International: All stories

Europe sees ‘green bond’ reviving carbon trade
28 May 2010
European regulators and businesses are trying to revive carbon trading through the use of a supplemental “green bond” system that would function alongside the current cap-and-trade scheme, according to a report in the New York Times.

Time to pay up, UN tells rich nations
28 May 2010
The United Nations has told rich countries it’s time to front up with the money they pledged in Copenhagen last December to fight climate change.

Blair to earn millions from climate dealings
28 May 2010
Former British prime minister Tony Blair is set to earn millions of pounds advising an American businessman on how to make money from tackling climate change.

Remote-access meters cut energy costs
28 May 2010
A new web-based smart metering system has been developed by Australia’s CSIRO to enable householders, small businesses and electricity retailers to remotely control energy use over a broadband Internet connection.

Pacific climate change could drive droughts
28 May 2010
Climate scientists are concerned a rise in temperature in the Pacific region due to climate change, could increase droughts in New Zealand and Australia.

Coal looks good again, says power chief
21 May 2010
The absence of a price on carbon means more coal-fired power stations will be built in Australia, says the head of one of the country’s leading power companies.

Garnaut: Carbon tax better than nothing
21 May 2010
The architect of Australia’s dumped emissions trading scheme has called for an interim carbon tax to be imposed.

Senate climate bill seems stuck in limbo
21 May 2010
The compromise United States climate change proposal unveiled last week in the Senate is in legislative limbo, its fate apparently uncertain until at least next month.

Slump slashes Europe’s carbon emissions
21 May 2010
The recession last year slashed more than 11 per cent off climate-warming emissions from heavy industry, the European Union's executive said.

Costa Rican to head UN climate body
21 May 2010
The daughter of a former president of Costa Rica has been named the United Nations new climate chief.

Japan talks joint carbon trading with Korea
21 May 2010
Japan will hold talks with South Korea to discuss setting up a joint emissions-trading mechanism.

London gets first look at new green bus
21 May 2010
A new bus for London will use the greenest hybrid technology and enter service in 2012.

US: We’re back on top of the energy world
14 May 2010
The American Power Act, a bill proposing a cap and trade system for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, was introduced yesterday in the US Senate.

UK’s green coalition hits a nuclear snag
14 May 2010
Britain’s new governing coalition faces a major sticking point in its cobbled-together plans for a low carbon and eco-friendly economy.

Australia votes $652m for renewable energy
14 May 2010
Australia has announced a $A652 million fund for renewable energy, two weeks after it shelved its carbon trading legislation.

Climate change could make half the world a desert
14 May 2010
Climate change could make half of the world uninhabitable for humans as a rise in temperature makes it too hot to survive, scientists have warned.

How Tokyo became first cap-and-trade city
14 May 2010
Seeking to shrink its Portugal-sized carbon footprint, Tokyo has become the first cap-and-trade city.

Climate dice dangerously loaded, says Hansen
14 May 2010
Evidence for global warming has mounted but public awareness of the threat has shrunk, due to a cold northern winter and finger-pointing at the UN's climate experts, leading NASA scientist James Hansen has warned.

UN bans Bulgaria from carbon trading
14 May 2010
Bulgaria will be banned from carbon emission trading as of June 30 after a United Nations body opened a procedure to revoke its accreditation under the Kyoto Protocol.

China looks likely to levy carbon tax
14 May 2010
China is likely to levy a carbon tax, an environmental tax that is paid for carbon emissions, on its enterprises around 2012, in a bid to encourage the country's energy saving and environmentally friendly industries, the daily Economic Information says.

Philippines bank to sell carbon credits
14 May 2010
The Development Bank of the Philippines has agreed to sell carbon credits to a Singapore-based carbon emissions trading company, becoming the second Philippines bank to take advantage of a recovering carbon market.

World must act to salvage biodiversity, says UN
14 May 2010
A new biodiversity report released by two United Nations environmental bodies says that unless radical and creative action is taken quickly to conserve the variety of life on Earth, natural systems that support lives and livelihoods are at risk of collapsing.

No climate deal this year, says UN climate chief
7 May 2010
Outgoing United Nations climate chief Yvo de Boer believes there will be no comprehensive climate treaty this year, saying that a major UN conference in December would yield only a first answer on curbing greenhouse gases.

India talks tough in runup to Mexico
7 May 2010
India has made one of the strongest formal submissions in recent times for climate change negotiations, hardening its stance ahead of a hectic six months of talks leading to a key meeting in Mexico in November.

US whizkid sells Chicago Climate Exchange
7 May 2010
American financial entrepreneur Richard Sandor and the other shareholders of parent company Climate Exchange have cashed out of their big idea for about $600 million.

Scientists hit the skies to measure gas emissions
7 May 2010
The state of California is about to become a giant playground for more than 200 atmospheric scientists.

US carbon emissions down record 7 per cent
7 May 2010
US energy-related carbon dioxide emissions fell a record 7 per cent in 2009, officials said this week, citing the economic slump and other factors including increased energy efficiency.

Scientists pick peers to review UN panel
7 May 2010
A 12-member committee has been chosen to conduct an independent review of the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Meet the grolar bear ... and there's more oddballs to come
7 May 2010
Climate change could lead to the creation of new Arctic species, a marine expert believes.

Aussie states could run own ETS, says minister
30 Apr 2010
Australian states have been told they could run their own carbon trading scheme, now the Federal Government has postponed its proposed Emissions Trading Scheme.

Senate climate bill just keeps on rollin’ along
30 Apr 2010
The public progress of the United States Senate attempt to write a comprehensive climate change energy bill has ground to a halt, but an outline of the bill’s major provisions is moving forward.

Climate change hitting home, say US experts
30 Apr 2010
Climate change is already affecting the United States, causing sea level changes, melting glaciers, and triggering wildlife migration, according to a new study by the Environmental Protection Agency.

UN pushes clean energy access to fight poverty
30 Apr 2010
Increasing access to clean energy and improving its efficiency will be vital to both enhancing global prosperity and combating climate change, according to a new report by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s advisory group on the nexus between energy and climate.

Morocco chalks up a first for the Arabs
30 Apr 2010
Morocco has announced an unprecedented charter for environment and sustainable development, the first commitment of its kind in Africa and the first in the Arab World.

… and even Romania wants a piece of the action
30 Apr 2010
Romania will set up a carbon trading scheme to cut greenhouse gas emissions, hoping to earn more than $3 billion until 2012.

Careful, warns Castro, we could kill ourselves
30 Apr 2010
Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has warned of the aftermath of uncontrollable climate change and the side effects of scientific progress.

Charles has been busy making movies
30 Apr 2010
Prince Charles - once ridiculed for talking to plants - has made a film about climate change and attempts to find innovative solutions to global environmental problems.

Aussies building largest tower of solar power
30 Apr 2010
Australia’s CSIRO is building the largest solar-power tower of its type in the world at the National Solar Energy Centre in Newcastle.

Senators miss Earth Day climate bill deadline
23 Apr 2010
Senators hoping to make a splash on Earth Day with the announcement of a long-awaited US climate bill proposal will now not move until next Tuesday.

EU launches new carbon trading crackdown
23 Apr 2010
The EU has launched the latest phase of its clampdown on fraud in the carbon market by banning any trade in "recycled" carbon credits.

Super Hornet carries biofuel sting in its tail
23 Apr 2010
The US Navy plans to test-fly its main attack aircraft, the Super Hornet, on a biofuel blend today, Earth Day, as part of an ambitious push by the Pentagon to increase US security by using less fossil fuel.

Good news: Iceland volcano cuts emissions
23 Apr 2010
The eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano is unlikely to have any significant impact on climate but has caused a small fall in carbon emissions, experts say.

Giant solar power station for the Alice
23 Apr 2010
A solar power station – the largest technology of its type in Australia – will be built at Alice Springs airport.

Coastal research body to turn science into action
23 Apr 2010
An $11 million collaboration aimed at helping Australia to translate science into practical applications for adapting to climate change, population growth and other coastal pressures has been launched in Perth.

Senators book Earth Day for new energy plan
16 Apr 2010
Senators working on an energy plan for the United States say they are on track to release their proposals on Earth Day, April 22.

Coal the fuel of the future, Congress told
16 Apr 2010
Executives from the world's largest coal companies told Congress yesterday their industry is providing the fuel of the future.

Europe eyes low-carbon energy without risks
16 Apr 2010
Europe can move to low-carbon energy sources without risking reliable supply or increasing bills for consumers, according to a new report.

'Climategate' scientists sloppy but not bad
16 Apr 2010
Climate change researchers accused of manipulating or hiding data in last year's "Climategate" affair were guilty of sloppy record-keeping but not bad science, an independent panel in Britain has concluded.

Indecision could fuel huge power price rises
16 Apr 2010
Australians’ power bills are set to treble by 2020 under government policies, yet the country will still fail to meet the government's most cautious emissions targets, one of the country's biggest generators has warned.

Effects of climate change not to be sneezed at
16 Apr 2010
Climate change could push the cost of United States allergies and asthma beyond the current $32 billion annual price tag, according to conservation and health groups.