International: All stories
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.
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.
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.
