International: All stories
UN chief tolls bell for climate change sceptics
5 Sep 2016
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said yesterday that climate change scepticism is over, the day after the United States joined China to ratify the Paris agreement to curb climate-warming emissions.
Islands fail to agree on plan to protect tuna
5 Sep 2016
Pacific island states have failed to strike a deal to protect shrinking supplies of tuna and adopt cutbacks following a regional conference, officials said, sparking condemnation from conservationists.
Why Direct Action didn't work for big emitters
2 Sep 2016
Australia’s largest carbon intensive companies say management lost focus on carbon matters, abandoned energy projects and didn’t have the commercial imperative to produce long-term strategic action on reducing emissions after the carbon tax was repealed, new research finds.
G20 talks climate while Australia cuts energy funding
2 Sep 2016
Australia’s climate bona fides will be exposed again as the prime minister sits with G20 leaders to discuss green investment while stripping more than $1bn from renewable funding at home.
Climate Change Authority gambles on political pragmatism
2 Sep 2016
The Climate Change Authority¡¯s latest report outlining a recommended climate policy ¡°toolkit¡± is a reflection of what is seen by many as politically feasible in Australia now.
Pope urges Christians to save the planet from greed
2 Sep 2016
Pope Francis has called for concerted action against environmental degradation and climate change, renewing a fierce attack on consumerism and financial greed which, he said, were threatening the planet.
Mexico does carbon deal with Canadians
2 Sep 2016
Mexico and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec have agreed to work together on developing carbon markets to curb greenhouse gases.
CAPITAL CASE: Strong policies will attract investment
1 Sep 2016
Capital will flow to clean investments when strong policies tell them to, says a group representing more than $1 trillion worth of investment in Australia and New Zealand.
Bennett all ears as Canberra talks about Paris
1 Sep 2016
New Zealand climate change minister Paula Bennett was in Australia’s Parliament yesterday when the Paris Agreement on climate change was tabled.
Minister plays down climate watchdog calls
1 Sep 2016
Australia's energy and environment minister, Josh Frydenberg, has hit back at a report from the Climate Change Authority calling for the country to toughen its climate policies.
Tiny maps tell a graphic story of the changing climate
1 Sep 2016
Climate change just got another telling visual courtesy of the famed temperature spiral creator. But rather than a graph, it’s a series of 167 maps.
Africa builds ‘Great Green Wall’ against misery
1 Sep 2016
With food insecurity, terrorism and migration to Europe reaching unprecedented levels, Africa is hoping that a “wall of trees” can help to protect its people.
How NZ could plug loophole in climate refugee law
31 Aug 2016
New Zealand is being urged to form bilateral arrangements with its Pacific neighbours to take climate refugees until a hole in international law is plugged.
Earth warming at unprecedented pace, says Nasa
31 Aug 2016
The planet is warming at a pace not experienced within the past 1000 years, at least, making it “very unlikely” that the world will stay within a crucial temperature limit agreed by nations just last year, according to Nasa’s top climate scientist.
Victoria first state to ban fracking
31 Aug 2016
The state of Victoria has become the first Australian state to ban fracking and coal seam gas exploration.
COFFEE CRUNCH: There goes the morning latte
31 Aug 2016
Coffee production worldwide could decline by as much as 50 per cent in the next three decades thanks to climate change, according to a new report.
China's trans-Amazon railway stokes forest fears
31 Aug 2016
China's fast-rising population and its burgeoning economy make steep demands on natural resources, so steep that Beijing is searching constantly for supplies from overseas. And it wants to obtain them as cheaply as it can.
Obama creates largest marine protected area
31 Aug 2016
President Barack Obama hasexpanded the Papahânaumokuâkea Marine National Monument surrounding the north-west Hawaiian Islands, creating the world’s largest marine protected area.
Major nations not far off ratifying Paris pact
30 Aug 2016
The Bahamas is the latest country to ratify the Paris Agreement – and the United States, China and Brazil might not be far behind.
WHAT'S COOKING: Paris isn't the only game in town
30 Aug 2016
Luckily for the chances of avoiding global warming, the Paris climate deal isn’t the only game in town. Here’s a rundown of what else is cooking.
Climate sceptic to chair environment body
30 Aug 2016
Australian climate sceptic Liberal MP Craig Kelly has been appointed chairman of the backbench environment and energy committee.
So the Paris deal enters into force, then what?
29 Aug 2016
Excitement is building over the likely entry into force of the UN’s climate deal – but that will only be the start of a new set of tricky negotiations.
Paris check: Australia’s climate plans in focus
29 Aug 2016
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said tackling climate change “inspires and energises” him, but has he delivered?
Japan to make Olympic medals from electronic waste
29 Aug 2016
Japan is planning to make medals for the 2020 Olympic Games out of electronic waste and junked home appliances.
KILL KRILL: Climate could put tiny fish at risk
29 Aug 2016
As climate change warms the Southern Ocean and alters sea ice patterns, the area of Antarctic water suitable for krill to hatch and grow could drop sharply.
Experts demand Turnbull take climate action
26 Aug 2016
More than 150 Australian experts have signed on open letter to the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, demanding urgent action on climate change that matches the dire warnings coming from climate scientists.
CLIMATE CLUES: It all began a long, long time ago
26 Aug 2016
Continents and oceans in the northern hemisphere began to warm with industrial-era fossil fuel emissions nearly 200 years ago, pushing back the origins of human-induced climate change to the mid-19th century.
Let's give ecosystems a helping hand
26 Aug 2016
Australia’s ecosystems are already showing the signs of climate change, from the recent death of mangrove forests in northern Australia, to the decline in birds in eastern Australia, to the inability of mountain ash forests to recover from frequent fires.
Paris Agreement could lock in warming for centuries
26 Aug 2016
The world has warmed about a degree since the Industrial Revolution, and on our current emissions trajectory we will likely breach these limits within decades.
Human impact might be slowing down
25 Aug 2016
Human activities have taken a heavy toll on our environment. But there may be some hope.
When will this massive Antarctic ice shelf break apart?
25 Aug 2016
A crack is spreading rapidly across Antarctica’s fourth-largest ice shelf, hastening the loss of a massive chunk of ice, say scientists.
California Assembly approves climate change law
25 Aug 2016
A bill extending California’s greenhouse gas emission targets has squeaked by in the state Assembly.
How Australia could blow its carbon budget
25 Aug 2016
Australia will blow its carbon budget with either the Coalition’s emissions reduction targets, or those suggested by the Labor opposition, highlighting the urgent need for negative-emissions technology.
Can a single region show Florida how to adapt?
25 Aug 2016
With every passing year, Southeast Florida faces more pressure to adapt to climate change.
Russia poses threat in melting Arctic, says UK
24 Aug 2016
Russian military expansion in the Arctic as a result of the melting ice-cap is a potential threat to the UK, a Parliamentary inquiry has concluded.
How an English village became a climate leader
24 Aug 2016
The English village of Ashton Hayes is different in an important way when it comes to one of the world’s most pressing issues: climate change.
Don’t fear a Jellygeddon ...
24 Aug 2016
Reports of the pending jellyfish apocalypse have been greatly exaggerated.
Special report to scrutinise feasibility of 1.5deg
23 Aug 2016
The head of the United Nation’s climate body has called for a thorough assessment of the feasibility of the international goal to limit warming to 1.5deg.
Forest restoration can turn the clock back
23 Aug 2016
The ecological and carbon cost of rainforest destruction goes on accumulating for years after nations halt the conversion of canopy into farmland, scientists have found.
Here's how homeowners can beat the worry of rising seas
23 Aug 2016
A market-based initiative could help houseowners to escape from coastal properties under threat from rising seas.
Sustainability at the heart of Tokyo Games
23 Aug 2016
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has declared that sustainability will be a key objective of the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
Arctic faces boom in shipping as ice melts
22 Aug 2016
The luxury cruise ship Crystal Serenity is embarking on an historic voyage through the Arctic, and it’s likely to herald a surge in similar trips.
Australia home the Bear Grylls of desert plants
22 Aug 2016
It was in the mid-20th century when the American agricultural scientist Norman Borlaug showed us how to make wheat and rice stems shorter, to increase their yield.
Scientists must have Plan B for climate change
22 Aug 2016
Fertilising the oceans, painting the deserts white or sending umbrellas into orbit are some of the real things being explored by scientists as a Plan B for dealing with climate change.
Vancouver adopts zero-emissions building plan
22 Aug 2016
The city of Vancouver has sent a message to the green building sector: Efficient isn’t good enough. The city will require zero emissions from any new buildings by 2030.
Paris Agreement set to become law this year
19 Aug 2016
Fifty-seven countries accounting for 57.88 per cent of global emissions have now indicated they will ratify the Paris climate agreement before the end of 2016.
Philippines now likely to back UN climate deal
19 Aug 2016
Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte has backed down on his threat to ignore the Paris climate deal after a meeting with top US diplomat John Kerry.
Louisiana deluge could be just the start of something big
19 Aug 2016
Warmer air and sea temperatures conspire to add water vapor to the atmosphere, fueling intense rain events like the one that has devastated Louisiana this week.
It's time to listen to the ice scientists
19 Aug 2016
The Arctic’s ice is disappearing. We must reduce emissions, fast, or the human castastrophe predicted by ocean scientist Peter Wadhams will become reality.
Coal burning takes huge toll in China
19 Aug 2016
Burning coal has the worst health impact of any source of air pollution in China and caused 366,000 premature deaths in 2013, Chinese and American researchers said.
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.
