International: All stories
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.
Sydney to dump $500m in fossil fuels investment
7 Sep 2016
The City of Sydney council has unanimously passed a motion calling for a policy that would remove more than $500m from banks that invest in fossil fuels.
Dissenting academics write own climate report
7 Sep 2016
The Climate Change Authority’s latest report on Australia’s climate goals has divided its membership – so much so that two authority members have divorce themselves from the report and written their own version.
Paris pact signing could be only weeks away
6 Sep 2016
New Zealand is likely to ratify the Paris Agreement in the next couple of months, the Government says.
Leaders stand firm, but dodge climate deadlines
6 Sep 2016
Leaders of the world’s biggest economies reaffirmed their commitment to tackling climate change as the G20 summit came to a close in Hangzhou yesterday.
G20 mocks urgency of fossil fuel subsidy cuts
6 Sep 2016
Hopes that this would be the year the G20 finally got serious on climate change were well and truly dashed yesterday, as the world’s most powerful countries failed to set an end date for fossil fuel subsidies.
Oceans pose 'greatest hidden challenge of our generation'
6 Sep 2016
The soaring temperature of the oceans is the “greatest hidden challenge of our generation” that is altering the make-up of marine species, shrinking fishing areas and starting to spread disease to humans, according to the most comprehensive analysis yet of ocean warming.
Hurricanes cut swathe through US politics
6 Sep 2016
Whether US citizens believe that hurricanes are getting more violent and more destructive depends on whether they have been in one lately – and also whether they are female, and vote Democrat.
Power prices need to rise to tackle climate change
6 Sep 2016
It's time for the Australian government to acknowledge the obvious: electricity prices will have to rise if the counry is to meaningfully reduce carbon emissions.
Cook Islands quietly does the climate business
5 Sep 2016
Three countries have just ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change – China, the United States and the Cook Islands.
China, US show the way but others must follow
5 Sep 2016
The decision by China and the US, the world’s two biggest greenhouse gas emitters, to ratify the landmark Paris accord on climate change heralds a new era of global cooperation on limiting emissions.
Ratification good news for carbon markets
5 Sep 2016
Ratification of the Paris Agreement by China and the United States is good news for the development of carbon markets, says the International Emissions Trading Association.
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.
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.
