International: All stories

Australia votes $32 million for soil and emissions study
6 Mar 2009
The Australian Government will spend nearly $32 million to research soil carbon and nitrous oxide emissions in agriculture.

Consumers get paid in US ‘cap and dividend’ scheme
3 Mar 2009
US Congressman Chris van Hollen says he plans to introduce legislation soon that would cap carbon emissions, require all emission allowances to be sold at auction and distribute at least 90 per cent of the auction revenues to consumers in the form of monthly dividend checks.

Obama raises hopes for Copenhagen climate pact
3 Mar 2009
Until recently, the idea that the world’s most powerful nations might come together to tackle global warming seemed an environmentalist’s pipedream.

'Alive and well' AAUs surviving money crisis
3 Mar 2009
The market for government-level emissions rights under the Kyoto Protocol is alive and well, mostly unfazed by the global economic downturn, according to Reuters.

Planted forests critical to wood supplies, says UN
3 Mar 2009
Planted forests which provided wood that is renewable, energy efficient and environmentally friendly have become increasingly critical to future supplies, according to a new study by the United Nations.

Greenpeace targets US toilet paper
3 Mar 2009
Greenpeace is urging the United States to take a second look at its toilet paper manufacturing industry for its use of virgin material on something that is flushed after a few seconds of use.

Carbon price floor not the way to go, say experts
27 Feb 2009
Falling carbon prices should not be supported through artificial price floors or direct government intervention, as this may deter new players and stunt the still-nascent market's growth, carbon market experts believe.

Pressure builds on Rudd to delay emissions scheme
27 Feb 2009
The Rudd government yesterday came under renewed pressure to delay plans for carbon trading when Australia’s leading industry body claimed the global downturn made a 2010 start unrealistic.

Australia goes all-out to cut animal gas emissions
27 Feb 2009
Australia will invest in a major research effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from livestock – the nation’s third largest source of emissions, including methane.

Green activists change minds over nuclear power
27 Feb 2009
Britain’s green lobby for the first time has come out in support of nuclear power technology after years of opposition.

There’s money to be made in climate change
27 Feb 2009
The number of lobbyists seeking to influence United States federal policy on climate change has grown more than 300 per cent in five years, according to a new Center for Public Integrity report.

Consumers keen for energy answers, says report
27 Feb 2009
Consumers around the globe are willing to become more involved with managing their energy use, says a new report by US-based Global Business Services.

Rocket carrying space carbon-spy crashes into sea
27 Feb 2009
A rocket carrying a satellite to track the chief culprit in global warming crashed into the ocean near Antarctica after launch, dealing a major setback to NASA's network for monitoring Earth and its environment from above.

Watch the carbon dioxide flow on Google Earth
27 Feb 2009
New interactive Google Earth maps, created by NASA, Purdue University and the Department of Energy, show the amount of carbon dioxide being dumped into the US atmosphere every hour.

Stern warns of ‘extended world war' over climate
24 Feb 2009
If countries don't deal with climate change decisively, "we're talking about extended world war," eminent British economist Lord Nicholas Stern has warned.

Aussies in dark on emissions effort, survey shows
24 Feb 2009
Most Australians have no idea how Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's emissions trading scheme will work, and do not realise individual efforts will make no difference to stopping climate change.

Green billions fertilise Obama’s economic package
24 Feb 2009
The $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed into law by President Barack Obama will create green jobs, new Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson says.

Big US gold miner wins ‘prize of shame’
24 Feb 2009
Activists have awarded US gold miner Newmont anti-prizes for environmental and social violations.

Britons beat the petrol price thanks to fish and chips
24 Feb 2009
As he has done frequently over the past 18 months, a man drives his blue diesel Peugeot 205 on to a farm near Nuneaton, England, where signs pointed one way for “eggs” and another for “oil.”

China about to roll out new electric buses
24 Feb 2009
Battery-powered buses that can cover 188 miles on one charge and recharge in 20 minutes will hit the road in China in June.
UN: Heat waves and extreme drought will increase with climate change
24 Feb 2009
The severe drought and searing heat that recently allowed wildfires to char much of Australia will oppress wide swathes of the earth with increasing frequency this century, according to a forecast by scientists who met last week in Beijing, China.

Rudd ditches inquiry and sticks with emissions plans
20 Feb 2009
Mounting criticism of Australia’s proposed carbon trading policy forced Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to end the confusion late yesterday by abandoning plans for a new inquiry and declaring the scheme would start as planned in mid-2010.

UN urges green revolution to rescue the world’s hungry
20 Feb 2009
Unless major changes are made - including the way food is produced, handled and disposed of around the world - last year’s food crisis which plunged millions back into hunger may foreshadow an even bigger crisis in the years to come, the UN has warned.

UK windmills flap helplessly as coal remains king
20 Feb 2009
If you flick a switch in Britain today, the light goes on because of coal.

Beijing Olympics raises bar on green sporting events
20 Feb 2009
Last year's Beijing Olympics set new records for eco-friendly mass spectator sporting events by raising the bar on many of the high environmental standards it set itself, according to a new UN report.

Brazil climate changes threaten coffee crop
20 Feb 2009
The future for Brazil's mighty farm sector could be grim, with hotter temperatures pushing crops past its borders, uphill into the Andes and toward the tip of South America.

Global warming worse than we thought, say scientists
17 Feb 2009
The pace of global warming is likely to be much faster than recent predictions, because industrial greenhouse gas emissions have increased more quickly than expected, according to scientists.

Biofuels might speed up global warming, says study
17 Feb 2009
The use of crop-based biofuels could speed up rather than slow down global warming by fueling the destruction of rainforests, scientists warn in a just-released report.

Clean energy at crossroads as firms cut plans and staff
17 Feb 2009
Green companies are in retreat, with a wave of staff layoffs and production cuts that could have dire consequences for government efforts to fight climate change by quickly bringing low-carbon power projects on stream.

Firestorms here to stay, scientists tell Aussies
17 Feb 2009
Scientists say that Australia can expect more of the scorching conditions that fanned the firestorms that killed at least 181 people this month.

Britain wants green makeover of all homes
17 Feb 2009
All UK households will have a green makeover by 2030 under government plans to reduce carbon emissions and cut energy bills.

Kiribati seeks new homeland as sea levels rise
17 Feb 2009
The Pacific island nation of Kiribati is following in the steps of the Maldives by preparing for relocation for its people as rising sea levels threaten to submerge the nation.

Clinton tries to build climate change pact with China
17 Feb 2009
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hopes to recruit China as a partner in American efforts to reduce global warming on her first official tour through Asia this week.

ETS review beginning of the end, says Turnbull
13 Feb 2009
The Rudd Government’s decision to order a review of its emissions trading scheme is the first step to abandoning the plan, Australian Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull says.

ASX to launch trading in thermal coal futures
13 Feb 2009
Australia's ASX , Asia-Pacific's second-largest listed stock exchange, plans to launch thermal coal futures contracts from April.

Airlines: Who must pay carbon price to fly into Europe
13 Feb 2009
All airlines using European airports will be regulated under the European Emissions Trading System from January 2012.

UN chief lines up Obama for debut appearance
13 Feb 2009
US President Barack Obama is expected to make his first appearance at the United Nations next month.

European cities (and Christchurch) sign climate pact
13 Feb 2009
Mayors from more than 350 cities across Europe signed an EU climate change agreement this week pledging to cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than 20 per cent by 2020.

Ford first to offer battery-powered commercial van
13 Feb 2009
Ford has become the first of the big three car makers to announce plans to market a pure battery electric-powered light commercial vehicle in North America.

Coast Guard prepares as Arctic shipping lanes melt
13 Feb 2009
Global warming could be a boon for international shipping if vessels eventually use the Arctic Ocean to cut transit routes in half between Europe and Asia.

‘Enron risk’ high for carbon market, says report
10 Feb 2009
The rapidly growing industry to manage greenhouse gas emissions is suffering from a profound skills shortage, according to a global survey of those involved in the sector.

Australian executives ahead of pack on climate change
10 Feb 2009
MORE than 50 per cent of Australia's business chiefs believe they have not received adequate information about the impact of climate change on business.

They all love lithium, but have we got enough?
10 Feb 2009
Lithium is a hot topic as the world searches for the perfect battery with which to power a new generation of electric vehicles.

US and China told to cooperate on climate change
10 Feb 2009
Cooperation between China and the United States is crucial to successfully addressing the climate change problem, says a report that was co-authored by Energy Secretary Steven Chu just before to his nomination.

Energy boss warns of end to California farming
10 Feb 2009
United States Energy Secretary Steven Chu has warned that, if climate change continues unabated, California’s agriculture could vanish by the end of the century.

Millions in Asia face growing water stress, UN warns
10 Feb 2009
Hundreds of millions of South Asians face growing water stress due to over exploitation, climate change and inadequate cooperation among countries, which are threatening river basins that sustain about half of the region’s 1.5 billion people, the United Nations warns in a new report.

Australian trader records biggest carbon sale
10 Feb 2009
Australia has recorded its largest carbon trade to date as trading in the over-the-counter carbon market gains momentum ahead of the introduction of a carbon pollution reduction scheme scheduled for mid-2010.

BP accused of watering down EU green agenda
3 Feb 2009
Oil industry lobbying at the heart of the European Union has undermined efforts to tackle climate change, environmental groups are claiming.

Carbon trading may be new sub-prime, says energy boss
3 Feb 2009
The row over the working of the European Union’s emissions trading scheme has intensified with EDF Energy warning that speculators risked turning carbon into a new category of sub-prime investment.

Banks key players in low-carbon future, says Stern
3 Feb 2009
Britain’s banking industry might be crippled and reviled, but it is likely to become one of the nation’s key assets in dealing with climate change, according to influential economist Lord Stern.