International: All stories
Climate change to spur shifts in wildfire hotspots
9 Apr 2009
Climate change will bring about major shifts in worldwide fire patterns, and those changes are coming fast, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis led by American researchers.
Climate change could cost California billions
9 Apr 2009
Climate change may cost California tens of billions of dollars annually in coming years as sea levels rise and hot days cause people to turn up the air conditioning, a draft report from the state said.
Old buildings take the green lead
9 Apr 2009
Improving the energy efficiency of Australia’s existing commercial buildings is one of the fastest, most effective ways to reduce the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, reports the latest edition of ECOS magazine.
UN calls for inclusion of farming in climate talks
7 Apr 2009
The United Nations has urged policy makers to include farming in their negotiations on an ambitious new international greenhouse gas reduction pact which will replace the Kyoto Protocol.
Money crisis takes bite out of carbon emissions
7 Apr 2009
The collapse of industrial output in the world economic crisis is producing a plunge in carbon emission far exceeding any governmental targets, new data from the European Commission suggests.
Forest campaigners reject Charles’ rescue plan
7 Apr 2009
Environmental and indigenous peoples organisations have publicly rejected the plans of the Prince of Wales to finance rain forest protection with a system of bonds that are to be paid back with funding derived from carbon markets.
Antarctic ice shelf disappears, Arctic melting rapidly
7 Apr 2009
One Antarctic ice shelf has completely disappeared and another has lost a chunk covering 8500 square kilometres, according to a new US Geological Survey report.
Europe, US vow to cooperate in fighting climate change
7 Apr 2009
The European Union and the United States pledged at the Bonn summit to cooperate more in fighting climate change.
Happiness is not a Hummer
7 Apr 2009
Royal Dutch Shell chief Jeroen van der Veer remembers his happy student days driving a famously fuel-miserly Citroen 2CV and believes today’s drivers should fight climate change by using more efficient vehicles.
Aussies snap up solar hot water rebate
7 Apr 2009
Sales of solar hot water systems have soared since the Australian Government boosted its solar hot water rebate to $1600 in February.
G20 will give climate a deal a boost, says UK minister
3 Apr 2009
The G20 summit in London will give "momentum" to efforts to reach a global deal on climate change, UK climate affairs minister Ed Miliband has said.
Carbon emissions trading core of US clean energy bill
3 Apr 2009
Congressional Democrats this week released clean energy legislation that establishes a market-based cap-and-trade programme for reducing global warming pollution from electric utilities, oil companies, and factories that together are responsible for 85 per cent of US greenhouse gas emissions.
Europe’s carbon trading scheme is working … just
3 Apr 2009
Europe’s controversial trading system to cut carbon emissions is showing faint signs of working, according to analysis of preliminary figures released by the European Commission.
Finland acts to tax low-carbon power producers
3 Apr 2009
Nuclear and hydro power plants in Finland are to be taxed to reduce company profits that result from competitive operation in a market with carbon trading.
Airlines fear failure of global climate talks
3 Apr 2009
Major airlines have warned that failure to agree on a global approach to emissions trading in climate change talks could hurt their industry by leading to increased taxes and regulation.
Underground water can store CO2, study shows
3 Apr 2009
Water deep below ground has safely trapped carbon dioxide for millions of years and may one day help to absorb emissions of the greenhouse gas to slow climate change, researchers believe.
UN climate plan talks of new world order
31 Mar 2009
A United Nations document on climate change that will be distributed to a major environmental meeting next week envisions a huge reordering of the world economy.
We’re glad to be back, US tells Bonn summit
31 Mar 2009
The United States won sustained applause at the opening of the Bonn summit when President Barack Obama's envoy pledged to "make up for lost time" in reaching a global agreement on climate change.
Obama invites big emitters to Washington forum
31 Mar 2009
The United States will host a meeting of major economies late next month to lay the diplomatic foundation for an international agreement on climate change and energy later in the year, the White House said.
G20 leaders plan special climate change talks
31 Mar 2009
Leaders attending the G20 meeting in London plan to gather again soon for a special summit on tackling climate change.
Table talk gets the climate message across
31 Mar 2009
Table talk may be the best way to help individuals to reduce carbon emissions and develop sustainable lifestyles, according to CSIRO social scientist, Anne-Maree Dowd.
Obama might delay signing up to Copenhagen deal
27 Mar 2009
US President Barack Obama might be forced to delay signing up to a new international agreement on climate change in Copenhagen at the end of the year because of the scale of opposition in the Congress, the Guardian reported yesterday.
Garnaut says no reason to delay emissions trading
27 Mar 2009
The Australian federal government's climate change expert, Professor Ross Garnaut, expects the economy to be in recovery by the time an emissions trading scheme begins operation in July 2010.
Wong off to talk climate change in US
27 Mar 2009
Australian Climate Change Minister Penny Wong left yesterday for the United States to discuss climate change with leading figures in the new administration.
Changing climate might force Australians to move
27 Mar 2009
Senior government officials in Victoria are warning residents of towns on the Murray River that they could become the first Australians to be displaced by climate change.
Experts seek ways to make tourism eco-friendly
27 Mar 2009
More than ever, global tourism must play its part in sustainable development and poverty alleviation, according to experts at an international symposium in Toronto.
Japan close to sealing Czech carbon deal
27 Mar 2009
Japan, struggling to meet a 2012 target for reducing greenhouse gases, is in the final phase of talks to buy carbon credits from the Czech Republic and aims to clinch the accord next month.
Worldwide darkness planned for Earth Hour
27 Mar 2009
What started in 2007 as one city's protest over inaction on climate change has ignited into a worldwide movement and this weekend 1800 cities are expected to participate in this year's Earth Hour.
Gore writing new climate change book
27 Mar 2009
Former United States vice-president Al Gore is writing another book on global warming policies and solutions.
Obama invests $2b in plug-in hybrids
24 Mar 2009
To produce the next generation of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and the advanced battery components that will make these vehicles run, President Barack Obama has announced $2.4 billion in economic stimulus funding.
Honda tackles Prius in US after wowing Japan
24 Mar 2009
The road will get a little more crowded for the Toyota Prius today when Honda offers American consumers what it bills as “the world’s first affordable hybrid.”
Use e-car power, says new US energy chief
24 Mar 2009
US President Barack Obama has named Jon Wellinghoff, a lawyer who believes that electric-car owners could someday get paid to provide backup battery power to the electricity grid, as chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Super funds in dark over costs of climate change
24 Mar 2009
Australian super funds want to review their investments in light of climate change, but are in the dark when it comes to evaluation methods.
Aussies spend $20m on neighbourhood climate project
24 Mar 2009
Australian Climate Change Minister Penny Wong says a $A20 million science programme will help the country’s neighbours to understand the impacts of climate change on the region.
Carbon trading 'undermined by boom and bust’
24 Mar 2009
A shake-up in the way the "boom and bust" carbon markets are working in Europe is being urged ahead of tomorrow's auction of new emission certificates by the UK government.
NZ scientists warn of Antarctic meltdown
20 Mar 2009
New Zealand scientists have found conclusive evidence that global warming of the scale predicted this century will cause massive melting of the Antarctic ice sheet and potentially catastrophic sea level rises.
Backlash as Shell cuts renewables business
20 Mar 2009
Royal Dutch Shell has provoked a furious backlash from campaigners by announcing plans to scale back its renewable energy business and focus purely on oil, gas and biofuels.
China rejects US carbon-based import tariff idea
20 Mar 2009
China's top climate change official has rejected as protectionist a United States idea to put tariffs on some imports from countries that do not place a price on carbon, chiding the Americans to do more to cut their greenhouse gas emissions.
World Bank appeals for water investment
20 Mar 2009
The global economic crisis threatens to shrink investment in water infrastructure, an already underfunded sector vital to growth and public health, the World Bank says.
UN gives $18 million for countries to slash emissions
20 Mar 2009
Five pilot countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America are set to receive $18 million in funding from a United Nations programme aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from forests while boosting local livelihoods.
World leaders to be given green new deal facts
20 Mar 2009
Investing 1 per cent of global GDP, or around $750 billion, into five key sectors could be the key to a Global Green New Deal.
Environmentalists praise new climate change film
20 Mar 2009
A film on climate change released in British cinemas this week is “one hundred times better” than previous productions, environmentalists have said.
Escape to New Zealand, Americans told
17 Mar 2009
The Washington Post has cited New Zealand as the destination of choice for those seeking to escape what it describes as the “fear of looming environmental disaster.”
Opposition ups ETS pressure on Rudd government
17 Mar 2009
The Australian Government yesterday faced mounting pressure to make radical changes to its carbon trading plans to get the scheme passed by parliament.
Scientists slam ‘weak, ineffective’ governments
17 Mar 2009
The world’s top scientists have urged “weak and ineffective” governments to stand up to big business and “vested interests” in order to address the alarming climate impact.
Gore optimistic for climate deal in December
17 Mar 2009
Former US vice-president Al Gore is optimistic that a global deal to combat climate change would be agreed at a summit in December.
Threatened Maldives now aims to be carbon-neutral
17 Mar 2009
The Maldives islands in the Indian Ocean, under threat from rising sea levels, will shift entirely to renewable energy over the next decade.
Opposition terriers get teeth into Rudd’s ETS
13 Mar 2009
The Australian Government’s massive draft emissions trading legislation could be torn apart before it is put to the Parliamentary vote, throwing into doubt Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's 2010 timetable for the introduction of emissions trading.
What the Australian ETS proposes …
13 Mar 2009
After months of criticism and heated debated from all corners, the draft legislation for Australia’s Emissions Trading Scheme has been released.
US senators attack Obama’s cap-and-trade proposal
13 Mar 2009
The United States should not impose a cap-and-trade system to battle climate change this year because it amounts to a painful tax during a deep recession, senators argued this week.
Australia-US minerals deal underpinned decision to allow mining company to clear threatened indigenous forest
23 Feb 2026
The Australian government’s decision to allow the US mining giant Alcoa to continue clearing swathes of Western Australian jarrah forest despite past illegal clearing practices was made in part due to a critical minerals deal reached between Australia and the Trump administration last year, a new document shows.
Repeal of endangerment finding is part of a systematic effort by US to dismantle climate policy
Today 12:30pm
COMMENT: Climate policy expert and founder of the NewClimate Institute in Cologne, Germany, explains what the step means for the US and for global climate diplomacy.
3,600 times faster: China is shaking up the steel industry
Wed 25 Feb 2026
For over a century, making steel meant coal, heat, and hours of waiting. A Chinese research team now reports collapsing that process into just three to six seconds; no coal, near zero emissions, and a vortex lance already moving toward commercial production. The technology is called flash ironmaking, and in February 2026, its implications are still unfolding.
Spain defends EU’s flagship climate law against attacks from other capitals
Today 12:30pm
Spain has come to the defense of the European Union's bedrock climate law, with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez warning fellow European leaders against dismantling the embattled Emissions Trading System.
UK Greens win by-election as anti-data centre protests mount
Today 12:30pm
The Green Party's Hannah Spencer won the contest for the vacant parliamentary seat of Gorton and Denton, with Nigel Farage's populist Reform UK party coming second, and Labour pushed into third place.
Mark Carney just picked his lane on climate change
17 Feb 2026
COMMENT: Mark Carney's time as prime minister has been defined in part by his decision to roll back Trudeau-era climate policies.
South Korean farmers sue utility giant KEPCO over climate damage to crops
Wed 25 Feb 2026
As harvest season approached last November, farmer Ma Yong-un walked through his apple orchard in southern South Korea with a growing sense of dread.
World leaders invited to see Pacific climate destruction before COP31
Today 12:30pm
The leaders and climate ministers of governments around the world will be invited to meetings on the Pacific islands of Fiji, Palau and Tuvalu in the months leading up to the COP31 climate summit in November.
Limiting warming to 2C is ‘crucial’ to protect pristine Antarctic Peninsula
24 Feb 2026
Keeping global warming to less than 2C above pre-industrial temperatures is “crucial” for limiting damage to the Antarctic Peninsula’s unique ecosystems, according to a new study.
Africa primed for solar breakthrough after record capacity growth
Today 12:30pm
The continent of Africa looks set to emerge as a key driver of global solar power production over the rest of the 2020s thanks to a potent mix of policy support, rapid economic growth and declining component costs.
Floods and landslides in Brazil kill at least 30 after record rainfall
Thu 26 Feb 2026
Three firefighters pulled a man’s body from the mud amid the rubble of houses swept away in a landslide in south-eastern Brazil, where 30 people died and 39 were still missing on Tuesday after torrential rains.
UN approves first carbon credits under Paris Agreement market mechanism
Fri 27 Feb 2026
The United Nations has approved the first credits to be issued under a carbon market established by the Paris climate accord, aimed at reducing emissions – a mechanism that has faced scrutiny over greenwashing concerns.
