International: All stories
Australia votes $4.3b for energy-efficient homes
15 May 2009
More than three million Australian households are set to benefit from the largest energy efficiency rollout Australia has seen.
US climate bill targets 15% renewables by 2020
15 May 2009
House of Representatives Democrats crafting legislation to fight climate change will seek to get 15 per cent of United States energy from renewable sources by 2020.
Car makers could get billions from carbon pact
15 May 2009
United States House of Representatives Democrats say the carbon pact agreement they have reached could provide the struggling auto industry with billions of dollars in funding for advanced green vehicles as part of a proposed plan to limit carbon emissions.
Renewables growth transforms global energy picture
15 May 2009
In 2008, for the first time, more renewable energy than conventional power capacity was added in both the European Union and United States, showing a "fundamental transition" of the world's energy markets towards renewable energy, finds a report released yesterday.
Climate change dire health threat, say doctors
15 May 2009
Climate change will present the greatest threat to health this century, amplifying the risk of disease, malnutrition and homelessness through floods, drought and rising sea levels, a medical panel said yesterday.
Climate change threatens millions who live off sea
15 May 2009
Around 100 million people risk losing their homes and livelihoods unless drastic steps are taken to protect Southeast Asia's coral reefs, which could be wiped out in coming decades because of climate change, a new report says.
Australian carbon market does a disappearing act
12 May 2009
The delay in the Australian Government's proposed emissions trading scheme had an immediate, but virtually unreported, effect on financial markets, says the Australian.
Ethanol test for Obama backing science over politics
12 May 2009
President Barack Obama's commitment to take on climate change and put science over politics is about to be tested as his administration faces a politically sensitive question about the widespread use of ethanol: Does it help or hurt the fight against global warming?
US climate bill unlikely to pass this year, say experts
12 May 2009
United States climate change legislation is unlikely to pass this year due to concerns about the recession and contention over the implementation of the programme, according to energy and carbon market experts.
Indonesia urges world to act now on climate issues
12 May 2009
Indonesia has urged the world to take action on ecosystem management and climate change that threatens oceans.
Japanese ask world: What should we do?
12 May 2009
The nonprofit group Japan for Sustainability is asking people around the world for their comments about the country's greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.
Ford to transform SUV plant for electric Focus
12 May 2009
Ford will invest $US550 million to transform its Michigan SUV assembly plant to build a new battery-electric version of its Focus car for the North American market.
China looks ready for post-Kyoto climate deal
8 May 2009
China is ready to abandon its resistance to limits on its carbon emissions and wants to reach an international deal to fight global warming, the Guardian newspaper says.
US puts first case for new UN climate treaty
8 May 2009
The United States has said it would be committed to joining the world on a climate treaty with "robust targets and ambitious actions" against heat-trapping greenhouse gases.
UN must send strong signal, says climate minister
8 May 2009
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon must ensure that a high-level summit slated for September sends a “very clear and strong signal” to negotiators aiming to reach a new climate change deal in Copenhagen this December, a top Danish official said yesterday.
Carbon rules make it hard, says airline industry
8 May 2009
Carbon trading and increased regulation could hinder efforts to reduce aircraft greenhouse gas emissions through innovation and increased use of biofuels, airline industry leaders said this week.
Maldives joins NZ in climate neutral pact
8 May 2009
The Republic of Maldives, one of the countries most affected by climate change, has joined New Zealand and five other countries as a member of the Climate Neutral Network led by the United Nations Environment Programme.
Britain first electric car goes on sale
8 May 2009
Britain’s first family sized electric car has been launched in London.
Rudd delays emissions trading till 2011
5 May 2009
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd yesterday announced that his government would delay by one year the introduction of its emissions trading scheme.
Climate could turn dangerous in 50 years, says report
5 May 2009
A state of dangerous climate change might be reached as soon as the year 2059, according to a new study in the journal Nature.
China looking at carbon tax proposals
5 May 2009
Chinese researchers will soon issue preliminary proposals for a carbon tax that may one day become part of the government's efforts to tame growing greenhouse gas emissions.
Giant solar power tower begins generating
5 May 2009
The world's largest solar power tower has started generating near Seville, Spain.
One cup of coffee =140 litres of water
5 May 2009
Dutch scientist Arjen Hoekstra is one of the few people who know that as much as 140 litres of water are involved in making a cup of coffee.
Australian powerco in landmark carbon deal
1 May 2009
The owner of a coal power station yesterday began to deal with the major costs it will face under an emissions trading scheme by signing the first firm carbon trading deal between two Australian parties.
Top businessman bags carbon trading scheme
1 May 2009
One of Australia’s most respected businessmen has made a blistering attack on the Rudd Government's proposed carbon pollution reduction scheme, saying it would cost jobs and probably increase global emissions.
We must burn less diesel and wood, says Gore
1 May 2009
Nobel peace prize-winner Al Gore says the world must burn less diesel and wood because the soot produced is accelerating the melting of ice in polar and mountainous regions.
US officials express hope for climate talks
1 May 2009
Senior Obama administration officials believe a Washington meeting on climate change this week has improved chances for a new international treaty to tackle global warming.
Traders call for land-use offsets in climate deal
1 May 2009
Reducing emissions from land use should play a key role in the post-Kyoto climate agreement, the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) says.
India eyes $100b in carbon trading deals
1 May 2009
India could earn up to $100 billion through trading of certified emission reductions, or carbon credits, a government official said this week.
Democrats drag feet as US opens major climate talks
28 Apr 2009
The Obama administration will try its hand today at finding a consensus among 17 leading economies on climate change as the US State Department sponsors the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate in Washington.
Britain advances carbon-capture plans
28 Apr 2009
Steps to capture and bury greenhouse gas emissions appear to have taken an important step forward in Britain, where the government wants to make the construction of large new power plants contingent on fitting the technology.
Miliband calls for populist push in climate battle
28 Apr 2009
British Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband says he is "fearful" that the world may miss the opportunity to halt global warming and is calling for a Make Poverty History-style popular movement to push for a breakthrough at this year's Copenhagen summit.
SE Asia will be hit hard , warns bank report
28 Apr 2009
An Asian Development Bank study says Southeast Asia will be hit particularly hard by climate change, causing the region's agriculture-dependent economies to contract by as much as 6.7 per cent annually by the end of the century.
Native peoples’ conference ends in dispute
28 Apr 2009
Two native groups refused to sign a resolution drafted at this week's Indigenous Peoples' Global Summit on Climate Change in Alaska, saying that the resolution is not strong enough.
Obama launches push for green revolution
24 Apr 2009
United States President Barack Obama has launched his push for a green energy revolution and to pass historic climate change legislation, making his pitch from a wind energy factory on Earth Day.
Climate change threatens world’s mighty rivers
24 Apr 2009
Some of the mightiest rivers on the planet, including the Ganges, the Niger, and the Yellow river in China, are drying up because of climate change, a study of global waterways has warned.
It’s life or death, say indigenous peoples
24 Apr 2009
Climate change is disrupting natural systems and livelihoods around the world, indigenous people reported this week at a global meeting on in Alaska.
Careful forest management crucial, says UN
24 Apr 2009
Sustainable forest management policy is crucial at a time when climate change, the financial crisis and unsustainable development are posing severe risks to this invaluable global resource, United Nations officials said yesterday.
UN to assess war damage to Gaza environment
24 Apr 2009
Increased discharge of raw sewage and other environmental effects of the recent combat in Gaza will be focus of an assessment announced yesterday by the head of the United Nations Environment Programme.
US Catholics organise against climate change
24 Apr 2009
American Catholics should “live our faith confronting the impact of climate change,” especially its impact on the world’s poor, US Bishop William S. Skylstad said this week.
UK wants to pay Brits to buy electric cars
21 Apr 2009
The British Government has launched a plan to promote ultra-low carbon transport over the next five years, including up to £5000 for people buying their first electric cars.
UN calls on governments to invest in Green Deal
21 Apr 2009
The head of the UN Environment Programme has called on governments to invest a significant amount of their $3 trillion-worth of stimulus packages in a new “green economy” to defeat the crises facing the world.
Keeping slim good for the planet, say scientists
21 Apr 2009
Maintaining a healthy body weight is good news for the environment, according to a study which appears today in the International Journal of Epidemiology.
World unionists push for fairness in climate deals
21 Apr 2009
A trade union initiative for integrating social justice within the transition to a low carbon economy has been launched by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
Antarctic Treaty governments slow to act
21 Apr 2009
The latest climate change findings from scientists were a key topic of discussions at the 50th anniversary meeting of the Antarctic Treaty in Baltimore.
Task force forms to create new green economy
21 Apr 2009
United Nations officials will begin work with a task force charged with developing a set of practical projects and policy proposals to stimulate a new low-carbon global economy.
Garnaut shock: Australia should drop ETS plan
17 Apr 2009
Australia's climate change adviser is suggesting that it might be best to dump the proposed emissions trading scheme and "have anotoher crack at it" later, the Australian Associated Press is reporting.
Australia off target, say rebel scientists
17 Apr 2009
Australia is clearing native vegetation at a rate that amounts to a $2.4 billion annual loss of stored carbon, a Senate climate change inquiry has heard.
Carbon trade to reach $670 billion in 2013, says report
17 Apr 2009
The global carbon market is forecast to grow 68 per cent a year up to 2013, according to business analysts SBI.
Emissions cuts will work, say climate experts
17 Apr 2009
The worst of the global warming effects can still be reversed, if proper steps are taken fairly quickly to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to an analysis by the US National Center for Atmospheric Research.
'They’re gone:' End of an era as Liddell coal plant chimneys demolished in spectacular explosion
Tue 2 Jun 2026
It was quiet. Very quiet. Everyone stood or sat still, and the only sound that could be heard was the gentle lapping of the water on the shores of Lake Liddell.
AI boom means US is now ‘investing more’ in fossil-fuel power than China
Tue 2 Jun 2026
The “data-centre boom” is driving a surge in gas investment in the US, pushing its fossil-power spending ahead of China, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Can China turn hydrogen into its next clean-energy industry?
Fri 29 May 2026
China has said that hydrogen is a key “future industry”, important to both its energy transition and its industrial policy.
Europe's green jet fuels see upside in Iran war
Wed 3 Jun 2026
Interest in synthetic propellants is growing as the Iran war pushes Europe to reassess its dependencies, raising hopes of a turnaround for the struggling sector, according to industry experts.
Record-breaking heat and dry spring leave parts of England without water
Tue 2 Jun 2026
Thousands of households in southeast England were left without water or facing low pressure during a record-breaking heatwave this week, as high demand followed a dry spring to expose the failings in Britain's ageing infrastructure.
Canada signs landmark LNG energy deal with Germany
Fri 29 May 2026
Canada has announced a landmark energy agreement with Germany that will see the first-ever long-term shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Canada to Europe in the coming years.
One day of extreme heat tied to 3,400 excess deaths in India, nearly 30,000 over five days
Wed 3 Jun 2026
A day of extreme heat is associated with an estimated 3,400 excess deaths across India, while a heatwave lasting five consecutive days could lead to nearly 30,000 additional deaths, according to a new study.
Coral reefs in French Polynesia are stuck between life and death
Wed 3 Jun 2026
Scientists’ discovery of hollowed coral skeletons after a 2019 bleaching event reveals a reef that isn’t coming back.
‘Triple whammy of climate chaos’: Why Antarctica's sea ice collapse is no longer a mystery
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.
Aid cuts and climate change drive deadly malaria surge in Zimbabwe
Fri 29 May 2026
A surge in malaria cases in Zimbabwe is exposing fragile health systems and growing treatment shortages in rural areas.
Colombia’s climate crossroads: Trumpism casts shadow over presidential battle
26 May 2026
Colombia is a global leader in climate activism. Could US influence drag country to a future of mining and fracking?
UN backs historic climate crisis ruling, despite US attempts to stop resolution
22 May 2026
The UN has voted 141-8 to adopt a resolution backing a world court opinion that countries have a legal obligation to address climate change, with the US – which is the world’s biggest historical emitter – among the small group opposing it.
