International: All stories
Australia lags as Paris deal swings into action
7 Oct 2016
Australia is not alone in having not yet ratified the Paris Agreement. When all the EU member states have formally joined it will leave Chile, Israel, Japan, Turkey and Australia as the only OECD members on the outer.
Paris Agreement a turning point, says Obama
7 Oct 2016
US president Barack Obama has said the Paris climate deal could prove a “turning point” in the effort to avoid dangerous global warming.
Five cities that could change the future of Antarctica
7 Oct 2016
Antarctica is at a crossroads. The frozen continent at the bottom of the planet has the potential to either become one of the most fiercely contested zones in the world, or the most collaborative.
Opposition slams Government carbon credits plan
6 Oct 2016
New Zealand’s plans to buy its way out of emissions reductions run foul of the United Nations’ Framework Convention on Climate Change, Opposition parties say.
NZ ratifies Paris Agreement
5 Oct 2016
New Zealand has ratified the Paris Agreement and the European Union is about to, pushing the global climate change treaty over the threshold to bring it into force.
India signs but readies for scrap in Marrakech
5 Oct 2016
India might have ratified the Paris Agreement at the weekend but has indicated it’s ready for a scrap at the forthcoming UN climate talks in Marrakech. | Read more
Canada will tax carbon emissions to meet Paris targets
5 Oct 2016
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will impose a tax on carbon emissions starting in 2018 as part of its efforts to meet targets set by the Paris climate change accord.
Is this the dawn of Australia's hydrogen economy?
4 Oct 2016
The hydrogen economy has been a long time coming. The use of hydrogen as a replacement energy source for oil and gas has been talked about since the early 1970s when the term was first coined by an engineer at General Motors in the US.
Can artificial grass and fake trees replace ‘real’ nature?
4 Oct 2016
The benefits of spending time outdoors are well known. Whether travelling for an hour to reach open countryside or simply walking five minutes to a nearby urban park, being in and around nature makes us happier and healthier.
EU (and others) will ratify Paris deal this week
3 Oct 2016
EU ministers this week are expected to ratify the Paris Agreement, along with India and Cananda, meaning enough countries will have signed up for the deal to come into legal force.
As lights go out, Turnbull switches on peak stupid
3 Oct 2016
One big storm and Australia's climate and energy debate is surging back to peak stupid.
Why storing carbon in land can’t solve climate change
3 Oct 2016
Australia should develop a firewall between its policies to reduce fossil fuel emissions and those designed to increase carbon uptake on land, a new Climate Council report has recommended.
REAGAN REVISTED: Climate change and the big race
30 Sep 2016
Climate change did not come up in the first presidential debate – well, not in any real sense.
Australia admits it's in the dark over Paris pledges
30 Sep 2016
Government officials have acknowledged that Australia’s 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reductions pledged at Paris in 2015 were made without any modelling to show whether existing policies could achieve those targets.
Fossil fuel majors ignore climate crisis
30 Sep 2016
Bill McKibben, the US environmentalist who is one of the world’s foremost authors and activists on issues of global warming, does not mince his words.
Figueres dives back into climate after UN bid
30 Sep 2016
Fresh from quitting what is becoming an increasingly brutal race to replace Ban Ki-moon as UN secretary-general, Christiana Figueres is back with a new project: Mission 2020.
Paris bans traffic along bank of Seine
30 Sep 2016
Paris has voted for the ban of vehicles on the road running along the right bank of the river Seine.
Businesses dragging chain on sustainability
29 Sep 2016
New Zealand must catch up with the movement toward sustainable “conscious capitalism” to survive in a disrupted world, says Vector chair Michael Stiassny.
Russia in the slow lane on road to Paris
29 Sep 2016
What’s holding Russia back from ratifying the Paris climate agreement?
Poland threatens EU plan to ratify pact
29 Sep 2016
Poland has demanded the EU protect its plans to build new coal-fired power plants if it wants fast-track its ratification of the Paris climate agreement.
Air pollution kills million Chinese in one year
29 Sep 2016
More than one million people died in China from dirty air in one year, according to World Health Organisation.
How cities are eliminating car parks
29 Sep 2016
It’s a traditional complaint about urban life: there’s never anywhere to park. But in the 21st century, do cities actually need less parking space, not more?
World passes the 400ppm threshold ... permanently
28 Sep 2016
Scientists say that 2016 will be the year that carbon dioxide officially passed the symbolic 400 ppm mark, never to return below it in our lifetimes.
IPCC chair: We can meet 2deg target if we act fast
28 Sep 2016
INTERVIEW: Hoesung Lee was elected chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change just one month before the landmark Paris climate talks of 2015.
Current emissions dangerous enough, says study
28 Sep 2016
Current greenhouse gas concentrations could warm the world 3-7deg (and on average 5deg over coming millennia. That’s the finding of a paper just published in Nature.
Mali boosts Paris numbers
28 Sep 2016
Mali is the latest country to ratify the Paris Agreement – bringing the total number of countries to have ratified to 61, together responsible for 47.79 per cent of global emissions.
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?
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.
