International: All stories
Go-ahead Ontario adopts carbon trading scheme
19 May 2016
The Canadian province of Ontario is going carbon trading.
Future climate could cast shade on renewables
19 May 2016
Fighting climate change will involve massive changes to the way Australia produces and distributes energy.
France sets kickstart carbon price floor at almost $50
18 May 2016
France will set a carbon price floor of about €30 ($NZ49.88) a tonne in its 2017 finance bill as the government seeks to kickstart broader European action to cut emissions and drive forward last year’s landmark international climate accord.
Climate adaptation gap grows wider
18 May 2016
The cost of coping with climate change in the developing world has just gone up. According to a report from the United Nations Environment Programme, it may have increased five-fold.
UN urges speed as records show wild warming
18 May 2016
Record global temperatures, raging forest fires and multiple droughts should spur countries to start ramping up greenhouse gas cuts, the UN’s climate chief warned in Bonn yesterday.
Vanuatu wants to be 100% renewable by 2030
18 May 2016
Vanuatu is planning to source 100 per cent of its electricity from renewables by 2030.
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.
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.
