International: All stories

Voters to speak on California climate law
22 Oct 2010
Californians next month will decide whether to pull back from a landmark anti-pollution law as its economy continues to struggle.

China shows the way in wind energy boom
15 Oct 2010
Wind energy could be supplying 22 per cent of the world's power generation by 2030, and 12 per cent as soon as 2020.

Europe claims victory for aviation role in ETS
15 Oct 2010
The European Union claims the way is now clear for its plans to include aviation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme from 2012 following an agreement at a meeting in Montreal.

Companies pile court action on climate watchdog
15 Oct 2010
More than 90 companies and trade associations have sued the US Environmental Protection Agency in the past year over its work on greenhouse gases.

Why we need a closer watch on sea levels
15 Oct 2010
Better international ocean and ice sheet monitoring and modelling programmes are needed to keep pace with the threat of rising sea levels, say the authors of a new book.

Melbourne home to carbon market institute
15 Oct 2010
Melbourne will be home to the Australian Carbon Market Institute, giving the city the advantage to become a major centre for carbon market business in the Asia-Pacific region.

Big banks slammed for backing coal
8 Oct 2010
A report prepared for Greenpeace has found Australia's big four banks are pouring huge amounts of money into the most polluting form of power generation: coal.

How insurance can spur enviro investment
8 Oct 2010
Many hurdles have to be overcome before institutional investors will allocate money to environmental projects in developing countries, according to Standard & Poor's.

Climate change target unsafe, say scientists
8 Oct 2010
An analysis of geological records that preserve details of the last known period of global warming has revealed ¡°startling¡± results which suggest current targets for limiting climate change are unsafe.

Last talks before Cancun bog down in China
8 Oct 2010
Financial assistance from developed countries for projects to combat climate change in the developing world has emerged as a key sticking point at the climate meeting in China, which is the last round of negotiations before the year-end Cancun conference.

UN to list ‘30 Ways in 30 Days’ to combat change
8 Oct 2010
In the run up to next month’s major climate change conference in Cancún, the United Nations will release one case study daily for 30 days to prove that solutions to combat global are available, accessible and replicable.

Solar giant plans huge plant in WA
8 Oct 2010
Perth-based Verve Energy and BP Solar, one of the world’s largest solar companies, have announced plans to build Australia’s largest grid-connected solar photovoltaic plant near Geraldton, Western Australia.

This emissions business is hard, says China
1 Oct 2010
China's goals to slow greenhouse gas growth will be tough and costly, says the nation's top climate change official.

Garnaut back on the Aussie merry-go-round
1 Oct 2010
The man who wrote the climate change report for former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd will be helping to do it all again for the country's new leader.

Ecuador oil deal shows how it can be done, says UN
1 Oct 2010
An Ecuadorian decision to leave vast amounts of oil in the ground to protect the biodiversity of a national park represents a model of the kind of innovative international partnership that benefits everyone, says a senior United Nations official.

Pacific states plead for action at Cancun talks
1 Oct 2010
Two Pacific Islands countries have told the UN that the forthcoming climate change conference in Cancun, Mexico, must come up with a binding agreement.

Carbon management climbs boardroom agenda
24 Sep 2010
Carbon management is becoming a strategic business priority and competitive driver for the largest global companies, a new survey shows.

UK green deal will make 250,000 jobs, says minister
24 Sep 2010
The UK Government aims to introduce “radical” proposals that would insulate 26 million homes over the next 20 years, make energy efficiency affordable to all, and create 250,000 jobs.

Big money aims to shoot down California energy laws
24 Sep 2010
Four years ago, bipartisan majorities in the California Legislature approved a landmark clean energy bill that many hoped would serve as a template for a national effort to reduce dependence on foreign oil and mitigate the threat of climate change.

EU carbon prices may treble by 2013, says bank
24 Sep 2010
European Union carbon permit prices might almost triple by as early as 2013 as natural gas recovers, says Swiss banking giant UBS.

Combet admits carbon tax an option
24 Sep 2010
Australian Climate Change Minister Greg Combet has given a clear sign the Government is prepared to consider introducing a carbon tax.

Toyota to build eco engines in Australia
24 Sep 2010
Japanese car giant Toyota will build a $US300 million plant in Australia to produce engines which will deliver reduced carbon emissions and improved fuel consumption.

Taiwan moves toward carbon offset scheme
24 Sep 2010
Nearly 270 companies responsible for more than half of Taiwan's greenhouse gas pollution have agreed to supply emissions data to the government to help it to launch a carbon offset scheme.

Coal comfort: New climate minister vows support
17 Sep 2010
Australia's new climate change minister, former coal engineer Greg Combet, has been quick to reassure the country's coal mining industry of its vital role in the country's economy.

… but major miner says to look beyond coal
17 Sep 2010
Australia should ''look beyond coal'' and toward other energy sources, says the head of the world’s largest miner, BHP Billiton.

UN urges airlines to slash carbon emissions
17 Sep 2010
UN climate chief Christiana Figueres has urged the air transport industry to press on with curbs on emissions, underlining that it held "critical keys" to tackling global warming.

Canada looms as a polar tiger, says scientist
17 Sep 2010
Canada will emerge as a major world power within 40 years as part of a climate-driven transformation of global trade, agriculture and geopolitics highlighted by the rise of the "Northern Rim" nations.

It’s easy, says study, change what the cow eats
17 Sep 2010
Climate change can be curbed by changing the diet of livestock who contribute a fifth of the planet's greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new study.

Put your money on e-cars, says bank report
10 Sep 2010
Low-carbon vehicles, such as electric cars, will be a bigger global market by 2020 than renewable energy like wind and solar power, according to a report by HSBC bank.

Early Greens pressure could see an Aussie ETS
10 Sep 2010
Australia is now much more likely to introduce a price on planet-warming carbon pollution after support by independents and Greens returned the Labor Party to office this week.

It's a cinch, says Harry, nothing this year
10 Sep 2010
The US won’t pass legislation this year that charges power plants a price for releasing carbon dioxide and other gases that scientists have linked to climate change, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said.

Euronext to expand carbon trading to US, Asia
10 Sep 2010
NYSE Euronext plans to expand its carbon-trading business from Europe to the US and Asia through a joint venture that sets up a three-way battle among exchanges to expand a once-promising market whose fortunes have waned in recent months.

UK launches investor forum to spur green finance
10 Sep 2010
The British government has launched an initiative to unlock new investment in low-carbon technologies and make London a global hub for green finance.

Scientists look for climate clues in ships' logs
10 Sep 2010
The voyages of the Bounty and the Beagle will be used by scientists hoping to build a database to predict natural disasters precisely.

Climate change could be why bees are not so busy
10 Sep 2010
The world-wide decline in bee pollination has been linked to climate change in a new Canadian study.

Big banks take new look at dirty industries
3 Sep 2010
Two international banks operating in New Zealand are among financial institutions reportedly growing wary of environmental risks in lending.

Biofuel demand driving Africa land grab
3 Sep 2010
Biofuel demand is driving a new land grab in Africa, with at least five million hectares acquired by foreign firms to grow crops in 11 countries, a study by an environmental group said this week.

France to pump billions into renewables
3 Sep 2010
France has launched a programme to pump $1.71 billion into green chemistry, solar power and other emerging technology research.

Carbon traders setting up shop in Singapore
3 Sep 2010
More companies trading in carbon offsets and those financing emissions reduction projects are setting up shop in Singapore.

Lomborg changes tune in new book
3 Sep 2010
Climate change sceptic Bjørn Lomborg, once compared to Adolf Hitler by UN climate chief Rajendra Pachauri, will publish a book next month that calls climate change “one of the chief concerns facing the world today.”

India to start market-based carbon trading
3 Sep 2010
India will soon start a market-based emission trading system to check industrial pollution, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has announced.

Indonesia ripe for trading fraud, warn experts
27 Aug 2010
Ambitious plans to harness Indonesia’s millions of hectares of forest to offset carbon emissions could give rise to a new strain of corruption and financial fraud unless managed properly, experts warn.

Plants on a carbon go-slow, say scientists
27 Aug 2010
Earth's plants reduced their carbon uptake by 606 million tonnes during the past 10 years, according to a new study.

Traders demand EU act to bolster market
27 Aug 2010
European carbon market traders have called on the European Union to act now to inject some much needed confidence into the market.

Race is on for biggest offshore wind turbines
20 Aug 2010
British, American and Norwegian engineers are in a race to design and build the Holy Grail of wind turbines – giant, 10MW offshore machines twice the size and power of anything seen before.

PHEW! Welcome to 2010, the world's hottest year
20 Aug 2010
This year has been the hottest in recorded history, according to weather scientists.

Floods might have set new benchmark
20 Aug 2010
Flooding that has swamped one-fifth of Pakistan and left millions homeless could be the worst natural disaster to date attributable to climate change, UN officials and climatologists believe.

Boris gets 11,000 Londoners on their bikes
20 Aug 2010
The Mayor of London’s cycle hire scheme has been launched.

How British firm saves big by being green
20 Aug 2010
A British company behind natural and organic meat and dairy-free brands such as Linda McCartney, Soy Dream and Granose, has developed a taste for being green.

Ecuador touts world's first really green oil deal
13 Aug 2010
Ecuador's ambition to save its rainforest from exploitation could point the way to sparing other threatened landscapes