International: All stories
UN chiefs demand progress in Rio
25 May 2012
United Nations top officials have stressed the need to achieve concrete commitments ahead of the Sustainable Development Conference (Rio+20) in Brazil next month.
State leaders ignore tribes’ forest plan
25 May 2012
A delegation of native Penan from Borneo’s interior have presented a unique community-based conservation initiative at the State Assembly in Kuching, the capital of the Malaysian state of Sarawak.
New website pushes sustainability
25 May 2012
An online database has been launched to strengthen partnerships between sustainable development projects in developing countries and enable communities to better manage their natural resources and local environment.
Banks need a shove to back green
18 May 2012
An Australian researcher is calling for tax breaks and other Government interventions to push banks towards lending on large-scale clean and renewable technologies.
EU airline cash could go to climate fund
18 May 2012
European Union nations should pledge that funds from paying for airline emissions will help poor countries to deal with global warming, the bloc's climate chief said this week.
Europe ETS to spare some industries
18 May 2012
The European Commission has drawn up a draft list of 14 industrial sectors that will be eligible for special state aid to compensate for the increased cost of electricity due to the European Emission Trading Scheme.
Asia-Pacific must respond to survive
18 May 2012
The Asia-Pacific region must continue to grow economically to lift millions of people out of poverty, but it must also respond to climate change to survive, the UN Development Programme says in a new report.
We’re using up our world, says report
18 May 2012
Humanity is using nature's services 50 per cent faster than Earth can renew, says a new report.
Korea, Europe could link carbon markets
18 May 2012
A British Foreign Office official says he expects carbon trading markets between South Korea and the European Union to be linked within the next decade.
She'll be right, Combet tells public
11 May 2012
The Australian Government says it is committed to supporting jobs and households through putting a price on carbon.
Get moving, Ban tells Rio nations
11 May 2012
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged countries to make progress in their negotiations of the outcome document for the Rio+20 conference next month.
EU sets June deadline for single registry
11 May 2012
The full activation of the EU Emissions Trading System single registry, including the migration of over 30,000 EU ETS accounts from national registries, is scheduled to take place in June.
Island nations commit to new fuels
11 May 2012
Twenty small island developing nations meeting in Barbados have announced new actions to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and end poverty.
Think-tank asks the big questions
4 May 2012
The Club of Rome – the international think-tank that published the ground-breaking 1972 The Limits to Growth report – will next week release a new analysis of the world’s future.
Report lists banks as coal’s ‘Filthy Five’
4 May 2012
The largest banks in the United States, including Bank of America, have been listed in a new report’s “Filthy Five” as major financiers of the coal industry.
Koreans say yes to emissions trading
4 May 2012
South Korea has approved a national emissions trading scheme to tackle its growing greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate drives security fears in Arctic
4 May 2012
Ways must be found to head off potential conflicts in the Arctic as climate change reshapes the geopolitics of the area, says a new report.
Australia revises carbon offset scheme
4 May 2012
A revised National Carbon Offset Scheme has just been released, allowing Australian businesses to offset their products with pollution reduction under the Government's Carbon Farming Initiative.
Senior scientists talk innovation access
4 May 2012
Chief executives of nine of the world’s leading applied research agencies are meeting in Sydney to improve access by the developing world to science and innovation.
Islands face big fresh water problems
27 Apr 2012
Climate change will exacerbate water stress in Pacific Islands, particularly small islands that rely on seasonal rain for their freshwater needs, says a new United Nations report.
Growers eye huge potential of safflower
27 Apr 2012
New varieties of the safflower plant containing the world’s highest levels of valuable oleic acid are in the pipeline for Australian grain growers thanks to breakthrough research at CSIRO.
Talks urge film-makers to spread the word
27 Apr 2012
Film-makers have been urged to use the power of story-telling and documentaries to help to bring sustainability issues to life in a compelling manner.
Towns learn how landfill can make money
27 Apr 2012
The Australian Government has teamed up with the Australian Local Government Association to explain how landfill can be used to reduce pollution and earn carbon credits.
Science key to our future, says UN
20 Apr 2012
Economic growth that relies on unsustainable patterns of consumption and production is undermining humankind’s quest for harmony with nature, says a top United Nations official.
Mexico eyes carbon trading system
20 Apr 2012
Mexico has moved a step closer to passing legislation which will lead to a carbon trading system.
Perth company gets first carbon licence
20 Apr 2012
CO2 Group has become the Australia’s first carbon project developer to get a financial services licence that will allow the company to trade carbon credit units.
Partners have high hopes for insect silk
20 Apr 2012
Bringing new insect silk products to the global market is the focus of a partnership announced by Australian research agency CSIRO and global life science industry supplier Lonza.
Scientists find which plants will survive
20 Apr 2012
New research by Californian scientists could lead to predictions of which plant species will escape extinction from climate change.
Buy coal ... and fight climate change
13 Apr 2012
Environmental policy historically has been driven by a demand-side mindset - attempting to limit consumption of precious fossil fuels through pollution permits, taxation and multi-national climate change treaties.
UN in pre-Rio call for business action
13 Apr 2012
The business and industry sectors play a key role in leading countries toward sustainable development, says a top United Nations official.
Australia and EU want ETS links
5 Apr 2012
The Australian Government and the European Union have confirmed their strong commitment to working towards linking their emissions trading schemes.
Why high-tech is vital in carbon economy
5 Apr 2012
The use of broadband in information and communication technology can help the world transition to a low-carbon economy and address the causes and effects of climate change, according to a new United Nations-backed report.
US aims to cut coal power emissions
5 Apr 2012
The United States is looking to cut emissions from coal-fired power stations.
Energy regulator reports for duty
5 Apr 2012
Australia has moved one step closer to a clean energy future with the Clean Energy Regulator starting operations.
Court gives go-ahead to mega mine
30 Mar 2012
The Queensland Land Court has recommended that the Wandoan coal mine proceed despite concerns raised by Friends of the Earth about the impacts of burning coal.
Carbon capture technology moves closer
30 Mar 2012
Australia’s CSIRO will release its latest findings on carbon dioxide capture technology following a four year $21 million research programme aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power stations.
Grassroots groups win UN prizes
30 Mar 2012
Twenty-five community are the winners of a United Nations-backed partnership prize for promoting local sustainable development solutions.
Australia stands alone in low-carbon slide
23 Mar 2012
Australia is the only G20 country that has gone backwards on its low-carbon competitiveness since 1995, according to the Global Climate Leadership Review 2012 released by The Climate Institute.
Europe tells China to start own ETS
23 Mar 2012
The European Union has hinted that it hopes to avoid levying its controversial carbon-emissions tax on flights from China, if Beijing introduces its own carbon-trading scheme to cover aviation.
Cloud forests heading for destruction
23 Mar 2012
Many of the world’s rarest and richest forests – its high-altitude cloud forests – could be all but obliterated by 2080 due to the combined impact of man-made climate change and habitat destruction.
No doubt about it, Australia’s getting hotter
16 Mar 2012
Australia’s land and oceans have continued to warm in response to rising CO2 emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.
China sees sense of low-carbon economy
16 Mar 2012
A low-carbon economy is among China’s major goals as it tries to leave itself more room to improve the way in which it grows.
World needs water plan, says report
16 Mar 2012
An unprecedented rise in the demand for food, rapid urbanisation and climate change are significantly threatening global water supplies, according to a new United Nations report.
New pact aims to control e-waste
16 Mar 2012
A new United Nations agreement seeks to diminish the damage caused by electronic waste through the collection and recycling of hazardous materials.
Biofuels get $15 million boost
16 Mar 2012
Australia’s biofuel industry has been given a boost with the Government’s announcement of a $15 million commitment to the new Advanced Biofuels Investment Readiness programme.
EU charge could cost Airbus $3.8m
9 Mar 2012
An Asian airline is threatening to scrap an order for 10 Airbus jets over a European Union carbon charge imposed on global airlines.
Shipping shapes as next target of EU
9 Mar 2012
The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) could soon find itself butting heads with Brussels over how best to tackle emissions from international shipping, analysts say.
Businesses keen on clean tech classes
9 Mar 2012
More than 1800 Australian manufacturers have registered to attend information sessions for the Government’s $1 billion Clean Technology Investment programmes.
Don’t be like Singapore, says watchdog
9 Mar 2012
Affluent business city-state Singapore is a society that maybe is one of the best examples of what the world should not do, says an environmental pressure group.
Datacentres should be forced to invest in wind and solar energy, all states agree – except Queensland
Wed 13 May 2026
Power hungry datacentres that are growing to meet the demands of artificial intelligence could be forced to invest in enough new solar and wind generation to completely cover their electricity needs.
US EPA moves to speed clean air permits for power plants, industry
Wed 13 May 2026
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it would speed up the process for large polluters to obtain clean air permits, the latest move by the Trump administration to ease regulatory burdens on American power plants and industry.
China’s leadership calls for ‘strict control’ of fossil fuels
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.
Inequality causing 100,000 extra deaths a year from heat and cold in Europe
Tue 12 May 2026
Economic inequality adds more than 100,000 deaths to the vast toll from heat and cold in Europe each year, research has found.
Nature recovery zones inspired by Attenborough
Tue 12 May 2026
A wildlife trust has been inspired by Sir David Attenborough's climate change mantra to designate 11 nature recovery zones in honour of the broadcaster's 100th birthday.
Carbon capture ‘doesn’t work’: Former British Columbia premier
Fri 8 May 2026
Former British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell warned the costly, troubled technology has failed to deliver, undercutting a central justification for billions in public subsidies and new oil infrastructure.
Climate change, socioeconomic shifts threaten Nepal’s yak herding traditions
7 May 2026
According to the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), warming temperatures are fundamentally altering Himalayan high-altitude ecosystems.
How climate change threatens the economic backbone of the Pacific
4 May 2026
The vast Pacific Ocean and the islands dotted within it produce more than half of the world's tuna.
‘Triple whammy of climate chaos’: Why Antarctica's sea ice collapse is no longer a mystery
Mon 11 May 2026
Scientists have finally identified the ‘triple whammy’ behind Antarctica’s dramatic collapse, shedding new light on the chain reaction that has pushed its sea ice to record lows.
With its first marine reserve, Ghana protects its ocean to secure its future
5 May 2026
Comment: Last month, Ghana made news when it declared its first marine reserve and sited it in one of the nation’s most ecologically and biologically significant marine environments.
The country where lethal hantavirus cases are on the rise. Experts blame climate change
Wed 13 May 2026
Experts believe environmental degradation caused by climate change and human activity is contributing to its spread by allowing the rodents that transmit the virus to thrive in new areas.
UN methane alert system expanded to coal and waste sectors after Indian landfill named among world’s top emitters
6 May 2026
The United Nations is expanding its methane monitoring system to cover coal mines and waste facilities, after satellite analysis identified a landfill in India among the world’s three largest methane-emitting sites.
