International: All stories
Ontario to spend $7bn on sweeping climate plan
17 May 2016
The Ontario government will spend more than $7 billion over four years on a sweeping climate change plan that will affect every aspect of life – from what people drive to how they heat their homes and workplaces – in a bid to slash the province’s carbon footprint.
Fairness key as UN begins strengthening Paris deal
17 May 2016
The dust has long settled from December’s Paris climate summit, which hammered out the first truly global deal to reduce emissions.
CHINA: Carbon trading in a non-market economy
17 May 2016
The world's leading emitter of greenhouse gases has spent 15 years scouting the globe to learn from the mistakes of other nations and find the best ways to build a trading system of its own, which could become the world's largest.
Coal-free SA could fill the gap with batteries
17 May 2016
South Australia’s last coal-fired power station closed last week, leaving the state with only gas and wind power generators.
Trump's new energy adviser is a climate sceptic
17 May 2016
Donald Trump's new energy adviser calls himself a climate sceptic, but he may urge the billionaire celebrity to address climbing temperatures through a hands-off government approach.
Summer storms will bring flash floods to cities
16 May 2016
Scientists warn that global warming will lead to more intense and concentrated summer storms, seriously testing city drainage systems already struggling to cope.
Naomi Klein criticises Australia's lack of climate action
16 May 2016
Canadian author and social activist Naomi Klein has criticised Australia’s climate change policies after winning the Sydney Peace prize for her work exposing the structural causes of the climate crisis.
Troubled Brazil prepares to roll back green laws
16 May 2016
Amidst the turmoil of the presidential impeachment process, members of Brazil’s Congress are set to dismantle environmental protection laws.
World’s poorest urge early climate change action
16 May 2016
A coalition of the world’s poorest countries will ask the developed world to boost their planned greenhouse gas cuts when they meet for UN climate talks in Bonn this week.
Unbearable heat will force populations to flee
13 May 2016
Temperatures in the Middle East and North Africa could reach unbearably high levels that would make some regions uninhabitable and increase the pressures of climate refugees.
Gates Foundation divests entire holding in BP
13 May 2016
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has sold off its entire holding in oil giant BP, in a move welcomed by fossil fuel divestment campaigners.
Air pollution rising at alarming rate in cities
13 May 2016
Outdoor air pollution has grown 8 per cent globally in the past five years, with billions of people around the world now exposed to dangerous air, according to new datafrom more than 3000 cities
GRAPHIC EVIDENCE: Watch the temperature spiral
12 May 2016
The steady rise of Earth’s temperature as greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere and trap more and more heat is sending the planet spiraling closer to the point where warming’s catastrophic consequences may be all but assured.
New York targets bike lanes record
12 May 2016
New York is on target to set a new record this year for laying down protected bike lanes in the city.
Could baby steps be best climate strategy?
12 May 2016
Could baby steps be the best way to make international progress on slashing greenhouse gas emissions instead of trying to strike a bold and grand bargain among world powers?
NOWHERE TO HIDE: Eyes in the sky would map all emissions
11 May 2016
The world’s space agencies are calling for a new generation of satellites that would be precise enough to map greenhouse gas emissions from individual nations.
Banks ignoring climate risk face credit downgrade
11 May 2016
Banks face credit rating downgrade if they fail to address risks associated with climate change, Standard&Poors has warned.
How your garden could help to stop city flooding
11 May 2016
Urban flooding represents the most common yet severe environmental threat to cities and towns worldwide.
Top palm oil producer sues green group
11 May 2016
One of the world’s largest palm oil producers is suing the green body that suspended its sustainability certification last month because of allegations it had deforested Indonesian rainforests.
Australia delays ETS report till after election
10 May 2016
The release of the results of a review into whether Australia should have an emissions trading scheme is being delayed until after that country’s general election in July, prompting suggestions of political interference.
Change to clean energy means massive social change
10 May 2016
Global climate change, driven by human emissions of greenhouse gases, is already affecting the planet, with more heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and floods, and accelerating sea-level rise.
Philippines probes oil companies over climate change
10 May 2016
Can Chevron, ExxonMobil and BP be held accountable for the vulnerable communities most affected by climate change? It’s a question a legal case in the Philippines could answer.
Exxon scrambles to contain climate crusade
10 May 2016
A green campaign to make the company pay for climate change is besieging the oil industry and its conservative allies.
Shanghai to allow use of surplus permits
10 May 2016
The Shanghai carbon market, one of China's pilot emissions trading schemes, will allow participants to use surplus permits from the past three years of trading to comply with emissions targets over 2016-2018.
Tourism firms urge Canberra to tackle climate change
10 May 2016
Tourism operators have broken their silence about the worst crisis ever faced by the Great Barrier Reef, with more than 170 businesses and individuals pleading with the Australian government to take urgent action to tackle climate change and ensure the reef survives.
CLIMATE REFUGEES: G20 group wants clarification
9 May 2016
A G20 group is pushing for urgent clarification of the status of climate change refugees.
LOST ISLANDS OF THE SOLOMONS: Finally, scientists have the evidence
9 May 2016
At least five reef islands in the Solomon Islands have been lost completely to sea-level rise and coastal erosion, and a further six islands have been severely eroded.
Climate confusion creeps into Trump camp
9 May 2016
Perhaps you think nothing else could surprise you in the run-up to this year’s US presidential election, with Donald Trump to be the Republican candidate. You could be wrong.
Canberra spends $500m in Direct Action auctions
9 May 2016
The Australian Government has funded projects to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to the tune of half-a-billion dollars in the latest round of the Direct Action auctions.
Rush for mega-mergers puts food security at risk
9 May 2016
The global agrochemical and seed industry is undergoing profound upheaval, with a spate of mergers and attempted mergers consolidating the sector and raising concerns about the future of the food system.
NUT CASE: Thirsty California turns on its most famous crop
6 May 2016
When California entered the fourth year of drought, everyone wanted to know what had gone wrong.
Enviro scorecard shows Australia again in decline
6 May 2016
After some unusually wet years, Australia's landscape and ecosystems have once again returned to poorer conditions that were last experienced during the Millennium Drought.
Green bonds market to hit record $70bn in 2016
6 May 2016
The global green bonds market will hit a record $US70 billion this year, according to an estimate from Moody’s Investors Services.
London's dirty mayoral fight sidelines green policies
6 May 2016
The London Mayoral campaign has been divisive and brutish, and admirable green policies risk becoming collateral damage.
Limiting oil exploration makes financial sense
6 May 2016
Limiting oil exploration is not just good for the climate, it is good for investors. That is the conclusion of analysis from Carbon Tracker ahead of key shareholder votes at ExxonMobil and Chevron AGMs this month.
Norwegian to be UN environment chief
6 May 2016
Erik Solheim of Norway is set to be named the new Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme.
How Trump's election would derail Paris cimate deal
5 May 2016
The election of Donald Trump would derail the landmark agreement on climate change reached in Paris last December, the architect of the accord has warned.
Dead zones are sapping the seas of oxygen
5 May 2016
Scientists in the US have identified a new hazard in a world in which the climates change and the oceans warm: measurable stretches of the seas could become sapped of oxygen.
There's more than one way to fund urban infrastructure
5 May 2016
With the Australian federal government aiming to kick-start investment in urban infrastructure, pledging $50 million of public money in the 2016 budget to look at alternative financing mechanisms, attention is turning to the idea of “land value capture” as a means to attract the necessary funds.
EU lawmakers want to increase free carbon credits
5 May 2016
The largest political group in the European Parliament says it wants a greater proportion of EU carbon permits to be handed out free to industry from 2020.
Germany wants EU minimum carbon price
5 May 2016
Germany is proposing a minimum price on European carbon emissions, according to a draft document outlining the nation’s energy and climate policy through to 2050.
Price water or prepare for poorer planet, says World Bank
5 May 2016
The future will be thirsty unless governments place a price on water. That’s the stark warning in a World Bank report urging lawmakers to make water conservation a national and international priority.
It's time to turn up the heat on those wrecking the planet
4 May 2016
An interesting question is, what are you waiting for? Global warming is the biggest problem we’ve ever faced as a civilisation — certainly you want to act to slow it down, but perhaps you’ve been waiting for just the right moment.
Resettling the first American climate refugees
4 May 2016
Facing the threat of climate-related flooding, residents of Louisiana's Isle de Jean Charles received this year a first-of-its-kind $48 million grant from the federal government to resettle.
Mexican diplomat next UN climate chief
4 May 2016
The UN has selected Patricia Espinosa as the next head of its climate change body. Mexico’s ambassador to Germany, she will take over from Christiana Figueres when she leaves on July 6, after two terms leading the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Top 500 investors score zero in risk poll
3 May 2016
Almost half of the world’s top 500 investors are failing to act on climate change - an increase of 6 per cent from 236 in 2014, according to a new report.
Australia's renewable energy target in doubt
3 May 2016
Fresh doubts have been raised about Australia's ability to meet the 2020 renewable energy target after a new analysis found that $10 billion of extra investment is needed in a market where lenders are wary because of changing regulations.
Judge backs the kids and tells US state to take climate action
3 May 2016
A judge’s ruling in a lawsuit filed by eight kids forces the state of Washington to get dead-serious about the threat of climate change.
Why cities need to add up the economic value of trees
2 May 2016
Your parents were wrong: money does grow on trees. Cities routinely rake in tens of millions of dollars from their urban forests annually in ways that are not always obvious.
EU court overturns carbon market free quotas
2 May 2016
Europe’s highest court has ruled that the European Commission’s calculation for handing out free carbon permits to industries was flawed, raising the prospect of higher costs for big energy users.
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.
