International: All stories
Indian army marches into climate change battle
1 Jun 2016
As part of its effort to improve forest cover and so soak up climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions, the government in India has an unlikely partner – the Indian Army.
China set to blitz 2020 climate goal
1 Jun 2016
China expects coal use to fall and greenhouse gas emissions to flatline through 2016, according to analysis of the government’s energy strategy by Greenpeace.
Most Australian voters support renewable energy
1 Jun 2016
Battery storage technology has the potential to reshape not just the energy and transport sectors but also the upcoming Australian federal election, according to a new report.
TEN YEARS ON: How An Inconvenient Truth made its mark on climate debate
31 May 2016
Ten years ago, An Inconvenient Truth opened in cinemas in the United States.
G7 pledges to end fossil fuel subsidies by 2025
31 May 2016
The G7 nations have for the first time set a deadline for the ending most fossil fuel subsidies, saying government support for coal, oil and gas should end by 2025.
Is the real rich v poor climate battle about to start?
31 May 2016
Two weeks of UN talks in Bonn underline the scope and scale of the challenge facing governments as they work out the implications of the 2015 Paris deal.
Green Climate Fund has more money than projects
31 May 2016
The UN’s flagship climate fund says it will miss a target to approve $2.5 billion of new projects in 2016 unless more countries submit proposals.
We’re kidding ourselves if we think we can reset Earth’s damaged ecosystems
30 May 2016
Earth is in a land-degradation crisis.
Australia’s low-emissions roadmap a trip to nowhere
30 May 2016
The Australian Government on Friday made a low-key announcement of its new Low Emissions Technology Roadmap. To be developed by the CSIRO, it will aim to “highlight areas of growth in Australia’s clean technology sector”.
Under the sea, life's good in the octopus’ garden
30 May 2016
Squid are on the move, octopus are going up in the world, and cuttlefish have made themselves at home in a changing ocean.
Australia scrubbed from UN climate change report
30 May 2016
Every reference to Australia was scrubbed from the final version of a major UN report on climate change after the Australian government intervened, objecting that the information could harm tourism.
UP or OUT: Which way for our growing cities?
27 May 2016
We almost expect that any large-scale, big impact inner-city development will be a skyscraper, but for smaller cities in the UK these proposals can still appear as fairly extreme, and their approval contentious.
California cap-and-trade auction falls well short
27 May 2016
The latest auction in California’s cap-and-trade market for greenhouse gases fell sharply below expectations, as buyers purchased just 2 per cent of the carbon credits whose sale funds a variety of state programmes -- notably, the proposed high-speed rail project.
Exxon tried to censor climate scientists
26 May 2016
ExxonMobil moved to squash a well-established congressional lecture series on climate science just nine days after the presidential inauguration of George W Bush, a former oil executive.
Bayer readies massive cash offer for Monsanto
25 May 2016
German pharmaceutical giant Bayer has announced its intention to offer $62 billion in cash to take over agrochemical company Monsanto, as the debate over the use of the pesticide glyphosate continues.
Climate groups join forces for election blitz
25 May 2016
An unprecedented level of coordination between Australian climate activists and conservation groups is aiming to raise the profile of climate change in this year’s election.
Coastal climate law shift is a landmark reform
25 May 2016
Coastal management in Australia is subject to competing interests and challenges. These range from land use and strategic planning issues to ecosystems preservation.
Schools ditch textbooks that question climate change
25 May 2016
Schools in Portland, Oregon, have voted to abandon textbooks that “express doubt about the severity of the climate crisis or its root in human activities”.
EATING AUSSIES: Dining on kangaroos and camels could help the environment
24 May 2016
We might be what we eat, but our dietary choices also affect the health of the environment, and farmers' back pockets.
World could warm by 10deg if all fossil fuels are burned
24 May 2016
The planet would warm by searing 10degC if all fossil fuels are burned, according to a new study, leaving some regions uninhabitable and wreaking profound damage on human health, food supplies and the global economy.
Cities ‘woefully unprepared’ for rising disaster risk
24 May 2016
Cities around the world are failing to plan for fast-increasing risks from extreme weather and other hazards, particularly as population growth and surging migration put more people in the path of those threats, the World Bank says.
Early oil company records show patents for e-cars
23 May 2016
The forerunners of ExxonMobil patented technologies for electric cars and low emissions vehicles as early as 1963 – even as the oil industry lobby tried to squash government funding for such research, according to a trove of newly discovered records.
ELECTION 2016: Climate politics off to a chilly start
23 May 2016
One week into Australia's extended federal election campaign, climate has not featured prominently.
Want to know if the Paris climate deal is working?
23 May 2016
The Paris climate agreement has been praised for sending a strong signal to the world that we are now serious about cutting greenhouse emissions.
Norway's gas emissions rise despite promised cuts
23 May 2016
Norway's greenhouse gas emissions rose by 1.5 per cent last year, lifted by the oil and gas sector and industry, making it harder for Oslo to keep promises of deep cuts to limit global warming.
What does Trump really think about climate change?
23 May 2016
So far, Donald J. Trump has said very little about climate change and energy policy beyond his Twitter posts on the issues. But more clues about Trump’s views on environmental issues have emerged from a four-page briefing on energy policy prepared him by Republican Kevin Cramer, of North Dakota.
We might never again see CO2 levels drop below 400ppm
20 May 2016
Just three years ago this month, the carbon dioxide monitoring station atop Hawaii's Mauna Loa reached a significant milestone: the first measurement of CO2 concentrations that exceeded the benchmark of 400 parts per million. Now, they may never again dip below it.
The Earth is not flat, it is urban, says UN report
20 May 2016
The urban population of developing countries will double by 2030, while the area covered by cities could triple, says a new United Nations report.
It looks like this year will be the hottest ever recorded
20 May 2016
Odds are increasing that 2016 will be the hottest year on the books, as April continued a remarkable streak of record-warm months.
Carney backs insurance drive for Paris climate deal
20 May 2016
Bank of England governor Mark Carney has added his name to a high-level list of leading insurers who have committed to help developing countries to cope with climate impacts.
Queen's Speech: Govt will do something, just don't ask what
20 May 2016
The near complete absence of climate change from the UK's annual parliamentary set piece only underscores the sense of drift within government on a host of environmental and energy issues.
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.
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.
