian government to take urgent action to tackle climate change and ensure the reef survives.
CLIMATE REFUGEES: G20 group wants clarification
9 May 2016
A G20 group is pushing for urgent clarification of the status of climate change refugees.
LOST ISLANDS OF THE SOLOMONS: Finally, scientists have the evidence
9 May 2016
At least five reef islands in the Solomon Islands have been lost completely to sea-level rise and coastal erosion, and a further six islands have been severely eroded.
Climate confusion creeps into Trump camp
9 May 2016
Perhaps you think nothing else could surprise you in the run-up to this year’s US presidential election, with Donald Trump to be the Republican candidate. You could be wrong.
Canberra spends $500m in Direct Action auctions
9 May 2016
The Australian Government has funded projects to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to the tune of half-a-billion dollars in the latest round of the Direct Action auctions.
Rush for mega-mergers puts food security at risk
9 May 2016
The global agrochemical and seed industry is undergoing profound upheaval, with a spate of mergers and attempted mergers consolidating the sector and raising concerns about the future of the food system.
NUT CASE: Thirsty California turns on its most famous crop
6 May 2016
When California entered the fourth year of drought, everyone wanted to know what had gone wrong.
Enviro scorecard shows Australia again in decline
6 May 2016
After some unusually wet years, Australia's landscape and ecosystems have once again returned to poorer conditions that were last experienced during the Millennium Drought.
Green bonds market to hit record $70bn in 2016
6 May 2016
The global green bonds market will hit a record $US70 billion this year, according to an estimate from Moody’s Investors Services.
London's dirty mayoral fight sidelines green policies
6 May 2016
The London Mayoral campaign has been divisive and brutish, and admirable green policies risk becoming collateral damage.
Limiting oil exploration makes financial sense
6 May 2016
Limiting oil exploration is not just good for the climate, it is good for investors. That is the conclusion of analysis from Carbon Tracker ahead of key shareholder votes at ExxonMobil and Chevron AGMs this month.
Norwegian to be UN environment chief
6 May 2016
Erik Solheim of Norway is set to be named the new Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme.
How Trump's election would derail Paris cimate deal
5 May 2016
The election of Donald Trump would derail the landmark agreement on climate change reached in Paris last December, the architect of the accord has warned.
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.
