International: All stories
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.
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.
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.
