International: All stories
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.
Barrier Reef bleaching made more likely by humans
2 May 2016
The hot water temperature that drove the devastating bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef this year was made 175 times more likely by human-caused climate change, and could be normal in just 18 years, according to preliminary findings by leading climate and coral reef scientists.
Is carbon farming the answer for clapped-out Australia?
29 Apr 2016
Australia's Clean Energy Regulator this week will hold the third emissions reduction fund auction and farmers across the nation will move to the forefront of efforts to rescue a “clapped-out” country.
Labor’s climate policy puts it back in the game
28 Apr 2016
The Australian Labor Party has announced the climate policy it will take to the federal election, including a return to carbon pricing under an emissions trading scheme.
Policy sounds good to us, say investors
28 Apr 2016
The Australian Labor Party’s new climate change policy has many of the elements investors are looking for, including market-based carbon pricing, says the Investor Group on Climate Change.
France ready to go it alone on carbon price floor
28 Apr 2016
France is preparing to introduce a floor price for carbon emissions, even if the rest of Europe does not follow.
Chevron lobbied for controversial legal TTIP right
28 Apr 2016
Chevron lobbied the EU to give foreign investors the legal right to challenge government decisions in a major US-EU trade deal because it would act as a deterrent against laws such as fracking bans.
Warming ocean is frying the Great Barrier Reef
28 Apr 2016
The Great Barrier Reef’s coral is dying, and it may never be the same again. Last month, as historically high ocean temperatures bathed the waters around the reef, the Australian Government raised the coral bleaching threat to the highest level possible.
Stanford rejects students' call to divest
28 Apr 2016
Stanford University has rejected a bid backed by students, faculty and alumni to divest the school's $22.2 billion endowment from holdings in oil and gas companies.
Buffett faces pressure to invest for the climate
27 Apr 2016
Thousands of bankers, investors, business journalists and just plain fans will flock to Omaha this weekend in a yearly pilgrimage to glean insight from the world's most famous investor: Warren Buffett. What they are unlikely to get is any guiding wisdom on climate change, even though the world's most famous climate scientist, James Hansen, will be among the attendees pushing for it.
Drought forecasting isn’t just about water
27 Apr 2016
The Millennium Drought taught Australians many lessons about living under extremely dry conditions – not just about how to conserve water, but also about human suffering.
Labor promises emissions trading scheme
27 Apr 2016
A Labor government in Australia would slash carbon emissions by about 50 per cent more than the Turnbull-led Coalition by 2030, introduce a broad-based emissions trading scheme, and block states like NSW and Queensland from expanding land clearing.
PARIS PACT: New Zealand's world, according to Bennett
26 Apr 2016
On Saturday in New York, Climate Change Minister Paula Bennett signed the Paris Agreement on climate change on behalf of New Zealand.
PARIS PACT: What happens now
26 Apr 2016
The Paris Agreement enters into force 30 days after ratification by at least 55 countries and by countries representing at least 55 per cent of global emissions.
PARIS PACT: How should we compensate the poor countries?
26 Apr 2016
Written within the Paris Agreement on Climate Change is an article on “loss and damages,” the notion of providing aid to vulnerable countries that suffer damages from climate change.
Monsoon on the move brews trouble for tea
26 Apr 2016
Research in China shows that the changing monsoon pattern in East Asia and heavier rainfall is having a detrimental effect on the yield and quality of tea.
World Bank backs green energy in new climate plan
26 Apr 2016
The World Bank has unveiled its ambitious plan to support renewable energy development and fulfil its pledge under the Paris Agreement.
Exxon and allies invoke First Amendment
26 Apr 2016
Exxon, the Competitive Enterprise Institute and their allies are invoking free speech protections in a pugnacious pushback against subpoenas from attorneys general seeking decades of documents on climate change. Their argument is that the state-level investigations violate the First Amendment rights of those who question climate science. | Read more
Cool building ideas for hot cities of the future
22 Apr 2016
"Another hot and humid day in Sydney tomorrow with a maximum of 32 degrees in the city and 38 in the western suburbs." How many times have we heard that on TV or radio weather reports?
PARIS PACT: Look who will be the New York no-shows
22 Apr 2016
An unprecedented number of countries will be gathering in New York City this weekend to sign the Paris climate deal. But there are still some countries absent from the UN’s official list of attendees – including some pretty big emitters and fossil fuel producers.
How even a .5deg temperature rise could wreak havoc
22 Apr 2016
A difference of half a degree centigrade may be barely noticeable day to day, but the difference between 1.5C and 2C of global warming is a shift into a new, more dangerous climate regime.
Republicans warming up to renewable energy
22 Apr 2016
When world leaders gather in New York this weekend to sign the Paris climate accord, they will do so against a changing backdrop. As the cost of wind and solar power has plummeted, the solid consensus against alternative energy in the US Republican Party has begun to crack.
The Paris Accord is a $13 trillion opportunity
22 Apr 2016
Implementing the Paris Agreement will unlock at least $13.5 trillion of economic activity globally, according to a new analysis.
EU dropped climate policies after BP threat
22 Apr 2016
The EU abandoned or weakened key proposals for new environmental protections after receiving a letter from a top BP executive which warned of an exodus of the oil industry from Europe if the proposals went ahead.
Britain backs down on rule gagging scientists
22 Apr 2016
UK ministers have exempted thousands of scientists from a controversial “gagging clause” that would have prevented the academics from trying to influence government on public policy matters.
Key climate change pact dates for 2016
21 Apr 2016
The work of saving Earth's climate does not end with the pact to curb carbon emissions which countries adopted in Paris in December and will sign in New York this weekend. Here are key dates in 2016 toward the Paris agreement's ratification and implementation:
Nature is neglected in election at nation's peril
20 Apr 2016
Economic issues undoubtedly will dominate the looming Australian election, but are they highest priority on the political agenda?
US and China lead push to seal Paris deal
20 Apr 2016
The US and China are leading a push to bring the Paris climate accord into force much faster than even the most optimistic projections – aided by a typographical glitch in the text of the agreement.
ADB urges Asia-Pacific countries to cut emissions
20 Apr 2016
The Asian Development Bank has called on nations in the Asia-Pacific region to transition to low carbon energy systems to combat climate change.
Here's a six-point plan for getting Australia on track
19 Apr 2016
The past two years have been the hottest on record globally, yet Australian climate policy is frozen in the past.
How to have your spoon ... and eat it, too
19 Apr 2016
The spoon tastes like a cracker and its manufacturer hopes to expand into forks and chopsticks.
Will China’s fat wallet shape the planet?
19 Apr 2016
China’s overseas investments will increasingly shape the future nature of life on our planet, and nowhere more so than in the area of climate change.
Hot March smashes 100-year global record
18 Apr 2016
The global temperature in March has shattered a century-long record and by the greatest margin yet seen for any month.
Climate-threatened islands now facing the Big Dry
18 Apr 2016
Almost threequarters of a sample of island groups – atolls and archipelagos that are home to more than 18 million people − are expected to become increasingly more arid under a regime of climate change.
Apple takes business prize for best climate change policy
15 Apr 2016
Apple, the world’s most valuable company, boasts its most progressive climate policies, according to a study of 150 global firms.
North Korea set to sign Paris climate deal
15 Apr 2016
North Korea will be among 130 nations inking a new global warming pact next week, a UN spokesperson has confirmed.
Day of the industrials in next ERF auction
14 Apr 2016
Low-cost industrial projects are likely to out-bid many land-use projects in Australia’s next Emissions Reduction Fund auction, says analyst RepuTex.
Kids can sue over climate negligence, judge says
14 Apr 2016
A group of youngsters has won a major decision in their efforts to sue the US government over climate change. An Oregon judge ruled that their lawsuit, which alleges the government violated the constitutional rights of the next generation by allowing the pollution that has caused climate change, can go forward.
Sanders calls for ban on fracking
14 Apr 2016
Bernie Sanders, campaigning across New York State, called for a nationwide ban on fracking.
Saudi creating $2tn wealth fund by selling oil assets
13 Apr 2016
Saudi Arabia will end its dependence on fossil fuels by creating the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund from selling shares in a state oil company.
China, Japan, US leading solar energy boom
13 Apr 2016
The boom in solar energy development across the United States in recent years is part of a worldwide phenomenon.
Global warming changing how Earth wobbles
13 Apr 2016
Global warming is shifting the way the Earth wobbles on its polar axis, a new NASA study finds.
Could this be a fair dinkum climate policy for Australia?
12 Apr 2016
An Australian think-tank claims to have done the impossible – come up with an effective climate policy that both sides of the political divide can live with.
WANTED: Women in charge to take up climate issues
12 Apr 2016
Women working in financial services are opening a new front in the battle against climate change, with the launch of a UN-backed initiative to take global warming concerns into business boardrooms.
How insect farms could spawn a food revolution
12 Apr 2016
With meat prices expected to soar, agricultural entrepreneurs believe invertebrate livestock can provide the protein we need. But will the mainstream ever be ready to eat mealworms?
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.
