International: All stories
Barcelona bans bangers to tackle traffic pollution
9 Mar 2017
Barcelona will ban cars that are older than 20 years from the roads during the week to cut traffic emissions by 30 per cent over 15 years.
Farmers call for market mechanism to lower emissions
8 Mar 2017
Australian farmers have called for a market-based mechanism to secure clean and affordable energy.
Australia's angry summer rewrites the record books
8 Mar 2017
Australians endured another intense summer, with more than 200 record-breaking extreme weather events driven by climate change, a new Climate Council report says.
Climate impact on Australia might be irreversible
8 Mar 2017
An independent review of the state of Australia’s environment has found the impacts of climate change are increasing and some of the changes could be irreversible.
Carbon dioxide will reach 410ppm this month
8 Mar 2017
In the coming weeks, carbon dioxide will start to breach the 410 parts per million threshold on a daily basis at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii.
Agrihoods one way to revitalise urban centres
8 Mar 2017
Urban agrihoods could provide much-needed food, employment and green space to cities trying to revitalise.
Australian banks back fossil fuels over renewables
7 Mar 2017
Australia’s big four banks invested three times as much in global fossil fuels as they did in clean energy in 2016, despite pledging to help Australia transition to a low carbon economy.
Lessons from London’s 1952 fog could save millions today
7 Mar 2017
In December 1952, London experienced a catastrophe seemingly out of nowhere, as sunny blue skies suddenly gave way to a choking, blinding, fog that enveloped the city and was more severe than anything many had seen before.
Antarctic sea ice sets record low temperature
6 Mar 2017
A new record warm temperature for Antarctica has been confirmed by the World Meteorological Organisation as sea ice surrounding the continent has shrunk to a record low.
Maldives turns from climate threat to mass tourism
6 Mar 2017
The Maldives' new government says super resorts, not solar power, will create the money needed to adapt to climate change.
We need to get wise about our heated cities
3 Mar 2017
New Zealand needs to think about ways to keep its cities cool in the face of climate change – and the answer could be more trees, says an international planning expert due to speak here next month.
TRICKY TURNBULL: Trumpian disregard for energy facts
3 Mar 2017
Australian Prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has is own solar array and battery storage installation at his own home, and apparently likes to admire how much power is being produced, how much is being stored, and how much it is saving him on electricity bills.
White House wants to cut EPA staff by one-fifth
3 Mar 2017
The White House has proposed deep cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget that would reduce the agency’s staff by one-fifth in the first year and eliminate dozens of programmes.
Swiss ski resorts are running out of snow
3 Mar 2017
Switzerland, one of Europe’s principal winter sports destinations, expects the impact of climate change will leave many of its mountains short of snow cover by the end of the century.
Sydney not ready for super-heat, say scientists
3 Mar 2017
Scientists say Sydney is unprepared for the knock-on effects of a significant increase in average summer temperatures.
Burger chain buys animal food grown on stripped jungle land
2 Mar 2017
International hamburger chain Burger King has been buying animal feed produced in soy plantations carved out by the burning of tropical forests in Brazil and Bolivia, according to a new report.
Eye in the sky will spy on carbon cuts
2 Mar 2017
The world needs a way to verify that nations have made their promised carbon cuts in order to make the Paris agreement effective. And a sophisticated new satellite might be the answer.
Duterte signs Paris climate agreement
2 Mar 2017
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has signed the Paris Agreement on Climate Change putting the deal one step closer to ratification in the country.
Australia's emissions jump as coal power ramps up
1 Mar 2017
Australia's greenhouse gas pollution jumped in 2015-16 as coal use continued to rise after the scrapping of the carbon price, making it harder to meet its emissions targets.
Tonga and ADB launch climate change fund
1 Mar 2017
The Tongan government and the Asian Development Bank have launched the island group's first climate change trust fund.
Sand mining: the global crisis you’ve probably never heard of
28 Feb 2017
From Cambodia to California, industrial-scale sand mining is causing wildlife to die, local trade to wither and bridges to collapse.
UN launches global campaign to end ocean plastic
28 Feb 2017
The UN has launched an unprecedented global campaign to eliminate marine litter, including microplastics in cosmetics and single-use plastic, by 2022.
Environment likely to pay for huge Trump defence spend
28 Feb 2017
As US president Donald Trump announces a $54bn increase in defence spending, environmental agencies and UN climate funds face the axe.
Gardening in the face of a changing climate
28 Feb 2017
Since 1880, the average global temperature has increased by 0.8deg with large changes in rainfall redistribution. With these changing conditions upon us, and set to continue, gardeners will have to alter the way they do things.
Wind, solar and hydro grid cheapest for Australia
28 Feb 2017
A new study by energy experts from the Australian National University suggests that a 100 per cent renewable energy electricity grid – with 90 per cent of power coming from wind and solar – will be significantly cheaper future option than a coal or gas-fired network in Australia.
Court forces coal plant to suspend operations
27 Feb 2017
Three years after it came online, Izdemir power station in Turkey has been stripped of its environmental licence, in a win for campaigners.
DANGER IN THE DEEP: Why this little guy looks worried
27 Feb 2017
Deep-ocean creatures are facing a desperate future due to food shortages and changing temperatures, according to new research.
Groups sue EPA to protect salmon from climate
27 Feb 2017
US fishing and conservation groups have sued the Environmental Protection Agency, seeking to protect wild salmon threatened by rising water temperatures attributed in part to climate change.
Australia launches energy marketplace for rooftop solar
24 Feb 2017
Australian homeowners with solar panels and batteries could soon trade their electricity in a digital marketplace developed by a consortium of electricity providers, energy tech startups, energy retailers and energy agencies.
Forget Trump, keep your eyes on China
24 Feb 2017
A leading UK voice in the debate on climate change says more attention should be paid to positive action being taken to tackle CO2 emissions in China rather than worrying about the US and Donald Trump.
Solar power plants now cheaper than coal
24 Feb 2017
Solar power in Australia is more affordable than new fossil fuel and nuclear power, with costs plummeting by almost 60 per cent over the past five years, a new report released by the Climate Council has found.
Climate scientists face harassment and threats
24 Feb 2017
Researchers will have to deal with attacks from a range of powerful foes in the coming years – and for many, it has already started.
How conservatives can grow to love carbon pricing
23 Feb 2017
In some political circles, hostility to climate policy has become a way of showing off one’s conservative credentials. But a suggestion for pricing carbon, grounded in classic conservative principles, has now emerged in the United States.
Campaigners crack Coke
23 Feb 2017
Coca-Cola has announced it supports testing a deposit return service for drinks cans and bottles, in a major coup for environment and anti-waste campaigners.
Climate scepticism far-right badge of honour – even in sweltering Australia
22 Feb 2017
It hits you in the face and clings to you. It makes tall buildings whine as their air conditioning plants struggle to cope. It makes the streets deserted and the ice-cold salons of corner pubs get crowded with people who don’t like beer. It is the Aussie heatwave: and it is no joke.
COOL CITIES: Trees, green roads and fewer cars
22 Feb 2017
As city temperatures rise, with a negative impact on health, councils are coming up with some innovative solutions.
The making of Sweden’s climate law – and that photo
22 Feb 2017
When Sweden’s deputy prime minister Isabella Lövin posted a photo of herself referring one of the world’s most ambitious climate laws to parliament, surrounded by women, it was undeniably provocative.
Natural resources used for building increase 23-fold
22 Feb 2017
The volume of natural resources used in buildings and transport infrastructure increased 23-fold between 1900 and 2010.
Air pollution linked to millions of premature births
21 Feb 2017
Traffic fumes, slash-and-burn farming and open wood stoves are raising the risk of babies being born before they are ready.
Coalition might change rules to fund coal plants
21 Feb 2017
Australia's coalition government is considering changing Clean Energy Finance Corporation rules to fund new coal-powered plants.
Trump's wall would carry environmental costs
21 Feb 2017
The likely impact on human society of Donald Trump’s Mexico wall has been well-noted, but in the longer-term a barrier across an entire continent will also have severe ecological consequences.
Samba drums up opposition to factory farming
21 Feb 2017
Concern about the environmental impact of industrialised farming through the use of pesticides and the destruction of the rainforest has even spread to Brazil’s famous Rio carnival.
Regulator says companies must factor in climate risks
20 Feb 2017
Australia’s financial regulator has warned that climate change poses a material risk to the entire financial system, and has urged companies to start adapting.
War is the climate risk Europe's leaders are talking about
20 Feb 2017
Among the 21st-century threats posed by climate change - rising seas, melting permafrost and superstorms - European leaders are warning of a last-century risk they know all too well: war.
Labor will not back 2030 renewable energy target
20 Feb 2017
Australia’s Labor opposition has said it will not legislate for a 2030 renewable energy target.
Singapore looks at carbon pricing
20 Feb 2017
Singapore is set to impose a carbon price as it looks to cut greenhouse gas emissions to meet its commitments under the Paris Agreement.
Will blazing a low-carbon path pay off for California?
20 Feb 2017
President Trump has made it clear he intends to dismantle the Obama administration’s policies for reducing US greenhouse gas emissions.
Depleted aquifers get new life from floodwaters
20 Feb 2017
As dam managers were draining water from a Northern Californian reservoir to avert what could have been one of the worst flood disasters in the state’s history, a Southern California farmer was doing something different with the watery winter excess.
Antarctica just shed a giant chunk of ice
17 Feb 2017
The growing crack in the Larsen C ice shelf is the most dramatic example of change in Antarctica right now. But it isn’t the continent’s only frozen feature changing in a warming world.
EU adopts draft reform of carbon market
17 Feb 2017
The European Parliament has adopted draft reforms of the EU’s carbon market post-2020 that aim to balance greater cuts in greenhouse gases with protection for energy-intensive industries.
Oil refinery fire at key Victoria facility
16 Apr 2026
Explosions and towering flames were reported as a significant fire broke out at one of Australia’s major oil refineries.
Trump takes a ‘wrecking ball’ to independent scientific advisory board
Thu 30 Apr 2026
Without the impartial oversight of its board, the National Science Foundation is now “fully at the behest of the White House,” experts warn.
China’s leadership calls for ‘strict control’ of fossil fuels
Tue 28 Apr 2026
Chinese government leaders published a policy document on 22 April – Earth Day – calling for stricter controls on fossil-fuel consumption and greater oversight of heavy emitters.
EU faces ‘China shock’ as EV imports drive Beijing’s record surplus with bloc
Fri 1 May 2026
The EU is experiencing a prolonged “China shock” as a flood of Chinese EVs into Europe helped push Beijing to a record surplus with the bloc.
UK scientists to fire salt water into the sky in bid to tackle climate crisis
Fri 1 May 2026
Government supporting new geoengineering techniques as race against unregulated companies seeking to capitalise on need for climate cooling tech heats up.
Canada, Alberta close in on carbon price agreement, sources say
Wed 29 Apr 2026
Canada and Alberta are expected to strike a deal in the next two weeks that will increase the price on carbon for the province's industrial emitters, but a broader agreement to tackle oil sands greenhouse gases and green-light a new crude oil export pipeline remains elusive.
India submits new climate action pledges to UN body, flags condition to fulfil promise
Wed 29 Apr 2026
India has formally submitted its pledge to the UN climate body, underline importing conditions noting the developing countries' committments cannot be fulfilled without adequate support in terms of finance and technology transfer.
Tuvalu to host world leaders before COP31 summit
16 Apr 2026
Tuvalu, the Pacific nation at the forefront of the global climate crisis, will host a special meeting of world leaders before this year’s Cop31 summit, as the conference president expresses “complete faith” in Chris Bowen to lead tough negotiations.
Drowned chicks and food scarcity: Emperor penguin and Antarctic fur seal now endangered
13 Apr 2026
The primary drivers are shrinking sea ice and warming oceans driven by climate change.
Rationing power and diluting petrol – how African countries are coping with effects of Iran war
30 Mar 2026
Countries across Africa have taken measures such as diluting petrol and restricting electricity consumption to cope with the fuel crisis triggered by the US and Israel's war in Iran.
Beef production drives 40% of agriculture-linked forest destruction, Brazil leads
26 Mar 2026
Beef production is the leading driver of agriculture-linked deforestation, accounting for 40% of all forest clearing done to open space for food production, according to details of a study released on Tuesday.
Extreme heat threatens global food systems, UN agencies warn
23 Apr 2026
Extreme heat is pushing global agrifood systems to the brink, threatening the livelihoods and health of more than a billion people, according to a new report by the U.N.'s food and weather agencies.
