International: All stories
Brussels talks will decide EU stance on climate change
9 Dec 2008
French president Nicolas Sarkozy met central and eastern European leaders in Gdansk at the weekend but failed to persuade them to accept crucial elements of the package – notably auctioning permits for carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, the Irish Times reported.
What world business leaders think of climate change
9 Dec 2008
Business leaders of more than 140 global companies have published The Poznañ Communiqué on Climate Change, which sets out what they believe should be the key elements of an international deal on climate change.
Builders can do more to curb carbon, says UN report
9 Dec 2008
Energy use in buildings accounts for one-third of greenhouse gas emissions, but the huge potential of the construction sector to combat climate change has not been realised, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Scotland comes up with ‘world leading’ climate bill
9 Dec 2008
A newly published Scottish bill to help to tackle climate change could be a "world leader", environmental groups have claimed.
POZNAN: China, India say Obama is the key
5 Dec 2008
China and India, the developing nations with the highest carbon-dioxide emissions, want US president-elect Barack Obama to demonstrate more commitment in tackling climate change, delegates at United Nations talks in Poland said.
Nader: Why we need a global carbon tax
5 Dec 2008
If President Barack Obama wants to stop the descent toward dangerous global climate change, and avoid the trade anarchy that current approaches to this problem will invite, he should take Al Gore's proposal for a carbon tax and make it global, says veteran American consumer advocate Ralph Nader.
Pressure mounts on Rudd to cut emissions by 25%
5 Dec 2008
Developing countries are intensifying the pressure on Australia and other wealthy nations to promise to cut greenhouse emissions by at least 25 per cent by 2020 at talks in Poland this month.
Food disaster looms in Pacific, says UN report
5 Dec 2008
Disasters linked to climate change such as cyclones, flash floods and droughts are likely to have a serious impact on food production in Pacific island nations, a new United Nations report warns.
Hawaii signs up for electric car network
5 Dec 2008
Hawaii has become the first US state to confirm it will establish a network of electric car stations to wean the islands off oil.
10,000 turn up for crucial climate talks in Poland
2 Dec 2008
The latest round of United Nations-led negotiations aimed at reaching an ambitious global climate change deal next year began today in Poznan, Poland, drawing more than 10,000 participants from governments, business and industry, environmental groups and research institutions.
UK climate chief cracks down on coal-fired energy
2 Dec 2008
Britain’s chief climate change adviser has come down hard on coal, saying new coal-fired power stations should be built only on the understanding that they would be retro-fitted with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology by the early 2020s.
Australia’s final carbon scheme out this month
2 Dec 2008
The final shape of Australia’s future emissions trading will be known on December 15 when Climate Change Minister Penny Wong releases the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme white paper.
Germany cuts gas emissions to below Kyoto marks
2 Dec 2008
Germany has cut its greenhouse gas emissions to below levels required under the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, the government in Berlin has announced on the eve of a crucial climate conference in Poland.
Religious leaders united in call for climate curbs
2 Dec 2008
Leaders of the world's major religions have called for "rapid and large emission cuts in the rich world".
Hot air: Poznan talks will create 13,000 tonnes of carbon
2 Dec 2008
Staging a global forum on climate change is a dilemma, for it adds to very problem it is trying to solve.
CO2 levels reach highest point … and still growing
28 Nov 2008
Levels of climate-warming greenhouse gases continue to increase in the atmosphere, the World Meteorological Organisation says in its latest report.
POZNAN 1: Where the big players stand
28 Nov 2008
After a year of debate on what a post-Kyoto climate deal should look like, the United Nations has published a report setting out its ideas in the hope that it will facilitate an agreement during negotiations in Poznan, Poland, next week.
POZNAN 2: We need a shared vision, says UN chief
28 Nov 2008
The need for a shared vision in long-term world collaboration on climate change will be stressed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the climate change talks in Poznan next week.
POZNAN 3: Our stand won’t change, vows India
28 Nov 2008
Emerging Asian powerhouse India has made it clear that the Poznan talks next week will not bring a change in its controversial stance on greenhouse gas emissions.
POZNAN 4: Maldives awaits dawn of doomsday
28 Nov 2008
The fate of the Maldives, South Asia's most expensive tourist destination, is set to be one of the features in discussions at the UN climate conference in Poznan next week
Shell signs for Australia’s carbon capture institute
28 Nov 2008
Royal Dutch Shell, Europe’s biggest oil company, will become a founding member of Australia’s $A100 million carbon capture and storage institute aimed at speeding low-emissions power output.
‘Green Pope’ switches Vatican on to solar energy
28 Nov 2008
Eco-friendly Pope Benedict will be warmed by solar heating in the Vatican hall where he holds his weekly general audience with the faithful.
British climate change bill shows how it can be done
25 Nov 2008
New Zealand lawmakers might be unable to agree on how to tackle climate change, but an extraordinary show of cross-party unity by their British counterparts is about to make that country the first in the world to have legally binding emissions reductions targets.
Key joins APEC leaders in call to fight climate change
25 Nov 2008
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, whose new government has suspended the country’s emissions trading scheme, is among Asia-Pacific leaders who have collectively called for a comprehensive effort to address climate change through international cooperation.
Top entrepreneurs see climate change as growing strategic concern
25 Nov 2008
Leading entrepreneurs view climate change as a growing strategic concern, according to a survey conducted as part of Ernst & Young's second annual global cleantech insights and trends report.
Governors sign pact to work with Obama – and each other
25 Nov 2008
US state leaders are cheering President-elect Barack Obama's plans to make addressing climate change a national priority - but say they'll continue to move forward on their own.
New UN guide seeks to reduce computer waste
25 Nov 2008
The United Nations has launched a new guide on how to recycle computer equipment in a way that minimises the impact of waste on health and the environment, particularly in developing countries.
Obama vows ‘new chapter’ in US climate change policy
21 Nov 2008
President-elect Barack Obama has sent an explicit message to international negotiators of a new global warming treaty that, under his administration, the US will move to greatly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by the middle of the century.
Protests follow UK’s first carbon permits auction
21 Nov 2008
The UK government is facing protests from various quarters after it said that the proceeds of the sale of carbon permits would not necessarily be used to tackle climate change issues.
British MPs pass landmark climate change bill
21 Nov 2008
MPs have given final approval to a bill committing Britain to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050 - the first country to have such a legally binding framework on climate change.
Climate change momentum fading, says survey
21 Nov 2008
Climate change is fading as a priority in the Pacific Rim as the gloomy state of the global economy takes precedence, a survey of opinion leaders showed this week.
Europe's $14 billion clean-coal plan running out of backers
21 Nov 2008
A European proposal to spend $US14 billion testing how to pump greenhouse gases underground is itself getting buried.
Voluntary carbon market first to embrace REDD
21 Nov 2008
The Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) has become the first global carbon accounting standard to introduce robust rules designed to unlock vital funding for credible agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) projects.
Climate change goes to Hollywood
21 Nov 2008
Climate change is going to the movies. Maybe not, but screen writers gathered in Los Angeles anyway to discuss how incorporating the growing threat of climate change into primetime storylines could inspire viewers to live green.
China outlines plans for domestic carbon trading
18 Nov 2008
Chinese officials claim their government will establish a nationwide carbon trading scheme.
Beware the brown peril – the abc of ABCs
18 Nov 2008
A three kilometre-thick "brown cloud" of man-made pollution, which stretches from the Arabian Peninsula to China to the western Pacific Ocean, is making Asian cities darker, speeding up the melting of Himalayan glaciers and affecting human health, according to a new United Nations Environment Programme report.
Aussies march to back climate change action
18 Nov 2008
Tens of thousands of Australians took part in mass protests at the weekend to call for tough government action on controlling climate change.
Arnie orders full steam ahead on climate strategy
18 Nov 2008
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has ordered state agencies to begin preparing for the projected impacts of global warming on the economy, people and natural resources.
Shopping centre forms America’s first carbon neutral zone
18 Nov 2008
The green movement in the United State has taken a significant step forward with the launch in Atlanta of the country’s first "carbon neutral zone.”
Carbon-sniffing satellite sleuth readies for launch
18 Nov 2008
NASA's first spacecraft dedicated to studying carbon dioxide, the leading human-produced greenhouse gas driving changes in Earth's climate, has arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, to begin final launch preparations.
Exxon Mobil chief slams Australian ETS modelling
14 Nov 2008
Oil giant Exxon Mobil has taken a potshot at the Australian Treasury's view of the likely economic effects of emissions trading, saying it wanted no part of the carbon reduction scheme.
Ban calls on economic summit to tackle global warming
14 Nov 2008
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for this weekend’s Washington summit on the global financial crisis to seize the opportunity to tackle global warming as well, stressing that such action would create jobs and boost the world’s economies.
World-wide investment in clean energy falls sharply
14 Nov 2008
Investment in low-carbon technologies is suffering its first reversal after several years of record growth, as the financial crisis dims the sector's prospects.
1972 book right on target with predicted global collapse
14 Nov 2008
Forecasts of global ecological and economic collapse by mid-century contained in the controversial 1972 book The Limits to Growth are still on-track, according to new CSIRO research.
Australian car makers to get $6 billion green boost
14 Nov 2008
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has announced a $6.2 billion plan to make the automotive industry more economically and environmentally sustainable by 2020.
UN sees need for global body to tackle biodiversity
14 Nov 2008
The possibility of establishing a United Nations-supported scientific intergovernmental body to address biodiversity loss and protect ecosystems is being discussed at a global conference in Malaysia.
Clever climate change thinking could win you $75,000
14 Nov 2008
London’s Financial Times is launching a $75,000 competition to find the world’s most creative ideas for tackling the threat of climate change.
Carbon dioxide levels already in danger zone, says new study
11 Nov 2008
If climate disasters are to be averted, atmospheric carbon dioxide must be reduced below the levels that already exist today, according to a study by a group of 10 scientists from the United States, the United Kingdom and France.
BP decisions big blow to Britain’s energy hopes
11 Nov 2008
International oil giant BP has dealt a double blow to Britain’s energy plans by pulling out of involvement in designing Britain’s first carbon capture and storage project and by announcing it will concentrate its wind-power investments in the United States.
US must take leading role in climate change, says UN official
11 Nov 2008
The head of the United Nations climate change body has said he hopes the United States will take a more active role in fighting global warming once Barack Obama becomes president.
Australia finally acknowledges environment underpins all else. That’s no small thing
Today 10:45am
COMMENT: In what are dangerous times for democracies around the world, parliament’s overhaul of nature laws in the EPBC Act shows ambitious reform remains possible.
Trump seeks to ease US regulations for coal-fired power plants
Thu 27 Nov 2025
President Donald Trump's administration has asked a federal court to strike down 2024 soot limits for power plants and factories.
How China silences environmental reporters beyond its borders
Today 10:45am
Journalists who report on the harms caused by China’s overseas infrastructure buildout in Africa face intimidation, surveillance and police pressure.
The carbon capture plan turning cattle farms into power plants
Fri 28 Nov 2025
The Frontier coalition is backing new technology that produces green electricity from biogas, while capturing waste carbon.
UK security, food and economy at risk without climate action, experts say
Today 10:45am
Only urgent and radical action can prevent systemic breakdown affecting our economy, food supply and national security. This was the stark message from the U.K.’s first national emergency briefing on climate and nature to policymakers this week.
Canada rolls back climate rules in energy deal with Alberta
Today 10:45am
Under the agreement, the federal government will scrap a planned emissions cap on the oil and gas sector and drop rules on clean electricity.
Floods in Thailand, Malaysia kill over 30, displace thousands
Thu 27 Nov 2025
Tens of thousands of people in Thailand and neighbouring Malaysia were displaced by widespread flooding, with streets submerged, homes inundated and at least 34 dead.
Pacific Islands rue lost chance to host COP climate summit
21 Nov 2025
Pacific islanders decried on Thursday a wasted chance to draw eyes to their climate troubles, after their bid to co-host next year's COP climate summit was brushed aside.
Scientists discovered something alarming seeping out from beneath the ocean around Antarctica
13 Oct 2025
Planet-heating methane is escaping from cracks in the Antarctic seabed as the region warms, with new seeps being discovered at an “astonishing rate".
European Investment Bank pledges over 2 billion euros for African renewables projects
Wed 26 Nov 2025
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is pledging more than 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) of financing for renewable energy projects on the African continent over the next two years.
Brazil sees issues related to import of US biofuels 'practically resolved'
Fri 28 Nov 2025
Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin said on Tuesday that unspecified issues related to the country's imports of U.S. biofuels were "practically resolved".
10 years after the Paris Agreement, world leaders are letting go of its most famous goal
Thu 27 Nov 2025
This year's U.N. climate negotiations crashed out on a hard truth: It’s all about the money.
