International: All stories
Death toll from deforestation fires could top 100,000
8 Feb 2017
The haze from Indonesia's deforestation fires in 2015 might have caused the premature deaths of more than 100,000 people in southeast Asia.
Fiscal policy plays big part in climate battle
8 Feb 2017
Fiscal policies introduced by governments in developing countries can have a significant effect on lowering harmful carbon emissions and help them to meet their Paris Agreement targets, a study has found
Europe puts faith in China to lead the war on climate change
7 Feb 2017
Faced with a possible US retreat on climate efforts, European officials fear a leadership vacuum will embolden those seeking to slow the fight against global warming.
The next migrant wave will be climate refugees
7 Feb 2017
Imagine that you are a farmer. Your crops are withering as weather patterns become more volatile, your well water is too salty to drink and rice is too expensive to buy at the market. So, you leave home in search of a better life.
UK must not cool stance on global warming
7 Feb 2017
One of Britain’s most senior scientists has expressed concern that action to tackle global warming is sliding down the government’s list of priorities despite its ratification of the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Republicans back off bill to sell public land
7 Feb 2017
US congressman Jason Chaffetz has announced that he will withdraw a bill he introduced last week that would have ordered the incoming secretary of the interior to immediately sell off 3.3m acres of national land.
Global emissions get a bad break from video streaming
3 Feb 2017
The internet is fast becoming a major source of global carbon emissions – and the main cause is video demand, the increasing popularity of “real time” streamed video content.
Sweden set to bring in climate law by 2018
3 Feb 2017
Sweden is set to have a climate law in effect by January 1 2018 and will introduce legislation to put into action a cross-party agreement for the country to go carbon neutral by 2045.
Judge: Climate change is a matter of debate
3 Feb 2017
A Washington state judge has sparked outrage for remarks questioning the existence of climate change and the role of humans in global warming.
'Planned retreat' enters the climate dialogue
2 Feb 2017
A strategy of organised retreat is emerging from the shadows as scientists and governments try to figure out how to move people out of the way of coastal flooding and other hazards.
MAIS WEE, MONSIEUR: Paris finds eco solution to peeing in public
2 Feb 2017
Plant boxes installed in French capital convert urine into compost for use in parks, and absorb unpleasant smells
Not such a nice day for a walk ... in some places
2 Feb 2017
Thanks to climate change, there will be more perfect days in President Trump’s America.
January hottest ever in Sydney and Brisbane
2 Feb 2017
January was hottest month on record in Sydney and Brisbane, says weather bureau.
Watch the Arctic melt away as the Earth warms
1 Feb 2017
Climate scientist Ed Hawkins has released the latest in series of graphics illustrating the rapid collapse in Arctic sea ice since the late 1970s.
Australian coal move carries $62b bill
1 Feb 2017
Replacing Australia’s current coal fleet with new ultra-supercritical coal-fired power stations in order to reduce carbon emissions would come at a cost of approximately $62 billion.
Australia might have to make deeper emissions cuts
1 Feb 2017
Australia can meet its 2030 emissions target without an emissions intensity scheme, but it means deeper emissions cuts will be needed from industrial facilities, new research shows.
UN will reward game-changing climate change ideas
1 Feb 2017
Organisations, cities, industries, governments and others taking a lead on tackling climate change can nominate their game-changing projects for a United Nations award.
Irish lawmakers vote to divest from fossil fuels
31 Jan 2017
Ireland could become the first country in the world to fully divest its sovereign wealth fund from fossil fuels.
What Trump can (and can't) do to wreck climate rules
31 Jan 2017
Although US President Donald Trump could dismantle Barack Obama’s most far-reaching climate regulations, it will take legal acumen and a lot of time – perhaps longer than a single presidential term.
Green movement threat to freedom, says Trump adviser
31 Jan 2017
The environmental movement is “the greatest threat to freedom and prosperity in the modern world”, according to an adviser to the US president Donald Trump’s administration.
Melbourne trams to be powered by solar energy
31 Jan 2017
Melbourne’s tram network will become entirely powered by solar energy under a new proposal by the state government to build large-scale solar farms in northern Victoria.
Cold war days and the powers are talking climate change
31 Jan 2017
On the agenda at the secret meeting of scientists and the top brass of the US military was the increased melting of Arctic ice and changes in the climate.
'Clean coal’ power is not the answer in Australia
31 Jan 2017
So-called “clean coal” being pushed by Australia's Coalition government would be expensive and would not meet long term emission reduction goals.
Is Justin Trudeau a climate leader or a charlatan?
27 Jan 2017
Canadian leader Justin Trudeau promised a new politics and talked tough on climate, but his embrace of three oil pipelines in as many months tells a different story.
Mexico works on setting up emissions trading
27 Jan 2017
Mexico is drawing on international business experience to develop the country’s emissions trading scheme.
World needs to manage food, water and energy
27 Jan 2017
There is an increasing global demand for food, water and energy. All three are inter-linked, a fact that has increasingly become the focus of attention for policy makers and governments.
Climate change caused Middle East dust storm
27 Jan 2017
A storm of dust so fierce that it obscured seven Middle Eastern nations from satellite observation has been blamed on climate change.
Trump silences government scientists
26 Jan 2017
Scientists in two US government agencies have been told they can no longer discuss research or departmental restrictions with anyone outside their offices - including news media.
This threat to animals should provoke shame in our hearts
26 Jan 2017
By TIM FLANNERY | While Australia bakes through another hot, angry summer, its precious wildlife is increasingly under threat, not just from the extreme weather of fires and floods but by the growing reality of a changing climate.
Canadian scientists race to back up worried Americans
25 Jan 2017
The election of Donald Trump as president of the United States has touched off a mad scramble by some scientists to back up critical scientific data as government researchers reckon with the new administration’s threats to scrub climate data and strip funding for ongoing climate research.
PACIFIC PROBLEM: Carbon cuts will not settle seas
24 Jan 2017
Even supposing the world does make dramatic reductions in carbon dioxide emissions, the fate of the small island states remains uncertain.
China taking green bond market by storm
24 Jan 2017
China issued $US36.9 billion worth of green bonds in 2016, dominating the global market in climate-friendly infrastructure investment.
SUPER SAVER: Replace sticky labels with laser marking
24 Jan 2017
The humble fruit sticker may seem an unlikely cause for environmental concern but removing it from produce could create huge savings in plastic, energy and CO2 emissions.
Come see Pacific for yourself, MP tells Trump
21 Dec 2016
A New Zealand MP is challenging United States president-elect Donald Trump to come to the Pacific and see the impacts of climate change for himself.
EU countries stall over carbon market reform
21 Dec 2016
After more than a year of negotiations, EU member states have come up short in their efforts to find common ground on a carbon market reform seen as necessary if the ambitions of the Paris Agreement on climate change are to be met.
Climate change puts the squeeze on coffee belt
21 Dec 2016
As a famous old song says, they’ve got an awful lot of coffee in Brazil. But if the findings of New Zealand and Australian researchers are right, that will change over the next 30 years.
Red alert as smog shuts down China
21 Dec 2016
A red alert, the highest level in the China's pollution warning system, has been issued in at least 23 cities as smog cancelled flights, shut factories and stopped traffic.
Las Vegas reaches energy milestone
21 Dec 2016
Ten years of effort finally paid off for Las Vegas this week when officials announced the city government will now be powered entirely by renewable energy.
The seven deadly things we’re doing to trash the planet
20 Dec 2016
We weep at the disappearance of endangered species but avert our eyes to the causes of Earth’s destruction.
This year is days away from sealing record-hot spot
20 Dec 2016
In less than two weeks, 2016 will officially be the hottest year on the books in more than 120 years of record keeping by US agencies. It will be the third straight record-setting year — and of the 17 hottest years, 16 have been this century.
Gates suggests Trump will support green energy
20 Dec 2016
Federal support for research and development into clean tech should appeal to incoming president, says Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates.
Driverless buses arrive in Australia
20 Dec 2016
Autonomous buses are likely to be better for passengers and the environment, but not everyone is excited.
Green Climate Fund gives millions to help Pacific
19 Dec 2016
The Green Climate Fund board has approved eight funding proposals worth $US315 million ($NZ452m) at a meeting in Samoa.
States urge Trump to kill clean-power plan
19 Dec 2016
Officials in 24 states have urged US president-elect Donald Trump to kill the centerpiece of President Barack Obama's strategy to combat climate change and shut down coal-fired power plants.
Obama makes final climate-change push
19 Dec 2016
With little more than a month left in office, the Barack Obama administration is quietly trying to accomplish one last big thing on climate change: creating a policy for relocating entire towns threatened by extreme weather and rising seas.
Trump gives Musk advisory job
16 Dec 2016
US president-elect Donald Trump has appointed Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to his Strategic and Policy Forum.
Scientists frantically copying US climate data
16 Dec 2016
Alarmed that decades of crucial climate measurements could vanish under a hostile Trump administration, scientists have begun a feverish attempt to copy reams of government data on to independent servers in hopes of safeguarding it from any political interference.
EU to cancel one billion pollution permits
16 Dec 2016
THE EUROPEAN UNION will cancel a billion pollution permits under a package of carbon market reforms agreed by EU lawmakers yesterday.
Peruvian loses lawsuit against German coal giant
16 Dec 2016
A climate lawsuit by a Peruvian farmer and mountain guide against energy company RWE has just been dismissed by Essen district court in Germany.
Bloomberg study urges climate financial disclosures
15 Dec 2016
Climate-related financial disclosures should be part of the public reporting of companies, a major new report says.
Australian governments subsidising fossil fuel use by more than $30,000 a minute, analysis finds
Fri 13 Mar 2026
Australian federal and state government subsidies that encourage fossil fuel use and help drive the climate crisis will reach $16.3bn this year after leaping by nearly 10%, according to a new analysis.
Trump administration sues California over the state’s nation-leading vehicle-emission rules
Today 11:00am
The Trump administration ramped up a battle with California over the state’s nation-leading vehicle-emission standards Thursday, suing air regulators over rules aimed at curbing pollution from cars.
What does China’s 15th ‘five-year plan’ mean for climate change?
10 Mar 2026
China’s leadership has published a draft of its 15th five-year plan setting the strategic direction for the nation out to 2030, including support for clean energy and energy security.
Germany misses climate targets as emissions barely fall in 2025
Today 11:00am
Greenhouse gas emissions in Germany have again missed targets set by the Climate Protection Act and barely fell at all in 2025.
UK emissions fall 2.4% in 2025 as coal hits 400-year low
9 Mar 2026
The UK’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 2.4% in 2025 to their lowest level in more than 150 years, according to new analysis.
Mark Carney just picked his lane on climate change
17 Feb 2026
COMMENT: Mark Carney's time as prime minister has been defined in part by his decision to roll back Trudeau-era climate policies.
'The situation is dire': War on Iran squeezes India's cooking-gas supplies
Mon 16 Mar 2026
The shockwaves of a war being fought nearly 3,000km away are now reaching India's kitchens.
Vanuatu moves forward with UN climate resolution despite Trump opposition
9 Mar 2026
The Trump administration’s attempt to sink a UN resolution demanding countries act on the climate crisis has caused cuts to the proposal but hasn’t entirely killed it, according to the tiny Pacific island country spearheading the effort.
Limiting warming to 2C is ‘crucial’ to protect pristine Antarctic Peninsula
24 Feb 2026
Keeping global warming to less than 2C above pre-industrial temperatures is “crucial” for limiting damage to the Antarctic Peninsula’s unique ecosystems, according to a new study.
'Blackwater' lakes and rivers in the Congo Basin are now emitting ancient carbon into the atmosphere
Mon 16 Mar 2026
Carbon that has been buried in the Congo Basin's peatlands for millennia is seeping into lakes and rivers. Why this is happening remains unclear, but researchers warn that tropical peatlands could be nearing a tipping point.
Companies – including Blackrock – retired 2 million carbon credits after Verra suspended project
Thu 12 Mar 2026
Verra suspended the Pacajai REDD project in Brazil in September 2023, pending an investigation into the project’s validity. That didn’t stop Mastercard, BlackRock, Philip Morris International from retiring carbon credits from the project to offset their greenhouse gas emissions.
Summit aims to revive stalled UN talks on phasing out fossil fuels
Wed 11 Mar 2026
Colombia and the Netherlands have set out three priorities for a conference on phasing out fossil fuels they will co-host in Colombia in April.
