International: All stories
Oil bust leaves states with massive well clean-up
21 Jun 2016
The worst oil bust since the 1980s is putting Texas and other oil producing states on the hook for thousands of newly abandoned drilling sites at a time when they have little money to plug wells and seal off environmental hazards.
Record year for murdering environmental activists
21 Jun 2016
More than three people were killed a week defending their land from mining or logging interests last year.
Big players' threats might force NZ to sign early
20 Jun 2016
Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett says New Zealand might have to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change this year, as large countries threaten to lock us out of the process to set the crucial rules for the operation of international carbon markets and accounting.
Records show climate change is an emergency
20 Jun 2016
May was the 13th month in a row to break temperature records in a string of incredible climate milestones which scientists have described as a bombshell and an emergency.
Climate warming raises global economic threats
20 Jun 2016
Research shows that the effects of extreme heat and weather events on production of raw materials has far-reaching and costly financial implications.
More want climate action now than before carbon tax
20 Jun 2016
By DEBORAH COTTON | In April 2011, not long after Julia Gillard was returned to power in the 2010 federal election, I asked a representative sample of Australians about their attitudes to climate policy.
How to design cities for a car-light future
20 Jun 2016
Thinking of building more parking or widening your roads? Think again. Rapid innovation in the mobility sector could drastically reduce driving, the need for parking and expanded roadways.
UN says ratify; Government says not yet
17 Jun 2016
The Government has still not decided when it will ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change, Parliament heard yesterday.
IT'S OFFICIAL: Our world just changed
17 Jun 2016
We’re officially living in a new world. The last station on Earth without a 400 parts per million CO2 reading has reached that mark.
Blow to carbon markets if Britain leaves Europe
17 Jun 2016
A “yes” Brexit vote would leave a large pro-market void in Brussels and will hold back the development of international carbon markets, the International Emissions Trading Association is warning.
Could ‘nitrogen trading’ help the Great Barrier Reef?
17 Jun 2016
Among the increasing sums of money being pledged to help save the Great Barrier Reef is a federal government pledge to spend $A40 million on improving water quality. The Queensland government has promised another $33.5 million for the same purpose.
Chapter 4 out now
17 Jun 2016
It’s time for the fourth chapter of the International Emissions Trading Association’s series on the development of carbon markets – and this time it’s about the Clean Development Mechanism.
Scientists urge Obama to halt Arctic oil leasing
17 Jun 2016
Nearly 400 scientists from more than a dozen countries are urging President Obama to stop future oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Ocean because of significant environmental and climate risks.
Eco homeowners offered cheaper mortgages
17 Jun 2016
Homeowners will qualify for reduced repayment on their mortgages if they undertake energy efficiency renovations, and lower interest rates on loans to pay for them, under “pioneering” plans being drawn up by lenders for consideration by EU and global regulators.
Big banks still fund polluting industries
16 Jun 2016
The world’s biggest private-sector banks are still funding the industries that drive climate change to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars.
Record CO2 levels signal sizzling summers
16 Jun 2016
As carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reaches a historic high point that could continue for a lifetime, summer temperatures are also heading toward record levels
Norway pledges to be climate neutral by 2030
16 Jun 2016
Norway’s parliament has approved a radical goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2030, two decades earlier than planned.
Hollande ratifies Paris climate deal for France
16 Jun 2016
Francois Hollande has become the first leader of an industrialised nation to ratify the Paris Agreement.
Climate change opens Siberian 'gateway to the underworld'
16 Jun 2016
In the heart of Siberia’s boreal forest gapes a monstrous chasm local Yakutians call a “gateway to the underworld,” connecting this life to the next.
May marks one more record hot month for the world
15 Jun 2016
May was record warm for the globe, according to NASA. It’s now even more likely that 2016 will be the hottest year ever recorded.
How low oil prices could weaken Paris pact
15 Jun 2016
Low oil prices could effectively cancel the impact of emissions reduction pledges made under the Paris Agreement, a new study warns.
Paris agreement needs carbon prices to be coordinated
15 Jun 2016
The Paris climate agreement was an important success for climate diplomacy as nation states showed a strong will to cooperate on climate action.
Scotland exceeds targets - six years early
15 Jun 2016
Scotland has exceeded a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 42 per cent - six years early.
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.
Australian rainforests no longer a carbon sink – study
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Australia's tropical rainforests are among the first in the world to start emitting more carbon dioxide than they absorb, scientists said Thursday, linking the "very concerning" trend to climate change.
Climate scientists and republican lawyers are taking aim at Big Tech’s emissions
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Technology companies have long been one of the biggest investors in clean energy, but new accounting rules could upend that.
In China, climate litigation starts with the state
Thu 16 Oct 2025
With thousands of dedicated courts and more than a million recent cases, environmental and climate litigation is booming in China, but it often looks different to the trend seen elsewhere.
'Not up for discussion': Brussels rejects Washington's pressure on climate rules
Mon 13 Oct 2025
In response to US demands to roll back the EU's environmental legislation, the European Commission defended its autonomous power to adopt laws.
Government told to prepare for 2C warming by 2050
Thu 16 Oct 2025
The UK should be prepared to cope with weather extremes as a result of at least 2C of global warming by 2050, independent climate advisers have said.
Renewables are a global economic engine, not a culture war threat
2 Oct 2025
Energy companies are learning this lesson faster than Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
Indonesia restarts international carbon trade after four years
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto has issued a new decree to restart international carbon emission trading after a four year hiatus.
Familiar tensions emerge at the Pacific Islands Forum
26 Sep 2025
With China-Taiwan rivalry, China-Western competition, and big carbon emitters at odds with the islands on climate policy, there is plenty of tension to go around.
Scientists discovered something alarming seeping out from beneath the ocean around Antarctica
Mon 13 Oct 2025
Planet-heating methane is escaping from cracks in the Antarctic seabed as the region warms, with new seeps being discovered at an “astonishing rate".
Angola lowers climate ambition in blow to spirit of Paris Agreement
Tue 14 Oct 2025
Angola has scaled back its targets for reducing emissions in its new national climate plan, saying it chose “realism and implementability” over the Paris Agreement's calls for governments to set progressively more ambitious goals.
Four Brazilians to watch at COP30
Wed 15 Oct 2025
Influential Brazilians, from government figures to Indigenous activists, will take center stage during UN climate talks in the Amazon next month.
UN agency says CO2 levels hit record high last year, causing more extreme weather
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Heat-trapping carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere jumped by the highest amount on record last year, soaring to a level not seen in human civilisation and “turbo-charging” the Earth’s climate and causing more extreme weather.
