International: All stories
Major banks pledge to go carbon neutral
22 Sep 2016
Bank of America and Amalgamated Bank have vowed to completely power operations with renewable energy by 2020.
Streak of record heat adds another month
22 Sep 2016
The unprecedented streak of record-hot months that the world has experienced over more than a year just tacked on one more month: Data released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed last month was easily the hottest August on record.
We've taken 15 million plastic bags out of play
21 Sep 2016
New Zealanders have recycled nearly 15 million soft plastic bags in less than a year.
US and China release fossil fuel subsidy peer reviews
21 Sep 2016
The world’s biggest polluters have released their fossil fuel subsidy peer reviews and the obstacles to reform are clear: the US will wait on Congress, while China will wait on China.
Goff promises his mayoral car will be electric
20 Sep 2016
Auckland mayoral contender Phil Goff says that under him, the city fleet will go electric – including the mayoral car.
Climate-conscious Chloe gets a pass mark for mayor
20 Sep 2016
Young Auckland mayoral candidate Chlöe Swarbrick and frontrunner Phil Goff both get an A-minus, but it’s C for Vic Crone and Mark Thomas, and an E for John Palino, according to a new guide to voting for the climate in the local body elections.
Three ways Trump could abandon Paris pact
20 Sep 2016
The possibility that a climate science denier could soon become America’s president is serving as an urgent motivator for diplomats in New York this week for United Nations meetings.
FIFA first to commit to climate neutrality
20 Sep 2016
World soccer body FIFA is the first international sports organisation to join Climate Neutral Now ¨C an initiative by the UN climate change secretariat.
UN expects 20 nations to join pact this week
19 Sep 2016
At least 20 countries have indicated they will join the Paris climate change agreement at a United Nations event this week, raising hopes the deal will enter into force by the end of the year.
Arctic sea ice shrinks to second-lowest level
19 Sep 2016
Arctic sea ice this summer shrank to its second lowest level since scientists started to monitor it by satellite, with scientists saying it is another ominous signal of global warming.
US military stresses climate security risks
19 Sep 2016
A group of senior defence experts in the US has warned that climate change is a threat to the country’s security, with the stark message that “the impacts of climate change present significant and direct risks to US military readiness, operations and strategy”.
Why Scotland won’t take the soft option on climate
19 Sep 2016
Like the EU, Scotland met its 2020 climate target six years early. Unlike the EU, Scotland plans to increase its target to maintain momentum.
Will the planet really profit from natural capital?
19 Sep 2016
What is natural capital and why use it to refer to nature?
Amsterdam has big plans to go green
19 Sep 2016
Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, has committed a Sustainability Fund of nearly NZ$80 million, on top of the existing $60 million Climate and Energy Fund.
Investors fear next financial crisis will be climate-related
16 Sep 2016
A rushed transition to clean energy triggered by extreme weather events linked to global warming “will be very expensive” to swallow for the economy, investors have warned. | Read more
Humanity driving unprecedented marine extinction
16 Sep 2016
Humanity is driving an unprecedented extinction of sealife unlike any in the fossil record, hunting and killing larger species in a way that will disrupt ocean ecosystems for millions of years, scientists have found.
Is the Joshua tree jinxed?
16 Sep 2016
Joshua trees could soon follow polar bears as one of the first species to be listed as threatened by climate change.
UK pitches China for climate-friendly trillions
15 Sep 2016
The UK is pitching itself as a climate finance leader and a natural partner for China as the country’s central bank plans a US$45.6 billion green bond release through 2016.
Brazil ratifies Paris Agreement (with promises)
14 Sep 2016
The Brazilian government has ratified its participation in the Paris Agreement on climate change, a significant step by Latin America’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases that could spur other countries to follow suit.
August ties July as the hottest month on record
14 Sep 2016
Last month ranked as the hottest August on record -- and the month tied July as the hottest month the world has seen in the past 136 years.
Ocean warming intensifies power of typhoons
14 Sep 2016
The typhoons that have slammed into the coasts of east and southeast Asia have become more violent, increasing in intensity by between 12 per cent and 15 per cent over the past four decades, according to a new study.
Reykjavík aims to be carbon neutral by 2040
14 Sep 2016
The Iceland capital Reykjavík, where all electricity is produced with hydroelectric power and houses are geothermally heated, has adopted a plan to be carbon neutral by 2040.
The fossil fuel divestment game is getting bigger
13 Sep 2016
Fossil fuel divestment is gathering pace around Australia and the world. More and more individuals and organisations are pulling their investment assets out of companies involved with the exploration, extraction, production or financing of fossil fuels.
Renewables are getting cheaper all the time
13 Sep 2016
The stars are aligning for Australia to transition to 100 per cent renewable electricity.
Asia and Pacific must spearhead climate fight
13 Sep 2016
Asia and the Pacific has been rocked by intense and unstable weather, bringing into even greater focus the need to build resilience against climate change.
Electrolux acts to feed the world
13 Sep 2016
The Electrolux Group is putting 10 million Swedish krona ($NZ1.6 million) foundation toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on food.
Logged forests could be wildlife refuges
13 Sep 2016
Even in degraded forests, wild animals can survive. Selectively logged forests in Borneo can still be home for the clouded leopard and the civet, the orangutan and the bearded pig.
Amazon burns as Brazil signs Paris pledge
12 Sep 2016
Brazil’s new president, Michel Temer, will this week sign up to the Paris Agreement on climate change by committing Brazil to a reduction of 37 per cent of its greenhouse gas emissions by 2025, and of 43 per cent by 2030.
California sets strictest GHG reduction targets
12 Sep 2016
Ten years after California adopted the toughest greenhouse gas emission reduction goals in the nation, Governor Jerry Brown late last week strengthened that commitment, signing two bills that require the state to cut emissions at least 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030.
Paris pact submissions will be heard this month
9 Sep 2016
Submissions on New Zealand’s plans to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change will be heard in Wellington on September 22.
Energy leaders call on MPs to save funding
9 Sep 2016
Some of Australia’s best-known energy companies including AGL, GE and Tesla, have joined calls to halt plans to cut $1.3bn from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
Australia backs large-scale solar plants
9 Sep 2016
The Australian government will help to fund a dozen large-scale solar projects worth $A1 billion.
Here’s what China and US just committed to on climate
9 Sep 2016
The leaders of the US and China committed their nations to the fight against global warming last weekend when they handed arcane but momentous documents to the United Nation’s top official.
We've wrecked a tenth of the Earth's wilderness in 25 years
9 Sep 2016
Humans have destroyed a tenth of Earth’s remaining wilderness in the past 25 years and there might be none left within a century if trends continue, according to a new study.
Why Morocco's mosques are turning green
9 Sep 2016
Six hundred “Green Mosques” will be created in Morocco by 2019 to help the country to improve its cabon missions.
PACIFIC PARIAH: Australia’s love of coal has left it out in the diplomatic cold
8 Sep 2016
Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will have some explaining to do when he attends the Pacific Islands Forum leaders' meeting in Pohnpei, Micronesia, this week.
China’s top ministries commit to green finance drive
8 Sep 2016
China’s leading government ministries have adopted a set of principles to ensure future investments in the country are environmentally friendly.
US companies tout climate policies but fund sceptics
8 Sep 2016
US companies that have expressed the most fervent public support for President Barack Obama’s environmental agenda are also funding its biggest enemies.
We're on the wrong tack in Pacific, says report
7 Sep 2016
New Zealand’s policy of helping Pacific nations to prepare for the impacts of climate change by financing renewable energy projects is under fire.
Sydney to dump $500m in fossil fuels investment
7 Sep 2016
The City of Sydney council has unanimously passed a motion calling for a policy that would remove more than $500m from banks that invest in fossil fuels.
Dissenting academics write own climate report
7 Sep 2016
The Climate Change Authority’s latest report on Australia’s climate goals has divided its membership – so much so that two authority members have divorce themselves from the report and written their own version.
Paris pact signing could be only weeks away
6 Sep 2016
New Zealand is likely to ratify the Paris Agreement in the next couple of months, the Government says.
Leaders stand firm, but dodge climate deadlines
6 Sep 2016
Leaders of the world’s biggest economies reaffirmed their commitment to tackling climate change as the G20 summit came to a close in Hangzhou yesterday.
G20 mocks urgency of fossil fuel subsidy cuts
6 Sep 2016
Hopes that this would be the year the G20 finally got serious on climate change were well and truly dashed yesterday, as the world’s most powerful countries failed to set an end date for fossil fuel subsidies.
Oceans pose 'greatest hidden challenge of our generation'
6 Sep 2016
The soaring temperature of the oceans is the “greatest hidden challenge of our generation” that is altering the make-up of marine species, shrinking fishing areas and starting to spread disease to humans, according to the most comprehensive analysis yet of ocean warming.
Hurricanes cut swathe through US politics
6 Sep 2016
Whether US citizens believe that hurricanes are getting more violent and more destructive depends on whether they have been in one lately – and also whether they are female, and vote Democrat.
Power prices need to rise to tackle climate change
6 Sep 2016
It's time for the Australian government to acknowledge the obvious: electricity prices will have to rise if the counry is to meaningfully reduce carbon emissions.
Cook Islands quietly does the climate business
5 Sep 2016
Three countries have just ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change – China, the United States and the Cook Islands.
China, US show the way but others must follow
5 Sep 2016
The decision by China and the US, the world’s two biggest greenhouse gas emitters, to ratify the landmark Paris accord on climate change heralds a new era of global cooperation on limiting emissions.
Ratification good news for carbon markets
5 Sep 2016
Ratification of the Paris Agreement by China and the United States is good news for the development of carbon markets, says the International Emissions Trading Association.
Battery subsidy scheme set for 'urgent' overhaul as costs run out of control
16 Dec 2025
Australian Energy Minister Chris Bowen has announced big changes to the government's battery subsidy scheme amid claims most of its $2.3 billion budget has been spent in just six months.
EPA erases references to human-caused climate change from websites
19 Dec 2025
EPA has scrubbed references to people’s contribution to rising temperatures from some of its climate change webpages.
Verra cancels four tree planting projects in China. And starts reviews of 45 more projects
16 Dec 2025
“Multiple carbon projects in China are facing serious allegations regarding the authenticity of government approval documents."
France updates its 2050 carbon neutrality roadmap
17 Dec 2025
To mark the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, France released a revamped climate plan promising to phase out oil and gas and sharply increase electricity use.
Net-zero scenario is ‘cheapest option’ for UK, says energy system operator
15 Dec 2025
A scenario that meets the “net-zero by 2050” goal would be the “cheapest” option for the UK, according to modelling by the National Energy System Operator (NESO).
The ecological havens flourishing beneath power lines
19 Dec 2025
Initiatives to foster native wildflowers, grasses and shrubs are turning utility corridors into wildlife corridors.
‘Not normal’: Climate crisis supercharged deadly monsoon floods in Asia
12 Dec 2025
Cyclones like those in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Malaysia that killed 1,750 are ‘alarming new reality’.
Pacific fisheries summit gives a boost to albacore and seabirds
19 Dec 2025
Much of the world’s albacore tuna catch, which usually ends up in a can, comes from the southwestern Pacific Ocean, where fishery managers just passed a new set of conservation rules.
Arctic endured year of record heat as climate scientists warn of ‘winter being redefined’
18 Dec 2025
Region known as ‘world’s refrigerator’ is heating up as much as four times as quickly as global average, Noaa experts say.
Are rainforests now a cause of, rather than the answer to, climate change?
15 Dec 2025
A new study finds that Africa’s forests, responsible for one-fifth of global carbon removal, are beginning to generate carbon as the result of human activity.
Thousands of climate disasters are not included in official reports from Amazonian countries
12 Dec 2025
More than 12,500 extreme weather events impacted the Amazon and its population in 10 years, but countries have not generated enough information about it, according to a new scientific study.
UN environment report 'hijacked' by US and others over fossil fuels, top scientist says
11 Dec 2025
A key UN report on the state of the global environment has been "hijacked" by the United States and other countries who were unwilling to go along with the scientific findings, the co-chair has told the BBC.
