International: All stories
Clean-energy tax investment eyes record
28 Jun 2016
Tax-equity investment in U.S. clean-energy projects is on track to exceed last year’s record $13.1 billion despite a tepid start this year.
China decarbonises for greener growth
28 Jun 2016
The Chinese economy is decarbonising fast as it has made building a clean, low carbon energy system a priority for the upcoming five years.
Drought kills 66 million trees
28 Jun 2016
Since 2010, 66 million trees have died due to high temperatures and drought in California.
UK commitment to Paris agreement in doubt
27 Jun 2016
With the vote to leave the EU, the UK’s future participation in the landmark Paris Agreement is now in doubt.
California trees have billion-dollar street value
27 Jun 2016
Researchers calculate the huge environmental and economic benefits to taxpayers of the trees that line many streets in California’s cities and suburbs.
Bulk-buy promises Australians cheaper solar
27 Jun 2016
Australia’s first bulk-buy programme for solar battery storage has launched, with more than 1000 people in Newcastle expressing interest and more than 500 attending a sign-up event to buy home battery systems.
Mayors launch global coalition of cities
24 Jun 2016
The world’s two primary city-led climate change and energy initiatives, the EU Covenant of Mayors and the Compact of Mayors, have announced the formation of a new, first-of-its-kind global initiative of cities and local governments leading in the fight against climate change.
Oslo city votes to ban cars by 2019
24 Jun 2016
Oslo city council will ban cars from its city centre by 2019 as it seeks to meet a new goal of wiping out practically all of its greenhouse gas emissions.
Dutch device brings Pacific clean-up closer
24 Jun 2016
A bid to clear the Pacific of its plastic debris has moved a step closer with the launch of the biggest prototype clean-up boom yet by the Dutch environment minister.
Islands plead for migration with dignity
24 Jun 2016
Migration with dignity must be part of a climate change adaptation strategy, rather than relocation of people as climate refugees, says a Pacific leader.
Australians spend billions on rooftop solar
24 Jun 2016
Australian households and small businesses have invested more than $1bn a year in rooftop solar over the past five years, spending a total of almost $8bn since 2007, new calculations show.
Are the Greens the climate radicals Australia needs?
23 Jun 2016
If you despair of Australia’s lacklustre climate policies, you might take heart from the Greens’ stated goal of limiting global warming to 1.5degC. But are the party’s own policies up to the job?
Carbon market history, chapter five
23 Jun 2016
The role of carbon funds in the growth of the carbon market is the subject of the fifth chapter of IETA’s oral history of the carbon market, From Kyoto to Paris.
Rugged climate puts the squeeze on cuddly koalas
23 Jun 2016
More frequent extremes of heat and drought predicted for Australia could have a devastating impact on the habitat of the marsupial found nowhere else on Earth.
Catholic church thinking big on fossil fuel divestment
22 Jun 2016
The decision by four Australian Catholic orders to divest fully from fossil fuels can be interpreted as a direct response to the encyclical on the environment, issued by Pope Francis almost exactly a year ago.
GREEN DREAM: Petrol to drive car market in 2030
22 Jun 2016
Petrol-powered vehicles are predicted to dominate the Australian car market in the year 2030 despite the growing concern of carbon emissions and its impact on the environment, a new study has found.
China plans to cut meat consumption by 50%
22 Jun 2016
The Chinese government has outlined a plan to reduce its citizens’ meat consumption by 50 per cent, in a move that climate campaigners hope will provide major heft in the effort to avoid runaway global warming.
Irish group advises raising cost of carbon credits
22 Jun 2016
The expert group which advises the Irish Government on climate change has come out in favour of a minimum price for carbon under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.
Obama slams lip service in climate change battle
21 Jun 2016
US President Barack Obama has attacked those who pay lip service to natural beauty while blocking efforts to tackle climate change.
Netherlands eyes firmer carbon market
21 Jun 2016
The Dutch presidency of the European Union is seeking political support from member states to enshrine in a carbon market reform a flexibility provision that would enable strengthening the world’s biggest cap-and-trade programme.
Oil bust leaves states with massive well clean-up
21 Jun 2016
The worst oil bust since the 1980s is putting Texas and other oil producing states on the hook for thousands of newly abandoned drilling sites at a time when they have little money to plug wells and seal off environmental hazards.
Record year for murdering environmental activists
21 Jun 2016
More than three people were killed a week defending their land from mining or logging interests last year.
Big players' threats might force NZ to sign early
20 Jun 2016
Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett says New Zealand might have to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change this year, as large countries threaten to lock us out of the process to set the crucial rules for the operation of international carbon markets and accounting.
Records show climate change is an emergency
20 Jun 2016
May was the 13th month in a row to break temperature records in a string of incredible climate milestones which scientists have described as a bombshell and an emergency.
Climate warming raises global economic threats
20 Jun 2016
Research shows that the effects of extreme heat and weather events on production of raw materials has far-reaching and costly financial implications.
More want climate action now than before carbon tax
20 Jun 2016
By DEBORAH COTTON | In April 2011, not long after Julia Gillard was returned to power in the 2010 federal election, I asked a representative sample of Australians about their attitudes to climate policy.
How to design cities for a car-light future
20 Jun 2016
Thinking of building more parking or widening your roads? Think again. Rapid innovation in the mobility sector could drastically reduce driving, the need for parking and expanded roadways.
UN says ratify; Government says not yet
17 Jun 2016
The Government has still not decided when it will ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change, Parliament heard yesterday.
IT'S OFFICIAL: Our world just changed
17 Jun 2016
We’re officially living in a new world. The last station on Earth without a 400 parts per million CO2 reading has reached that mark.
Blow to carbon markets if Britain leaves Europe
17 Jun 2016
A “yes” Brexit vote would leave a large pro-market void in Brussels and will hold back the development of international carbon markets, the International Emissions Trading Association is warning.
Could ‘nitrogen trading’ help the Great Barrier Reef?
17 Jun 2016
Among the increasing sums of money being pledged to help save the Great Barrier Reef is a federal government pledge to spend $A40 million on improving water quality. The Queensland government has promised another $33.5 million for the same purpose.
Chapter 4 out now
17 Jun 2016
It’s time for the fourth chapter of the International Emissions Trading Association’s series on the development of carbon markets – and this time it’s about the Clean Development Mechanism.
Scientists urge Obama to halt Arctic oil leasing
17 Jun 2016
Nearly 400 scientists from more than a dozen countries are urging President Obama to stop future oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Ocean because of significant environmental and climate risks.
Eco homeowners offered cheaper mortgages
17 Jun 2016
Homeowners will qualify for reduced repayment on their mortgages if they undertake energy efficiency renovations, and lower interest rates on loans to pay for them, under “pioneering” plans being drawn up by lenders for consideration by EU and global regulators.
Big banks still fund polluting industries
16 Jun 2016
The world’s biggest private-sector banks are still funding the industries that drive climate change to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars.
Record CO2 levels signal sizzling summers
16 Jun 2016
As carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reaches a historic high point that could continue for a lifetime, summer temperatures are also heading toward record levels
Norway pledges to be climate neutral by 2030
16 Jun 2016
Norway’s parliament has approved a radical goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2030, two decades earlier than planned.
Hollande ratifies Paris climate deal for France
16 Jun 2016
Francois Hollande has become the first leader of an industrialised nation to ratify the Paris Agreement.
Climate change opens Siberian 'gateway to the underworld'
16 Jun 2016
In the heart of Siberia’s boreal forest gapes a monstrous chasm local Yakutians call a “gateway to the underworld,” connecting this life to the next.
May marks one more record hot month for the world
15 Jun 2016
May was record warm for the globe, according to NASA. It’s now even more likely that 2016 will be the hottest year ever recorded.
How low oil prices could weaken Paris pact
15 Jun 2016
Low oil prices could effectively cancel the impact of emissions reduction pledges made under the Paris Agreement, a new study warns.
Paris agreement needs carbon prices to be coordinated
15 Jun 2016
The Paris climate agreement was an important success for climate diplomacy as nation states showed a strong will to cooperate on climate action.
Scotland exceeds targets - six years early
15 Jun 2016
Scotland has exceeded a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 42 per cent - six years early.
China eyes $1 trillion for low-carbon cities
15 Jun 2016
Investment of $1 trillion is needed over the next five years to build low-carbon cities in China, according to a new report.
Flood-hit farmers demand climate action
15 Jun 2016
Flood-affected Tasmanian farmers want to see more action on climate change, a topic which has received little debate during the election campaign.
Farewell, 400 parts per million
14 Jun 2016
The past 12 months have seen a record surge in carbon dioxide emissions say scientists, driven by the burning of fossil fuels and boosted by a rampant El Nino phenomenon.
Ex-Deutsche banker jailed for carbon trading fraud
14 Jun 2016
A former Deutsche Bank employee has been sentenced to three years in jail for his part in a scheme trading carbon emission permits to fraudulently collect $NZ350 million in sales tax.
Plastic-bag recycling heads to southern stores
13 Jun 2016
A plastic-bag recycling programme is being extended to Christchurch, and is expected to collect 75 tonnes of soft plastic a year.
New map shows the dark side of artificial light at night
13 Jun 2016
More than a third of humanity cannot see the Milky Way due to light pollution, and a new wave of energy-efficient lighting could make the problem much worse.
EU gears up to ratify Paris agreement
13 Jun 2016
The Brussels bureaucracy has made its first step towards ratifying the Paris climate agreement. In a nudge to national governments, the European Commission published a draft motion for the Council of Leaders to consider.
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.
