International: All stories
Australia delays vote on carbon trading
26 Jun 2009
The Australian government failed to get its carbon trading scheme through the Senate yesterday after the opposition Coalition and crossbench senators criticised the scheme’s economic and environmental analysis as being inadequate.
Ban calls leaders to ‘unprecedented’ climate summit
26 Jun 2009
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has extended an invitation to heads of state and governments to attend an “unprecedented” global summit at the United Nations to spur action towards reaching an ambitious climate change pact later this year.
US climate bill proponents agree to concessions
26 Jun 2009
An agreement on a string of demands sought by United States farmers and lawmakers from rural areas erased a major obstacle facing a massive climate bill that would limit pollution linked to global warming and redirect the nation toward greater use of clean energy.
Myths … and the making of a climate bill
26 Jun 2009
No bill is perfect …certainly not one that contains a thousand pages and seeks to overhaul the way a nation uses energy, says the respected US science watchdog, the Pew Centre.
Scotland sets emissions cut target at 42%
26 Jun 2009
Scotland’s Climate Change Minister Stewart Stevenson has lodged an amendment to the Climate Change Bill that will set the interim target for greenhouse gas emissions at 42 per cent.
Russia not ready for climate battle, says bank
26 Jun 2009
Russia is ill-prepared to cope with climate change because of the legacy of Soviet environmental mismanagement and crumbling infrastructure, the World Bank says.
Welcome to Hopenhagen …
26 Jun 2009
The United Nations and an international coalition of advertising agencies has launched a global marketing campaign for the climate change treaty to be ratified in Copenhagen later this year.
New York sees world’s smallest car
26 Jun 2009
The world's smallest car, the Peel 50, debuted this week at Ripley's Believe it or Not museum in Times Square, New York.
Australian opposition stalls vote on emissions laws
23 Jun 2009
A vote on the Australian government's emissions trading scheme appears certain to be delayed until August, but the Senate was locked in procedural wrangling for much of yesterday about how to achieve the delay.
Brazil seeks millions in cattle compensation
23 Jun 2009
Brazilian authorities investigating illegal deforestation have accused the suppliers of several UK supermarkets of selling meat linked to massive destruction of the Amazon rainforest.
Report: How climate change will affect business
23 Jun 2009
United States businesses have been warned that climate change could mean shipping delays, more insured losses, constrained energy supplies and a decline in some tourism-based activities.
Landmark science warns UK faces climate dangers
23 Jun 2009
Cutting-edge scientific projections just launched by UK Environment Secretary Hilary Benn provide the most detailed picture to date of the threat facing Britain from soaring summer temperatures, more extreme weather and rising sea levels.
US pours $600b into Asian green energy deals
23 Jun 2009
The United States has pledged nearly $600 million in funding assistance to support clean-energy projects in Asia and in other parts of the world.
Filibustering may delay carbon trading vote
19 Jun 2009
The Opposition is likely to seek to prolong debate on the Australian Government's carbon emissions trading scheme in a bid to delay a vote in the Senate.
Australia unveils new renewable energy targets
19 Jun 2009
The Australian Government has introduced laws aimed at driving renewable energy investment and curbing greenhouse emissions.
Big emitters deny overstating carbon scheme cost
19 Jun 2009
Big emitters Woodside Petroleum and Rio Tinto have denied claims by an environmental group they overstated costs of proposed Australian climate change legislation to the public and the government.
US House may vote on climate bill next week
19 Jun 2009
Legislation to drastically reduce carbon dioxide pollution blamed for global warming could be voted on by the US House of Representatives as early as next week.
Asia set to become biggest climate change driver
19 Jun 2009
Asia's share of global greenhouse gas emissions could rise to more than 40 per cent by 2030, making it the world's main driver of climate change, experts have warned.
UN launches high-level climate and energy group
19 Jun 2009
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has launched a new group consisting of business leaders and experts who will advise him on energy and climate change challenges, particularly in identifying key issues in the run-up to the major United Nations conference in Copenhagen in December.
Brazil bank to offer cheap loans to green companies
19 Jun 2009
Brazil’s national development bank is developing guidelines to provide cheaper loans to companies that have environmentally sustainable practices.
Women leading the charge to cleaner energy
19 Jun 2009
American women are paying the electric bills at home and making the critical decisions on energy use in their homes and businesses, according to a new survey.
What's the carbon footprint of your cell phone?
19 Jun 2009
Californian start-up Planet Metrics says it is developing software that could give consumers a better read on the embedded energy of everyday products.
Lawyers question claims by big Aussie miners
16 Jun 2009
An Australian legal group has called for a probe into claims by big miners - some with New Zealand connections - that a carbon trading scheme would cost thousands of jobs and millions of dollars.
Canadian anger builds over carbon trading
16 Jun 2009
Anger over Ottawa's complicated new carbon trading plan is starting to simmer now that farmers have read the details and learned it may not be as profitable as first believed.
World Bank pulls loan to Brazilian cattle giant
16 Jun 2009
The Work Bank has withdrawn a $90 million loan to Brazilian cattle giant Bertin following Greenpeace's release of a report linking the company to illegal deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.
Global climate agreement in sight, says UN
16 Jun 2009
An ambitious and effective global pact to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is in sight, the top United Nations climate change official said, as the latest round of negotiations wrapped up in Bonn.
Big computer companies scramble to go green
16 Jun 2009
The world’s leading computer makers are targeting green goals as they scramble to win environmentally aware customers.
US debates climate change role of farms and forests
16 Jun 2009
A dispute is heating up in the United States over the role of farms and forests in climate legislation.
How white roofs could have a green impact
16 Jun 2009
United States Energy Secretary Steven Chu says that global warming could be slowed by a low-tech idea that has nothing to do with coal plants or solar panels - white roofs.
Beatle Paul and Yoko push no meat on Mondays
16 Jun 2009
Beatles legend Paul McCartney has been joined by John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono to launch an appeal for meat-free Mondays.
Aust firms not ready for carbon scheme, says survey
12 Jun 2009
Australian businesses are mostly not prepared for the federal government's planned domestic carbon trading scheme, due to start in mid-2011, a new survey shows.
Canada to establish carbon trading market
12 Jun 2009
The Canadian federal government has announced plans to establish a national carbon trading market in which all companies and individuals could participate.
Japan under fire for 8% emissions cut target
12 Jun 2009
Japan has said it plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of 8 per cent from 1990 levels by the end of the next decade, a goal attacked as too little by environmentalists.
Swedish PM calls for carbon taxes in Europe
12 Jun 2009
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has called for European nations to tax carbon emissions to reduce greenhouse gases.
Rich countries have ‘moral duty’ to cut emissions
12 Jun 2009
Britain needs to cut greenhouse gases by 45 per cent by 2020 to prevent the world "lurching into climate disaster", according to a report from Oxfam.
New climate pact ‘unlikely’ in Copenhagen
12 Jun 2009
The UN's top climate official has voiced doubt about the prospects for completing a new pact on global warming in Copenhagen by its much-touted December deadline.
Airline industry looks to global carbon solution
12 Jun 2009
The aviation industry needs a global solution in achieving carbon-neutral growth which will eventually lead to a zero carbon emission future.
Millions on move as climate changes, warns UN
12 Jun 2009
Climate change has already caused displacement and migration, and could uproot millions more in the future, warns a new United Nations-supported report.
How heifers became the Hummers of agriculture
12 Jun 2009
While most of the world debates penalising vehicle and industrial pollution, a United Nations report has fingered another guilty party - cows.
Shareholders left in dark on climate change
9 Jun 2009
The world's big corporations are failing to provide a full account to investors of the risks and potential costs of climate change, says a new report.
UK set to cut emissions 23 per cent by 2010
9 Jun 2009
Britain is on course to cut its greenhouse gas by about 23 per cent by 2010 from the 1990 level.
No need to rush climate laws, says Aust Opposition
9 Jun 2009
Claims by the US that its likely failure to finalise climate change legislation before December will not jeopardise the crucial Copenhagen talks have been seized on by the federal Opposition as evidence that Australia does not need to rush its laws through by the end of the year.
Flights tax could fund climate aid for poor countries
9 Jun 2009
Wealthy countries could be asked to accept a levy on international flight tickets to raise billions of dollars to help the world's poorest nations to adapt to climate change.
Japanese green-car makers slip back into top gear
9 Jun 2009
After months of cutting output, closing plants and laying off staff as its car exports crashed, Toyota has resumed overtime work to ramp up production of its latest Prius hybrid.
Land use seen as vital to fixing climate toll
9 Jun 2009
The world cannot effectively address climate change without altering people’s relationship with soil, the world’s third largest carbon pool, says a new report.
Nature best at handling climate change, says UN
9 Jun 2009
Nature is best at controlling the gases responsible for climate change, the UN Environment Programme believes.
Get smart on climate change, urges UN chief
9 Jun 2009
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for multilateralism and “smart solutions” to confront economic and climate challenges that could result in insecurity and upheaval.
Australian lower house passes carbon trade scheme
5 Jun 2009
Australia's much-debated carbon emissions trading law has passed its first parliamentary hurdle.
$155 billion spent on clean energy, says UN
5 Jun 2009
More than half the $US250 billion invested in new power generating capacity worldwide in 2008 was spent on renewable energy sources, according to a new United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report launched yesterday.
Wood the new coal in a low-carbon world
5 Jun 2009
Power companies are burning more trees because the renewable fuel can be cheaper than coal and ignited without needing permits to release carbon dioxide.
Australia: Carbon tariff on the table for overseas businesses
Tue 3 Jun 2025
Labor has left the door open to a tax on cement and steel coming in from places not taking sufficient climate action.
US: Clean energy project cancellations top $14 Billion so far in 2025
Wed 4 Jun 2025
Businesses have pulled the plug on big projects amid Trump’s retreat on climate action. But plenty remain in the pipeline, awaiting a Congressional decision on tax credits.
What is China’s ‘Shenzen model’ for low-carbon transition in cities?
Wed 4 Jun 2025
Wandering the streets of Shenzhen, a city which has earned the title of China’s “first city of ‘new-energy vehicles’” (NEVs), you will not miss the scene of numerous NEVs parking under slogans promoting “green and low carbon” lifestyles.
EU science advisers slam Brussels’ weakened 2040 climate plans
Wed 4 Jun 2025
Using international carbon credits in place of domestic action undermines climate efforts, scientific advisory board says.
Why expensive gas – not net-zero – is keeping UK electricity prices so high
28 May 2025
The UK’s high electricity prices have become intensely political, with competing claims over the cause of rocketing bills and how best to get them down.
'This is classic climate change': Canada's Saskatchewan faces worst wildfire season in decades
Wed 4 Jun 2025
There have been 207 wildfires this year as of Friday – 40 more than in the same period last year.
India, a major user of coal power, is making large gains in clean energy adoption
Wed 4 Jun 2025
One of the most carbon-polluting countries, India is also making huge efforts to harness the power of the sun, wind and other clean energy sources.
Vanuatu criticises Australia for extending gas project while making COP31 bid
Wed 4 Jun 2025
Vanuatu’s climate minister has expressed disappointment over Australia’s decision to extend one of the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas projects and said it raises questions over its bid to co-host the COP31 summit with Pacific nations.
I just returned from Antarctica: climate change isn’t some far-off problem – it’s here and hitting hard
13 May 2025
Antarctica is often viewed as the last truly remote place on Earth – frozen, wild and untouched. But is it really as untouched as it seems?
Death toll from Nigeria flash floods rises to 151
Tue 3 Jun 2025
At least 151 people in central Nigeria are now known to have died following flash floods that destroyed homes and displaced thousands of residents earlier this week.
South America sets historic benchmark: Zero new coal plants planned
28 May 2025
South America just achieved a remarkable energy milestone, quietly setting a global benchmark: for the first time in history, the entire continent now has zero new coal-fired power plants planned.
Nations agree on carbon-pricing system to steer shipping towards net-zero
14 Apr 2025
Nations have agreed to introduce a worldwide carbon-pricing system for international shipping to drive the sector towards net-zero emissions by 2050.
