International: All stories
Why this criminal court is right to focus on environment
28 Sep 2016
The International Criminal Court is not known for prosecuting people responsible for huge oil slicks, chopping down protected rainforests or contaminating pristine land. But these people might now one day find themselves on trial in The Hague.
Carney backs green finance to cut emissions
27 Sep 2016
Bank of England governor Mark Carney has thrown his weight behind the fledgling market in green investments to help cut carbon emissions and boost global economic growth.
A green and happy holiday? You can have it all
27 Sep 2016
When you’re on holiday, relaxing on a beach or soaking up a vibrant city’s culture, the last thing you want to think about is your responsibility to the planet.
Obama orders climate risks be counted
26 Sep 2016
US president Barack Obama has signed a presidential memorandum establishing that climate-change impacts must be factored into the development of all national security-related doctrine, policies and plans.
We can't blame the solar cycle for global warming
26 Sep 2016
European scientists have dug deep to dismiss once again the old argument that climate change might be a consequence of solar radiation rather than atmospheric chemistry.
PARIS PACT: Morganists say NZ must sell units
23 Sep 2016
The Government must cancel all surplus carbon units it’s sitting on in 2020 as part of ratifying the Paris Agreement, says the group that wrote the Climate Cheats report.
PARIS PACT: Farmers play it short and sweet
23 Sep 2016
Federated Farmers has surprisingly little to say about the Paris Agreement – and that’s possibly a good sign for the climate.
PARIS PACT: Gen Zero does the job for MPs
23 Sep 2016
A group of twenty-somethings has fronted up to hardened politicians and told them not to worry, they’re drafting a Zero Carbon Act for them.
Waste crime the new narcotics, says enviro chief
23 Sep 2016
Waste crime is the new narcotics, according to the head of the UK Environment Agency, offering huge profits as the authorities race to catch up with the damage caused to society.
Countries rush to ratify Paris Agreement
22 Sep 2016
A host of countries has ratified the Paris Agreement overnight, pushing the climate change treaty past one of the thresholds that need to be met to bring it into force.
Obama appeals for global climate investment
22 Sep 2016
Barack Obama appealed for a scaling up of climate finance to reduce global inequality in his last speech to the UN General Assembly as US president.
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.
Australian governments subsidising fossil fuel use by more than $30,000 a minute, analysis finds
Fri 13 Mar 2026
Australian federal and state government subsidies that encourage fossil fuel use and help drive the climate crisis will reach $16.3bn this year after leaping by nearly 10%, according to a new analysis.
Trump administration sues California over the state’s nation-leading vehicle-emission rules
Today 11:00am
The Trump administration ramped up a battle with California over the state’s nation-leading vehicle-emission standards Thursday, suing air regulators over rules aimed at curbing pollution from cars.
What does China’s 15th ‘five-year plan’ mean for climate change?
10 Mar 2026
China’s leadership has published a draft of its 15th five-year plan setting the strategic direction for the nation out to 2030, including support for clean energy and energy security.
Germany misses climate targets as emissions barely fall in 2025
Today 11:00am
Greenhouse gas emissions in Germany have again missed targets set by the Climate Protection Act and barely fell at all in 2025.
UK emissions fall 2.4% in 2025 as coal hits 400-year low
9 Mar 2026
The UK’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 2.4% in 2025 to their lowest level in more than 150 years, according to new analysis.
Mark Carney just picked his lane on climate change
17 Feb 2026
COMMENT: Mark Carney's time as prime minister has been defined in part by his decision to roll back Trudeau-era climate policies.
'The situation is dire': War on Iran squeezes India's cooking-gas supplies
Mon 16 Mar 2026
The shockwaves of a war being fought nearly 3,000km away are now reaching India's kitchens.
Vanuatu moves forward with UN climate resolution despite Trump opposition
9 Mar 2026
The Trump administration’s attempt to sink a UN resolution demanding countries act on the climate crisis has caused cuts to the proposal but hasn’t entirely killed it, according to the tiny Pacific island country spearheading the effort.
Limiting warming to 2C is ‘crucial’ to protect pristine Antarctic Peninsula
24 Feb 2026
Keeping global warming to less than 2C above pre-industrial temperatures is “crucial” for limiting damage to the Antarctic Peninsula’s unique ecosystems, according to a new study.
'Blackwater' lakes and rivers in the Congo Basin are now emitting ancient carbon into the atmosphere
Mon 16 Mar 2026
Carbon that has been buried in the Congo Basin's peatlands for millennia is seeping into lakes and rivers. Why this is happening remains unclear, but researchers warn that tropical peatlands could be nearing a tipping point.
Companies – including Blackrock – retired 2 million carbon credits after Verra suspended project
Thu 12 Mar 2026
Verra suspended the Pacajai REDD project in Brazil in September 2023, pending an investigation into the project’s validity. That didn’t stop Mastercard, BlackRock, Philip Morris International from retiring carbon credits from the project to offset their greenhouse gas emissions.
Summit aims to revive stalled UN talks on phasing out fossil fuels
Wed 11 Mar 2026
Colombia and the Netherlands have set out three priorities for a conference on phasing out fossil fuels they will co-host in Colombia in April.
