International: All stories
Rooftop solar booms in Japan
29 Mar 2016
Japan’s home rooftops are emerging as the next hot spot in what for years has been one of the biggest solar markets in the world, marking a move beyond the utility-scale projects in rich industrial nations that have fueled most of the industry’s growth.
Climate v primate: Dawn of extinction?
29 Mar 2016
A new study finds that every single primate species will be adversely affected by rising temperatures and changing rainfall levels.
US faces floods of climate refugees
24 Mar 2016
New research warns that more than 13 million American citizens could be at risk of being forced to move away from vulnerable coastal zones because of sea level rise.
What will Turnbull’s $1b energy fund actually do?
24 Mar 2016
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has announced the creation of a A$1 billion Clean Energy Innovation Fund, to be jointly managed by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
European clean-tech industry falls into rapid decline
24 Mar 2016
Europe’s once world-beating clean technology industry has fallen into a rapid decline, with investment in low-carbon energy last year plummeting to its lowest level in a decade.
Michael Sheen backs Welsh anti-fracking film
24 Mar 2016
Actor Michael Sheen has given his support to an anti-fracking film opposing shale gas drilling in the Welsh village of Pontrhydyfen, Richard Burton’s birth place.
Bank of England warns of growing climate risks
23 Mar 2016
The financial impacts of climate change could hit global markets hard and at any time, a senior Bank of England official has warned.
Coal plants use as much water as a billion people
23 Mar 2016
Coal power plants use enough water to supply the needs of 1 billion people and that will almost double if all the world’s planned power plants come online.
China plans 22% boost for wind power capacity
23 Mar 2016
China plans to increase total wind power capacity by 22 percent in 2016, underscoring the government’s effort to develop clean energy at about the same pace as last year’s record installations.
Germany mulls 95% cut in emissions by 2050
23 Mar 2016
Germany is drawing up an action plan to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 95% from 1990 levels by 2050.
Apple hits 93% renewable energy worldwide
23 Mar 2016
Tech giant Apple has announced that 93 per cent of its facilities globally run on clean energy.
Current heat shocking even climate scientists
22 Mar 2016
“Stunning,” “wow,” “shocker,” “bombshell,” “astronomical,” “insane,”“unprecedented” – these are some of the words climate scientists have used to describe the record-shattering global surface temperatures in February.
Carbon emission release rate ‘unprecedented’
22 Mar 2016
Humanity is pumping climate-warming carbon dioxide into the atmosphere 10 times faster than at any point in the past 66m years, according to new research.
Can we stamp out environmental crime?
22 Mar 2016
More lucrative and less risky than many traditional criminal activities, environmental crime is growing largely unchecked.
Aust emissions rising and underestimated, says report
22 Mar 2016
The latest federal government carbon emissions inventory shows Australia has increased its emissions and has come under fire for allegedly vastly underestimating the amount of land clearing that has occurred, and its associated emissions.
How the world has changed since Paris
21 Mar 2016
National leaders have yet to sign a new United Nations climate pact, but developments during the three months since the Paris Agreement was finalised have been feverish.
US concern about climate change at eight-year high
21 Mar 2016
Americans are taking climate change more seriously than at any time in the past eight years, according to several measures in Gallup's annual environment poll.
Security, not climate, drives military's energy push
21 Mar 2016
The United States military wants to improve its energy efficiency and increase its use of renewables to enhance energy security, military leaders said.The environment, they said, is a lesser concern.
UN envoy warns of activist murder ‘epidemic’
21 Mar 2016
The killings of indigenous activists in Honduras signal a growing “epidemic” around the world, a UN envoy has declared.
Renewable energy surge stalls gas emissions
18 Mar 2016
Falling coal use in China and the US and a worldwide shift towards renewable energy have kept greenhouse gas emissions level for a second year running, one of the world’s leading energy analysts has said.
World’s top private coal company faces bankruptcy
18 Mar 2016
Peabody Energy, the largest US coal miner, has warned it could struggle to stay afloat and may look for bankruptcy protection.
American tribe gets funds to flee rising seas
18 Mar 2016
In a disappearing section of Louisiana coastline, the people who call Isle De Jean Charles home are moving to save their community and culture.
First solar-powered gas station comes to Outback
18 Mar 2016
Supplying 24-hour access to diesel in remote parts of Western Australia's Pilbara region has become much more feasible with the construction of what is believed to be the world's first fully transportable solar-powered retail fuel outlets.
Obama bans oil drilling along Atlantic seaboard
17 Mar 2016
The Obama administration has abandoned its plan for oil and gas drilling in Atlantic waters, after strong opposition from the Pentagon and coastal communities.
Japan fleshes out Paris climate change plan
17 Mar 2016
Japan’s hopes of meeting its 2030 climate goal rest on technology development, ramping up energy efficiency and restarting some of its mothballed fleet of nuclear power plants.
Germany, Pakistan launch renewables deal
17 Mar 2016
Germany and Pakistan have announced a landmark new partnership to develop renewable energy projects.
German CO2 emissions rise 1% in 2015
17 Mar 2016
Germany’s carbon dioxide emissions increased by an estimated 10 million tonnes from 2014 to 2015, in a blow to the country’s claims to climate leadership.
Renewable energy jobs fall by 27% in four years
17 Mar 2016
More than a quarter of the jobs in the renewable energy industry have disappeared since 2011, with a continued decline in the latest figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Vancouver can show us how to green our cities
16 Mar 2016
A woman who is helping to transform Vancouver into one of the greenest cities in the world is coming to share her secrets with New Zealanders.
Mediterranean may be driest for 900 years
16 Mar 2016
The drought that has blighted the eastern Mediterranean since 1998 could be the worst in nine centuries, according to new research led by scientists from the US space agency Nasa.
Zero carbon emissions target to be enshrined in UK law
16 Mar 2016
The UK will enshrine in law a long-term goal of reducing its carbon emissions to zero, as called for in last year’s historic Paris climate deal.
$1.5b sustainable cities platform launches in Singapore
16 Mar 2016
A new platform to support the development of sustainable cities has been launched in Singapore and the Global Environment Facility will fund the project with an estimated $US1.5 billion.
Vietnam votes $224m for green cities project
16 Mar 2016
Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng has approved the funding of nearly $US224 million for a ground-breaking sustainable cities project.
Coal-fired plants no longer need clean-air proof
16 Mar 2016
Scores of Britain’s coal-fired power stations, steel plants and iron works will no longer have to maintain a plan to show they will meet air pollution standards under the latest permits issued by the government.
Environmental policies good for business
16 Mar 2016
Every time a new environmental policy is proposed, detractors argue that new rules drive costs up, kill jobs, and hamper trade. But a new study is challenging the idea that curbing pollution hurts business.
Give cities their own planning rules, says commissioner
15 Mar 2016
New Zealand might need special planning rules for cities to help them to cope with climate change, says Parliamentary Commission for the Environment Dr Jan Wright.
Malaysia declares green incentives for Forest City
15 Mar 2016
Malaysia’s government has declared its Forest City low-carbon island development a duty-free zone with a range of corporate tax incentives for suitable companies and developers.
Call for pollution tax on new diesel cars
15 Mar 2016
An £800 ($NZ1700) pollution tax should be put on sales of new diesel cars, with the proceeds used for a scrappage scheme for older diesels, according to the UK thinktank Policy Exchange.
Norway’s EV market up 71% in 2015
15 Mar 2016
The electric vehicle market in Norway grew by 71 per cent last year compared to 2014.
Bad weather now reliably linked to climate change
15 Mar 2016
A new study shows it's now possible for scientists to confidently measure the influence of climate change on some extreme weather events, such as heat waves.
Carbon emissions our biggest problem, says China
14 Mar 2016
China’s energy sector leaders believe that cutting carbon emissions is the biggest issue they face, a new World Energy Council report shows.
Nature’s hidden wealth is conservation’s missed opportunity
14 Mar 2016
Australia has one of the worst extinction records in the modern world. Since European settlement, a third of the country’s native mammals have disappeared. How can we stem the losses?
February so hot it baked Alaska
14 Mar 2016
How hot was it last month globally? It was so hot that the famed Iditarod sled race in Alaska brought in extra snow from hundreds of miles away by train.
Argentina to boost consumption of clean energy
14 Mar 2016
Argentina is poised to approve the final details of a new law designed to give a boost to renewable energy as President Mauricio Macri steps up his efforts to fight climate change.
French palm oil tax angers producers
14 Mar 2016
French plans to place an additional tax on palm oil as part of its biodiversity bill have angered Malaysia and Indonesia.
Electric car racing series to debut next year
14 Mar 2016
Ten teams will compete in the inaugural Electric GT World Series next year. So far, the only electric car that fits the racing criteria is the Tesla Model S, which has a range of about 240 miles.
How climate denial gained a foothold in the Liberal Party
11 Mar 2016
It seems the Liberal Party is still having trouble letting go of climate denial, judging by the New South Wales branch’s demand that the Turnbull government arrange a series of public debates on climate science.
US and Canada vow to lead world to low-carbon economy
11 Mar 2016
The US and Canada declared they would help lead the transition to a low-carbon global economy on Thursday, in a dramatic role reversal for two countries once derided as climate change villains.
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund drops deforestation firms
11 Mar 2016
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the largest in the world, has dropped 11 companies for their connections to deforestation.
Conservative to bankroll clean-energy Republicans
11 Mar 2016
A conservative entrepreneur has pledged to bankroll Republican candidates who support clean energy on Tuesday in an attempt to break down the party’s wall of climate denial.
No room for the timid: setting Australia’s 2035 emissions target is a daring tightrope act
Tue 26 Aug 2025
Any week now, Australia will set its 2035 emissions target. It must signal the nation’s strong ambition on climate action, to drive policy and investment. And it must avoid being seen as either unrealistic or too costly.
California is backsliding on climate progress. It’s (mostly) Gavin Newsom’s fault
Tue 26 Aug 2025
The California Supreme Court just gave state officials a golden opportunity to revitalize the rooftop solar industry, helping millions of homes and businesses lower their electric bills and fight the climate crisis.
Is historically arid Beijing ready for a wetter future?
Mon 25 Aug 2025
Beijing's mountainous northern Huairou district and neighbouring Miyun district received a year's worth of rain in a single week, triggering flash floods that devastated entire villages and killed 44 people in the deadliest flood since 2012.
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.
Bolivia will choose a new president but environmental activists see little hope of progress
Fri 22 Aug 2025
Many Indigenous and environmental leaders doubt the election will bring progress in stopping deforestation, wildfires or pollution in the Amazon.
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.
