International: All stories
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?
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.
Australia declares El Nino set to be strongest in decades
Wed 17 Jun 2026
Australia's weather bureau warned on Tuesday that an El Nino weather pattern has formed in the tropical Pacific and could intensify in the second half of 2026 to become one of the strongest in seven decades.
Trump wants to put a $75m coal terminal in this liberal California city. Residents aren’t having it
Wed 17 Jun 2026
Residents of West Oakland, which suffers from toxic waste and high pollution rates, is rallying against a coal export facility.
China's fossil-fuelled power extends rise in May on weak wind output
Thu 18 Jun 2026
China's fossil-fuelled power generation, mostly from coal but with a small amount from natural gas, rose 2.1% in May from a year earlier, statistics bureau data showed on Tuesday, as lower wind speeds curbed renewable energy growth.
Steel and chemicals giants demand freeze to EU’s flagship climate policy
Wed 17 Jun 2026
The attack on the Emissions Trading System is among industry's most direct calls yet for the EU to change course on climate.
UK rivers face rising risk of climate 'whiplash'
Thu 18 Jun 2026
Climate change could push UK rivers to dangerous extremes and bring more frequent rapid swings between wet and dry conditions – a phenomenon known as hydroclimatic whiplash – according to research.
Canada signs landmark LNG energy deal with Germany
29 May 2026
Canada has announced a landmark energy agreement with Germany that will see the first-ever long-term shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Canada to Europe in the coming years.
Solar overtakes gas power in Asia for first time ever
Mon 15 Jun 2026
Solar has overtaken gas power in Asia to become the continent’s third-largest source of electricity, according to new analysis by Carbon Brief.
The Pacific made history in the courts – now we must do it in the negotiations
12 Jun 2026
Legal clarity alone will not lead to reduced emissions, more finance or stronger national climate plans – political will is key to meeting states’ obligations.
Antarctica’s west coast missing an area of sea ice the size of France as temperatures peak 20C above average
Tue 16 Jun 2026
A vast area of the Bellingshausen Sea should be covered by sea ice by now, with one expert calling the loss of ice ‘depressing’.
Aid cuts and climate change drive deadly malaria surge in Zimbabwe
29 May 2026
A surge in malaria cases in Zimbabwe is exposing fragile health systems and growing treatment shortages in rural areas.
Colombia’s climate crossroads: Trumpism casts shadow over presidential battle
26 May 2026
Colombia is a global leader in climate activism. Could US influence drag country to a future of mining and fracking?
Science ‘under attack’ from fossil fuel interests at UN climate talks
Thu 18 Jun 2026
Dozens of countries have called out growing “coordinated attacks” by fossil fuel interests aimed at undermining the role of climate science in the UN negotiations at the mid-year talks in Bonn.
