International: All stories
Americans are driving more than ever
23 Feb 2016
Americans drove more miles than ever before in 2015, a departure from totals that have stayed mostly flat since 2004.
Fossil fuel emissions behind record spring heat
23 Feb 2016
Scientists say it is highly likely greenhouse gas emissions are behind Australia’s run of three hottest springs on record - 2014, 2015 and 2013.
Republicans' strategy: just ban the words 'climate change'
22 Feb 2016
Florida’s Republican governor Rick Scott has forbidden employees from using terms like “climate change,” “global warming” or “sea-level rise”.
We just had the hottest January ever recorded
22 Feb 2016
January was the globe's most unusually warm month ever recorded, and the past three months have been the most unusually warm three-month period on record, says NASA.
Apple launches $1.5b green bond
22 Feb 2016
Apple has issued US$1.5 billion worth of green bonds to raise money for climate-friendly initiatives.
Statoil to invest $200m in renewable energy
22 Feb 2016
Norway’s biggest oil and gas producer Statoil will invest as much as US$200 million in renewable energy over four to seven years as part its plan to diversify the company’s portfolio.
Europe places energy bets on natural gas
22 Feb 2016
The future of Europe’s energy supply is to rely heavily on natural gas for the coming two decades and beyond, according to a new strategy set out by the European commission.
Figueres to leave UN climate change role
22 Feb 2016
Christiana Figueres will step down in July after six years at the helm of the UN’s top climate body.
Blame climate for stirring up ancient political turmoil
15 Feb 2016
Volcanic eruptions that triggered climatic extremes could have heralded deadly plague and famine in Europe and undermined the Roman empire.
Worldwire ...
15 Feb 2016
SOME STATES FORGING AHEAD WITH EMISSIONS PLANS: Not all states are suspending work on the Clean Power Plan despite the Supreme Court's bombshell decision last week to put a temporary hold on the tight new rules that are at the heart of the Obama administration's climate policies.
Australia backs liveable cities with $250m boost
15 Feb 2016
Australia's better cities commitment is being given a boost with a $250 million programme which will help to provide affordable energy efficient housing to low income earners.
Senate orders carbon risk disclosure probe
9 Feb 2016
Australia’s Senate has ordered an inquiry into carbon risk disclosure, following on the heels of a Financial Stability Board task force on the issue.
CSIRO boss' logic could waste billions in taxes
9 Feb 2016
CSIRO chief executive Larry Marshall offered the following justification for his decision to cut 110 jobs from the agency’s climate science staff: "We have spent probably a decade trying to answer the question 'is the climate changing?' After the Paris climate summit that question has been answered. The next question now is what do we do about it? The people that were so brilliant at measuring and modelling climate change might not be the right people to figure out how to adapt to it."
Worldwire ...
9 Feb 2016
OBAMA PROPOSES OIL TAX TO PAY FOR TRANSPORT: President Obama’s proposal to impose a $10 tax on every barrel of oil and spend the money on advances in transportation is one of the most comprehensive attempts yet to address the climate impacts of moving people and freight from place to place.
Canberra pulls plug on emissions funding
2 Feb 2016
Australia’s Emissions Reduction Fund is expected to run out of money by the end of the year, after the Government said it won’t put in any more.
Worldwire
2 Feb 2016
Copenhagen’s mayor has announced plans to divest the city’s 6.9bn kroner ($NZA1.5b)) investment fund of all holdings in coal, oil and gas.
Sydney makes a plan to win the climate war
25 Jan 2016
Sydney has announced a series of measures to help the city to cope with soaring temperatures, worsening storms and rising sea levels.
What is a garden city – and why is money being spent on building them?
25 Jan 2016
The British government is investing more than £300m ($NZ659m) in building what Chancellor of the Excheque George Osborne has described as the first “proper” garden city in nearly a century, near Ebbsfleet, Kent.
Climate-conscious cities take lessons from New York
25 Jan 2016
Up to two-thirds of the world’s population – some six billion people – may live in cities by 2050.
Out-of-touch traffic modelling drives policy madness
25 Jan 2016
According to all the data, urban car use has peaked, but official traffic modelling forecasts a remarkable reversal.
Worldwire
25 Jan 2016
CITIES FIND WAYS TO NUDGE PEOPLE OUT OF CARS: Home to more than half of the planet’s seven billion people and a large portion of its 1.2 billion cars, cities face a huge challenge as the world strives to meet the Paris climate goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 deg above pre-industrial levels.
Don't scare the horses, advises academic
18 Jan 2016
Fewer scare stories and an appeal to people’s better natures are the key to getting voters on-side over environmental issues, says a politics expert.
America's politics of climate unlikely to change
18 Jan 2016
In an American lection year, with two parties dug in on opposite sides of the climate issue, perhaps only extreme weather will roil the debate.
The current economic system is looking pretty tired
18 Jan 2016
It’s increasingly clear that there is something fundamentally wrong with the way humans run the world. There are many contradictions experienced daily that prove this: the widening social gaps between rich and poor, the paradox of obesity next to starvation, and the ongoing destruction of the planet for short-term private profit.
Worldwire
18 Jan 2016
BEIJING TO SHUT POLLUTING FIRMS: Beijing will close 2500 small polluting firms this year in its latest effort to combat pollution, state news agency Xinhua reported.
COMMENT: Great, now all we need is a plan
15 Dec 2015
By editor ADELIA HALLETT.- Two months ago, Northern Employers and Manufacturers' Association chief Kim Campbell let fly on climate change.
NZ leads charge for world carbon market
15 Dec 2015
Tentative steps have been made toward the development of an international carbon market.
Treaty emerges from battle of the verbs
15 Dec 2015
Under the Paris Agreement there should be no net addition of greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere sometime in the second half of this century.
What we can learn from the rise and fall of climate and civilizations
15 Dec 2015
This year will likely be the hottest on record, beating the previous record set only in 2014. It is also likely to be the first year the global average temperature reaches 1deg above pre-industrial temperatures (measured from 1880-1899).
US town faces watery end from rising sea
15 Dec 2015
The United States, a strenuous doubter of the facts of climate change, will lose an entire town to rising sea level within the next century.
Meet the fossil fuel firms paying for Paris
15 Dec 2015
In their recent book Climate Change, Capitalism, and Corporations: Processes of Creative Self-Destruction, Christopher Wright and Daniel Nyberg argue that “the reputation risk that flows from an association with greenhouse gas pollution has become increasingly relevant for corporations amid growing public awareness of climate change”.
Climate and international laws trap islanders
7 Dec 2015
People on low-lying islands threatened by climate-related disasters are barred from seeking sanctuary because international laws say they are classed as economic migrants.
Most Kiribati households are mulling migration
7 Dec 2015
The Paris climate summit came too late for Ioane Teitiota from the Pacific island nation of Kiribati, who made history when his case for asylum in New Zealand was rejected in September.
Hansen: Why global ‘carbon fee’ system will work
7 Dec 2015
Former NASA climate scientist James Hansen has called for a global “carbon fee” in which fossil fuels are taxed when they are produced or imported, rather than when they are consumed.
What in the world's going on ...
7 Dec 2015
* Bloomberg to head global taskforce on climate change * Carney: Businesses should aim for net zero emissions * Four cities lead world on climate action * New York aims for vast e-car fleet * More than $3.4 trillion in assets vow to divest * Germany backs island nations’ bid for 1.5deg
UN report counts human cost of changing climate
30 Nov 2015
A new study informs delegates to the Paris summit that extreme weather in the past two decades has claimed well over half a million lives and cost trillions of dollars.
What in the world's going on ...
30 Nov 2015
* Christiana Figueres: the woman whose job it is to save the world * Gates to launch clean energy project in Paris * Unilever vows to go 'carbon positive' by 2030 * Malaysia targets cut in last-minute pledge * Key dates in fight to save world from climate change
Wind, solar, coal and gas will reach similar costs by 2030
30 Nov 2015
Renewable energy sources such as solar and wind by 2030 will cost a similar amount to fossils fuels such as coal and gas, thanks to falling technology costs, according to new forecasts.
Reporters risk lives on environment front line
30 Nov 2015
As the Paris climate talks begin, Reporters Without Borders has released a report called Hostile Climate for Environmental Journalists that examines the often tragic difficulties for reporters covering environmental issues.
Brazilian drought adds to impact of dam collapse
23 Nov 2015
Reduced river flows in Brazil, as global warming intensifies the drought there, mean more damage from a burst dam, scientists say.
Russia will use forests as a Paris bargaining chip
23 Nov 2015
Russia has a reputation as one of the more difficult states involved in international climate negotiations – and don’t expect things to change at the latest UN conference in Paris.
Bushfires overlap strains fire-fighting resources
23 Nov 2015
Australia’s bushfire preparedness is under threat from climate change as bushfire seasons there and in the Northern Hemisphere increasingly overlap, putting new demands on critical shared fire-fighting aircraft, a new report shows.
How this agreement deals another blow to coal
23 Nov 2015
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries have agreed to limit subsidies for the export of inefficient coal-fired power plant technologies.
The Big Apple puts bite on all corporations
23 Nov 2015
In a move that is potentially transformative, the New York attorney general is investigating Exxon for financial fraud.
How to ensure nations stick to Paris commitments
23 Nov 2015
New Zealand is proposing in Paris a climate agreement that is not legally binding. PETER NEWELL, Professor of International Relations at the University of Sussex, explains why legally binding agreements don't work.
What will be top of mind for Africa at climate talks?
23 Nov 2015
Several regions have been meeting in the run-up to the Paris climate talks to deliberate on pressing climate issues. Africa is no exception.
Australia eyes carry-over credits, says expert
23 Nov 2015
Australia is likely to use carry-over credits from KP1 to cover an emissions blow-out, a commentator is predicting.
What in the world's going on...
23 Nov 2015
* Pacific temperature data shows El Niño gathering record strength * Super-rich Qatar delivers target-free UN climate pledge * Britain calls for closing of coal-fired power plants by 2025 * Egypt to go nuclear using Russian money * Senators move to block Paris deal * Geely aims for 90% of sales to be green by 2020 * Kia wants range of 11 green cars by 2020 * Methane becomes electricity becomes Toyota cars
What in the world's going on ...
16 Nov 2015
* Paris is safe, France assures climate talks visitors * EU scientists advise higher safety limits on glyphosate * Science Museum ends sponsorship deal with Shell * World’s largest ocean clean-up operation one step closer * Impact on oceans needs urgent attention at talks * Animal poo fuels a French zoo's biogas unit
Auction time again, but it's not really working
16 Nov 2015
Australia goes to its second auction, but policies still seem unlikely to curb emissions, says market analyst Reputex.
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.
