International: All stories
Peru planting 40 million trees to fight climate change
16 Jan 2009
Peru has embarked an ambitious project to plant 40 million trees in three months to help to deter the effects of climate change.
Emerging economies more concerned, but optimistic about solving climate change
16 Jan 2009
Consumers in emerging economies are more concerned and willing to take actions against climate change than those in developed countries, according to global research by Accenture.
Climate could be changing the sound of music
16 Jan 2009
Scientists are not ruling out the possibility that climate change may have affected the sound of wooden musical instruments.
Learn the lingo with buzzwords for greenspeak
16 Jan 2009
If you want to impress friends with your green know-how, make sure to brush up on the top green buzzwords of the year.
EU slashes emission caps on utilities, factories
19 Dec 2008
The European Union approved tighter emission caps on energy and manufacturing companies as of 2013, bolstering the world’s biggest greenhouse-gas market in a bid to spur the US and China to help to fight climate change.
Australian plan not enough, says influential minister
19 Dec 2008
South Africa, emerging as one of the most influential developing nations in climate change negotiations, has rejected the Australian Government's emissions package as an inadequate "opening bid", and warns that unless it is strengthened developing countries will refuse to sign a global climate package.
Rudd backs renewables and home power generation
19 Dec 2008
The Rudd Government has released details of two energy conservation schemes which it says will boost renewables and provide powerful incentives for Australians to install home micro-generation units.
Obama: Chu appointment shows we’re serious
19 Dec 2008
The appointment of 60-year-old scientist Steven Chu as US energy secretary will send a signal that the next administration will value science, President-elect Barack Obama says.
2008 among 10 warmest years on record, UN experts say
19 Dec 2008
The year 2008 is likely to rank as the 10th warmest year on record since the beginning of the instrumental climate records in 1850, although the global average temperature was slightly lower than previous years of the 21st century, according to United Nations weather experts.
IBM tops climate change governance league table
19 Dec 2008
IBM, Tesco and Dell have taken the gold, silver and bronze positions in a league table assessing firms' response to climate change, released last week by the Ceres coalition of investment firms.
Charles urges international climate cooperation
19 Dec 2008
Prince Charles has urged greater international co-operation to tackle climate change as he drew parallels between the environmental crisis and the credit crunch.
Japan’s voluntary emissions scheme attracts 500 firms
19 Dec 2008
More than 500 businesses have now joined Japan’s two-months-old voluntary emissions trading scheme, the government has announced.
Australia sets minimum target of 5% emissions cut
16 Dec 2008
The Rudd Government has set Australia a minimum target to cut emissions by 5 per cent by 2020, based on year 2000 levels.
Poznan positives: At least some progress is being made
16 Dec 2008
If one message has emerged from the long and often tortuous hours of climate negotiations in recent years, it is this: In the end, progress is being made.
Focus on climate, not O.J. or Paris Hilton, urges Gore
16 Dec 2008
Climate change campaigner Al Gore urged the world to fight on against global warming at the conclusion of UN climate talks at Poznan instead of focusing on celebrity news like the legal woes of O.J. Simpson and Paris Hilton’s latest shopping escapade.
Poznan delegates (happily) say bye-bye to Bush
16 Dec 2008
US President George W. Bush's last hurrah in the global climate arena has met with a welling of disdain contrasting with the outsized expectations for his successor Barack Obama.
Environment groups slam EU deal on climate, economy
16 Dec 2008
European leaders have papered over deep divisions on solving the interlocking crises of recession and climate change and are hailing breakthrough agreements on both fronts.
Nobel winner likely to head Obama’s climate team
16 Dec 2008
President-elect Barack Obama today is expected to name Nobel physics laureate Steven Chu as his energy secretary when he announces his team to lead the fight against climate change.
Chinese hybrid car is charging into weak market
16 Dec 2008
With the Big Three US automakers tottering and China's once go-go car market in reverse, this might seem a bad time for a relative unknown to be launching a new vehicle.
We're losing coral reefs at an alarming rate, says report
16 Dec 2008
The world has already lost nearly one-fifth of its coral reefs and many of the remaining reefs could be denuded of life over the next 20 to 40 years as a result of climate change and other threats, the Global Reef Monitoring Network says.
Critics slam NZ attitude at Poznan climate talks
12 Dec 2008
New Zealand is making a name for itself at the UN climate change summit in Poznan – for all the wrong reasons.
UN chief calls for ‘Green New Deal’ at climate talks
12 Dec 2008
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for renewed global solidarity to tackle the twin challenges of climate change and the financial crisis, telling ministers gathered at the Poznan conference that the world cannot afford to let economic woes hinder progress on “the defining challenge of our era.”
Poznan pressure groups blast Australia
12 Dec 2008
Environmental groups have blasted Australia as the single biggest disappointment at climate change talks in Poland, saying it was "Groundhog Day" with the Rudd Government acting like the Howard government.
Poznan talks strike deal on forest conservation
12 Dec 2008
New Zealand played a controversial role at the Poznan climate conference yesterday as negotiators broke an impasse on including forest conservation in a new climate change agreement.
Obama on climate change: The time for denial is over
12 Dec 2008
The time for denial is over and fighting climate change is a matter of urgency, President-elect Barack Obama said after a two-hour meeting with former vice-president Al Gore.
No country doing the job, say climate change watchdogs
12 Dec 2008
The climate watchdogs who rated New Zealand as one of the worst at dealing with greenhouse gas emissions believe no country is worth praising for its efforts in fighting climate change.
Climate experts begin to doubt renewables, says survey
12 Dec 2008
Support for renewable energy technology to fight global warming is weakening in the face of worldwide economic problems and the true scale of the carbon reductions required, a new survey has suggested.
Italy stalling on eve of EU climate change summit
12 Dec 2008
Negotiations have moved forward on a European plan to combat global warming but Italy is not yet prepared to sign on, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini says.
Trading market key is infrastructure, says report
12 Dec 2008
The development of a successful global carbon trading market that delivers real and cost-efficient greenhouse gas emission reductions will require an improved market infrastructure, according to a report issued today by The Bank of New York Mellon.
Climate victims could sue big emitters, says expert
12 Dec 2008
Victims of floods or other climate events made more severe by man-made warming could sue companies that are heavy carbon dioxide emitters, such as oil and power companies, according to a UK climate change expert.
Forest protection hopes fade at Poznan talks
9 Dec 2008
Hopes of reaching agreement at Poznan on protecting the world's forests are fading, prompting environmentalists to appeal for an extra push for a deal this week.
Like the weather, Poznan climate talks go cool
9 Dec 2008
At the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change conference in Bali last year, the sweltering weather was a convenient motif both for global warming and the heat of arguments as negotiators scrambled to produce the Bali roadmap.
UN defends American attack on carbon trading scheme
9 Dec 2008
The UN’s top climate official has defended a global trading scheme to reduce greenhouse gas emissions after the US government released a report questioning its efficacy.
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.
Battery subsidy scheme set for 'urgent' overhaul as costs run out of control
16 Dec 2025
Australian Energy Minister Chris Bowen has announced big changes to the government's battery subsidy scheme amid claims most of its $2.3 billion budget has been spent in just six months.
EPA erases references to human-caused climate change from websites
19 Dec 2025
EPA has scrubbed references to people’s contribution to rising temperatures from some of its climate change webpages.
Verra cancels four tree planting projects in China. And starts reviews of 45 more projects
16 Dec 2025
“Multiple carbon projects in China are facing serious allegations regarding the authenticity of government approval documents."
France updates its 2050 carbon neutrality roadmap
17 Dec 2025
To mark the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, France released a revamped climate plan promising to phase out oil and gas and sharply increase electricity use.
Net-zero scenario is ‘cheapest option’ for UK, says energy system operator
15 Dec 2025
A scenario that meets the “net-zero by 2050” goal would be the “cheapest” option for the UK, according to modelling by the National Energy System Operator (NESO).
The ecological havens flourishing beneath power lines
19 Dec 2025
Initiatives to foster native wildflowers, grasses and shrubs are turning utility corridors into wildlife corridors.
‘Not normal’: Climate crisis supercharged deadly monsoon floods in Asia
12 Dec 2025
Cyclones like those in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Malaysia that killed 1,750 are ‘alarming new reality’.
Pacific fisheries summit gives a boost to albacore and seabirds
19 Dec 2025
Much of the world’s albacore tuna catch, which usually ends up in a can, comes from the southwestern Pacific Ocean, where fishery managers just passed a new set of conservation rules.
Arctic endured year of record heat as climate scientists warn of ‘winter being redefined’
18 Dec 2025
Region known as ‘world’s refrigerator’ is heating up as much as four times as quickly as global average, Noaa experts say.
Are rainforests now a cause of, rather than the answer to, climate change?
15 Dec 2025
A new study finds that Africa’s forests, responsible for one-fifth of global carbon removal, are beginning to generate carbon as the result of human activity.
Thousands of climate disasters are not included in official reports from Amazonian countries
12 Dec 2025
More than 12,500 extreme weather events impacted the Amazon and its population in 10 years, but countries have not generated enough information about it, according to a new scientific study.
UN environment report 'hijacked' by US and others over fossil fuels, top scientist says
11 Dec 2025
A key UN report on the state of the global environment has been "hijacked" by the United States and other countries who were unwilling to go along with the scientific findings, the co-chair has told the BBC.
