International: All stories
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.
Barrier Reef donations could dry up
19 Aug 2016
Australia’s biggest environmental philanthropist says private investment to clean up the Great Barrier Reef reef ‘doesn’t make sense’ with current land clearing.
Japan moves on ratifying Paris this year
18 Aug 2016
The Japanese government has begun preparations to ratify the Paris climate deal by the end of the year.
UN host Peru cuts red tape for mining
18 Aug 2016
Peru has slashed environmental regulation in an effort to boost the economy, raising questions about its credibility as host of this year’s UN climate talks.
July Earth's hottest month in recorded history
17 Aug 2016
Earth just broiled to its hottest month in recorded history, according to NASA.
Mexico to trial cap-and-trade scheme
17 Aug 2016
Mexico will launch a year-long simulation of a cap-and-trade programme in November, in a test run for a national carbon market expected to launch in 2018.
CLIMATE CALL: Why America must go to war
16 Aug 2016
America’s next president must declare war on climate change in the same way President Franklin Roosevelt fought the Axis powers during World War Two, says climate activist Bill McKibben.
Toyota, Tesla and Vestas among top green companies
16 Aug 2016
Toyota, Tesla, Vestas, DONG Energy and Panasonic are among the top-ranked companies in the first Carbon Clean 200 list, which claims the world's greenest large companies are outperforming their more polluting counterparts by as much as three to one.
BARRIER BLUES: See the reef while you can
16 Aug 2016
The health of the Great Barrier Reef is declining – a fact that has not been lost on the world’s media.
Ethiopia chairs influential climate group
16 Aug 2016
Ethiopia has assumed the chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum from the Philippines, taking charge of a 43-country strong group committed to tougher climate targets.
Hillary Clinton signs up an army of climate experts
15 Aug 2016
Hillary Clinton has assembled a virtual army of formal and informal advisers on energy, the environment and climate change.
Global heat threatens to upset Paris climate summit targets
15 Aug 2016
The Earth is so hot this year that a limit for global warming agreed by world leaders at a climate summit in Paris just a few months ago is in danger of being breached.
HEAT'S ON: Climate will change the Olympic game
12 Aug 2016
Heat stress due to climate change will limit where and when the summer Olympics can be held in the future, according to new research from Auckland University.
Climate risk poorly represented by US firms
12 Aug 2016
Corporate America has a split personality when it comes to climate change.
ADB issues $1.3bn in global green bonds
12 Aug 2016
The Asian Development Bank has issued its inaugural green bond, and has now gathered $1.3 billion in order to finance climate change mitigation and adaptation projects.
Middle East heat wave could be global curtain-raiser
12 Aug 2016
Record-shattering temperatures this summer have scorched countries from Morocco to Saudi Arabia and beyond, as climate experts warn that the severe weather could be a harbinger of worse to come.
The world of climate change ... according to Donald Trump
11 Aug 2016
United States Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has repeated his pledge to get rid of his country’s climate change policies – including its commitment to the Paris Agreement – if he becomes president.
Global warming hit 1.46deg
11 Aug 2016
The first half of 2016 has seen astonishing growth in global average temperatures, building on similar growth in 2015, meaning that it is now all but certain that we will see a record, fifth, successive annual increase this year.
$81bn mobilised to tackle climate change
11 Aug 2016
Climate finance totaling $81 billion was mobilised for projects funded by the world’s six largest multilateral development banks in 2015.
Scientists make a bold prediction about sea level
11 Aug 2016
Climate scientists have just made a very bold prediction regarding sea level rise ... and we should know in a few years if they are correct.
Court backs Obama's climate change accounting
11 Aug 2016
The US Court of Appeals has unanimously upheld the Department of Energy's use of a carbon cost-benefit analysis to justify energy efficiency standards for commercial refrigerators.
Deadly bacteria spread as ocean temperatures rise
10 Aug 2016
Deadly bacteria are spreading through the oceans as waters warm up, and are increasing infection risks, according to a new study.
Republican ex-environment chiefs endorse Clinton
10 Aug 2016
Two Republican former chiefs of the US Environmental Protection Agency are endorsing Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton.
Why social inclusion matters for green growth
10 Aug 2016
From wetland protection in South Africa to scrapping fossil fuel subsidies in Indonesia, the best climate policies are pro-poor.
Bennett: We can look after the Pacific
9 Aug 2016
The climate change minister says New Zealand’s post-2020 emissions reduction target is sufficient to help to protect Pacific nations from the impacts of climate change.
Global climate deal likely to enter into force this year
9 Aug 2016
A global agreement on climate change looks likely to enter into force this year, a new study shows.
Residents to get cash payments from fracking
9 Aug 2016
UK Prime Minister Theresa May has intervened to allow people who live near sites used for shale gas exploration to be given cash payments so that they benefit from the developments.
Waste of resources seen as biggest threat to planet
9 Aug 2016
Scotland’s environment agency has warned the country’s industries and farmers that their waste and inefficiency is now the biggest threat to the environment, overtaking pollution.
Rio opening ceremony calls for action on climate change
8 Aug 2016
Rio de Janeiro opened its Olympics with a deeper message regarding the planet.
Why Siberian anthrax outbreak is a bad sign for our future
8 Aug 2016
The anthrax outbreak in Siberia is offering us a preview: What was once considered a future theoretical possibility  - a re-animated deadly bacterium emerging from the permafrost  - is now a reality.
Greenland melt could expose Cold War waste
8 Aug 2016
When the US military abandoned Camp Century, a complex of tunnels dug into the ice of northwest Greenland, in the mid-1960s, they left behind thousands of tonnes of waste, including hazardous radioactive and chemical materials.
Scientists tease out climate-zika link
8 Aug 2016
Athletes and tourists in Brazil are crowding into a country where rapid environmental change and natural weather fluctuations nurtured a viral epidemic that has gone global.
Can ‘climate corridors’ help species to adapt?
8 Aug 2016
If you flip over a log in a forest in the southeastern US, you are likely to find a squirming salamander. A healthy forest floor, full of fallen branches and rotting leaves, provides these amphibians with the moisture, protection and food they need to survive and thrive.
'Virtual' battery storage plant will ease price spikes
8 Aug 2016
A 5MW battery storage ‘virtual power plant’ will be established in South Australia in a bid to stabilise volatile power prices and support renewable energy.
Turnbull orders CSIRO jobs u-turn
5 Aug 2016
Only 20 climate science positions will be lost from Australia's CSIRO, down from an initial 96, after the Turnbull government intervened, issuing a ministerial directive to the independent agency.
Cities rush to join climate drive after Paris
5 Aug 2016
The Paris climate deal has inspired a surge of cities signing up to do their bit in preparing for weird weather and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
California issues first-in-US compliance plan
5 Aug 2016
California's landmark cap-and-trade programme for carbon emissions and proposed amendments to extend that system will be used to comply with US EPA's Clean Power Plan.
Heat, more heat and signs of worse to come
4 Aug 2016
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's 2015 State of the Climate report has unleashed a flood of statistics that should overwhelm whatever doubts remain of global warming's already startling impacts.
Why Olympic city's mayor is a man of empty promises
4 Aug 2016
We were promised the greenest Olympics ever. What we got was an ecological disaster.
SHARKNADO 4: Really, this movie matters
4 Aug 2016
Given that 2016 is expected to be the hottest year on record, it stands to reason climate change should be an issue nations are rushing to address.
Italy tackles food waste with doggy bag laws
4 Aug 2016
Italy has made it easier for companies and farmers to donate food to charities and is encouraging greater use of doggy bags at restaurants as part of a legislative push to curb the epidemic of food waste.
Why investing in clean tech is not enough
4 Aug 2016
Governments making support for green energy technology a top priority should remember that simply providing subsidies to increase the supply of such tech is not enough.
Fiji to spend millions on coastline protection
3 Aug 2016
THE World Bank says Fiji will spend close to $700 million by 2040 on climate change adaptation projects for the protection of coastline communities.
Rising sea levels could cost homeowners billions
3 Aug 2016
Rising sea levels could soak US homeowners for $882 billion, according to a new report.
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.
‘We make a lot of money’: Trump downplays rise in gas prices during Iran war
Mon 16 Mar 2026
Donald Trump on Thursday shrugged off the economic toll the war in Iran is taking on gas prices across the United States, writing on social media that “when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money”.
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.
Eight countries warn EU not to weaken carbon market
Mon 16 Mar 2026
Spain, the Netherlands and six other governments have urged the European Union not to dismantle or suspend the bloc's emissions trading system, its main climate change policy, as Brussels hunts for ways to curb energy prices.
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.
