International: All stories
China to expand carbon trading market to steel, cement and aluminium
27 Mar 2025
China released plans on Wednesday to expand its carbon trading market into the steel, cement and aluminium smelting industries, a move that will require an additional 1,500 firms to purchase credits to cover their emissions, the environment ministry said.
Colombia’s top oil company concealed environmental damages: Investigation
27 Mar 2025
A newly released investigation by the Environmental Investigation Agency and Earthworks into the workings of Colombia’s largest company, oil and gas giant Ecopetrol, reveals a pattern of environmental negligence and corporate misconduct.
Strong support among Europeans for banning fossil fuel ads, study finds
27 Mar 2025
Almost half of people surveyed across the European Union are in favour of banning fossil fuel advertising — nearly twice as many who oppose such a move, according to a new study.
Farmers are reeling from Trump’s attacks on agricultural research
27 Mar 2025
A "rollercoaster" of funding cuts and layoffs have gutted critical agricultural research projects across the nation.
More European oil refineries to close, convert in next 10 years, panel says
27 Mar 2025
European oil refineries will have to adapt to the energy transition or face a heightened risk of closure by 2035, a panel of executives said at the Financial Times Commodities Global Summit in Lausanne on Monday.
Climate change causes rising global electricity demand
26 Mar 2025
Cooling demand as a result of record temperatures was a significant driver of power generation last year, according to the International Energy Agency.
NOAA cuts more key weather data gathering after layoffs
26 Mar 2025
The National Weather Service is reducing weather balloon launches at six more locations in the U.S. and temporarily suspending them at two more places due to staffing shortages, the agency announced Thursday afternoon.
US Supreme Court will not hear novel youth-led climate change case
26 Mar 2025
The Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal in the long-running case, known as Juliana, which helped spawn legal strategies widely adapted to other lawsuits over climate.
Clean hydrogen hype fades as high costs dampen demand
26 Mar 2025
Analysts say governments are not doing enough to get companies to buy green hydrogen to clean up transport and heavy industry
Glacier melt threatens water supplies for two billion people, UN warns
26 Mar 2025
Climate change and “unsustainable human activities” are driving “unprecedented changes” to mountains and glaciers, threatening access to fresh water for more than two billion people, a UN report warns.
Climate sceptics have new favourite graph; it shows the opposite of what they claim
26 Mar 2025
The research actually makes the case that CO2 is the dominant control on Earth’s temperature.
Europe’s 90% climate target for 2040 under pressure as delays add up
25 Mar 2025
The EU is aiming to slash CO2 emissions by 55% in 2030 before going climate-neutral in 2050. But a political battle rages over the speed of reduction in the two decades between.
Britain considering linking with EU carbon market
25 Mar 2025
Britain is actively considering the case for linking its Emissions Trading System (ETS) with the European Union's carbon market ahead of a UK-EU Summit in May, the government said on Thursday.
Ahead of Brics, Brazil official slams developed countries for ‘no interest’ in helping others
25 Mar 2025
A high-ranking Brazilian government official issued a broad criticism of Western developed countries including France on Thursday, in the run-up to a meeting of Brics energy ministers in the South American country’s capital.
JPMorgan asset management unit quits industry climate coalition
25 Mar 2025
JPMorgan Chase & Co said its asset management unit has left a flagship industry climate effort, a blow to the group that had paused operations in January in an effort to halt defections amid political pressure from U.S. Republicans.
Climate groups could beat Trump in fight for $20B. It may be too late.
25 Mar 2025
The Trump administration is hitting legal roadblocks in its attempt to revoke $20 billion in climate grants, but its efforts are already achieving one of the president’s key aims: throttling a crucial part of Joe Biden’s clean energy agenda.
‘One-third’ of 2012 soya crop failure in the Americas was due to climate change
25 Mar 2025
Climate change was responsible for just over one-third of the simultaneous soya bean crop failures across Argentina, Brazil and the US in 2012, according to a new attribution study.
Germany’s €100bn climate funding
24 Mar 2025
Germany’s parliament has voted to create a €500bn defence and infrastructure fund and relax “constitutionally-protected debt rules,” with “the last-minute backing of the Greens” in return for guarantees that €100bn of the funds destined for infrastructure would be allocated for climate and economic transformation investments.
UK: new national forest to see 20 million trees planted
24 Mar 2025
Twenty million trees will be planted and 2,500 hectares (6,178 acres) of new woodland created in the west of England as part of a "national forest" drive, the government has announced.
Norway's Equinor scales back climate ambitions as wind changes
24 Mar 2025
Equinor has already scaled back its target for installed renewable energy capacity to 10-12 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, from 12-16 GW.
World Glacier Day: UN warns of ‘avalanche of cascading impacts’ as ice melt increases
24 Mar 2025
Five of the past six years have witnessed the most rapid glacier retreat on record.
India records severe heat weeks ahead of schedule
24 Mar 2025
Severe heatwave conditions have begun sweeping across eastern and western India unusually early in the season, with temperatures exceeding 40°C in several regions.
Supermarkets accused of major methane ‘blindspot’
24 Mar 2025
Leading supermarkets are failing to address the methane pollution in their supply chains, a new report has found, putting their own climate pledges at risk.
Greenpeace verdict is 'weaponisation of legal system', advocacy groups say
21 Mar 2025
Campaigners condemn North Dakota jury's ruling as Greenpeace must pay Energy Transfer at least $660m.
"Not silver bullets": COP30 CEO downplays impact of yearly climate summits
21 Mar 2025
Ana Toni stressed the importance of year-round action by business, subnational government and finance, energy, transport and agriculture ministries.
Time is not the driving influence of forest carbon storage, study finds
21 Mar 2025
It is commonly assumed that as forest ecosystems age, they accumulate and store (sequester) more carbon. A study based at the University of Michigan Biological Station has untangled carbon cycling over two centuries and found that it's more nuanced than that.
$800m pledge keeps Australia's green hydrogen dream alive
21 Mar 2025
The Albanese Labor government has pledged more than $800 million in production incentives to a green hydrogen development in remote Western Australia, defying mounting scepticism over the future of the country's green fuel industry.
Trump is tackling every 'emergency' except the important one: climate change
21 Mar 2025
To hear President Trump describe it, the U.S. is beset by emergencies. We allegedly have an energy emergency, a government waste emergency and a foreign trade emergency.
Why action on extreme heat in Indian cities is falling short
21 Mar 2025
Local governments face the difficult task of preparing communities and infrastructure for a warmer world - all while urbanisation accelerates and extreme weather becomes more frequent and intense.
Trump vows to immediately ramp up US production of 'beautiful, clean coal'
20 Mar 2025
President Trump this week continued to make his environmental priorities clear by vowing to open up hundreds of coal power plants in the United States in an effort to advance competition against China.
Factcheck: Why Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch is wrong about UK's net-zero goal
20 Mar 2025
The leader of the opposition Conservative party, Kemi Badenoch, has shattered the political consensus on climate change in a speech attacking the UK's net-zero by 2050 target.
UN hails rare climate success story as emissions from construction stop rising
20 Mar 2025
Emissions from the building and construction sector have stopped rising for the first time since 2020, a new United Nations report says.
Science-based targets for ocean stewardship unveiled
20 Mar 2025
Businesses can now set science-based targets covering ocean and maritime protection, under the latest guidance introduced by the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN).
'Fishing boat for energy' will make hydrogen as it sails
20 Mar 2025
Wind power has been rising significantly in recent years, and now accounts for about 8% of the world's energy production. By the end of the decade, it will be the second-largest renewable source after solar, having surpassed hydropower, according to the International Energy Agency.
Eat grass-fed beef, help the planet? Research says not so simple
20 Mar 2025
For cattle fattened in fields instead of feedlots, the grass may be greener, but the carbon emissions are not.
Some US scientists stick with the IPCC despite the administration pulling out of international climate work
19 Mar 2025
A handful of U.S. researchers joined a critical meeting on climate and cities this week in Japan. "For me, this process is so important that if I had to self-fund, I would," said one.
Conservative party to ditch commitment to net zero in UK by 2050
19 Mar 2025
Kemi Badenoch is dropping her party's commitment to reaching net zero by 2050, as she launches the Conservatives' widest policy review in a generation.
Peruvian farmer goes head to head with German energy giant in landmark climate case
19 Mar 2025
A landmark climate lawsuit opens in a German court Monday, as a Peruvian farmer sues a German energy giant over the threat to his home from a mountain lake overflowing with glacier meltwater.
A strong case for investing in climate mitigation and adaptation to avoid damage to the global economy
19 Mar 2025
Investment in climate-change mitigation and adaptation to limit global warming to 2C by 2100 would greatly reduce economic damage, and the cost of inaction is equivalent to 11% to 27% of cumulative GDP, a report says.
China's BYD launches EV charging system it says works nearly as fast as a fill up
19 Mar 2025
China's energy and auto giant BYD has announced an ultra fast EV charging system that it says is nearly as quick as a fill up at the pumps.
Danish investment firm raises record EU12 billion for energy transition infrastructure fund
19 Mar 2025
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners will invest primarily in large-scale renewable energy projects, including wind, solar PV, and battery storage in low-risk OECD markets across North America, Western Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
Trump administration accused of 'blatant foreign interference' in Australian universities
18 Mar 2025
Researchers told to respond within 48 hours to more than 30 questions, including on DEI, gender and climate.
What have we learned from 15 years of REDD+ policy research?
18 Mar 2025
For decades, efforts to halt deforestation in the Global South have gained much attention within the policy arena, most recently as a powerful and effective measure to mitigate climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The unexpected knock-on effect of Trump's minerals 'deal of the century'
18 Mar 2025
Donald Trump's return to the White House is a "major blow to global climate action". So said Christiana Figueres, the former UN climate chief, after he was elected in November.
German govt set to vote on financial package including EU$100 billion for climate protection
18 Mar 2025
Germany's prospective next coalition government has proposed a special fund worth 500 billion euros for infrastructure projects, in combination with a major defence package.
Canada: Carney kills consumer carbon tax in first move as prime minister
18 Mar 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney wasted little time in removing a potent point of attack for the Conservatives in recent years: the consumer carbon tax.
Brazil state hosting COP30 denies new road linked to climate summit
18 Mar 2025
The Brazilian state hosting a United Nations climate summit this year has denied any connection between a new road cutting through a protected area of Brazilian rainforest and the COP30 summit that will gather world leaders in November.
UK energy secretary flies to China with climate co-operation on the agenda
17 Mar 2025
Ed Miliband is hoping to shore up support for multilateral climate action, especially after the US withdrawal from the Paris agreement.
Mining head calls 'net' in net zero a 'weasel word'
17 Mar 2025
Fortescue chair wants companies to focus on 'real zero' as he explains $6.2bn plan to transform business.
German emissions fell 3.4% in 2024, on track for 2030 climate goals
17 Mar 2025
Germany's Federal Environment Agency on Friday said greenhouse gas emissions in Europe's biggest economy fell by around 3.4% year-on-year in 2024, putting the country on track to meet its 2030 climate targets.
NSW to ban new coalmines in major shake-up for $23bn industry
Mon 23 Mar 2026
A major shake-up is on the way for one Australian state’s single biggest export, which powers homes here and abroad.
US to pay almost $1bn to French energy company to kill wind project plan
Tue 24 Mar 2026
As a fuel crisis triggered by the war in Iran drives up global fossil fuel prices, the Trump administration has announced it will pay French energy major TotalEnergies $1bn to kill plans to construct wind farms off the US east coast.
China tells oil refiners to suspend exports
Fri 20 Mar 2026
China has told its largest oil refiners to suspend exports of diesel and gasoline, Bloomberg News reported Thursday, citing unidentified sources, as the war in the Middle East risks an energy supply crunch.
Spain’s Sánchez attacks other EU leaders for exploiting energy prices to gut climate policies
Mon 23 Mar 2026
Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez said his country was on “the right side of history” when it comes to how it has handled the economic and social costs of previous energy crises.
Analysis: CO2 from UK data centres could be ‘hundreds of times’ higher than thought
Tue 24 Mar 2026
Emissions from the new data centres set to drive the UK’s AI “revolution” could be hundreds of times higher than government estimates, according to analysis by Carbon Brief.
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.
Asia pivots to coal as Middle East conflict chokes LNG supply
Thu 19 Mar 2026
Asian utilities are boosting coal-fired power generation to cut costs and safeguard energy supply, industry officials say, as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran chokes liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments and soaring prices threaten to suppress LNG demand.
Pacific Nations fear fuel shortages as Middle East war sends oil prices soaring
Fri 20 Mar 2026
Leaders of Samoa and Tonga appealed for help this week as the import-reliant Pacific nations raised fears over possible fuel shortages and escalating costs caused by war in the Middle East.
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.
'Blackwater' lakes and rivers in the Congo Basin are now emitting ancient carbon into the atmosphere
16 Mar 2026
Carbon that has been buried in the Congo Basin's peatlands for millennia is seeping into lakes and rivers. Why this is happening remains unclear, but researchers warn that tropical peatlands could be nearing a tipping point.
Surfing’s big break: how climate crisis insurance may save El Salvador’s waves
Thu 19 Mar 2026
Fearing that extreme weather threatened its epic breaks, Oriente Salvaje is piloting the first surf insurance policy to protect livelihoods and ecosystems.
Iran war should trigger faster exit from fossil fuel dependence, UN climate chief says
18 Mar 2026
The disruption to energy markets caused by the Iran war is a lesson on the risks of relying on fossil fuels which should drive governments to wean their economies off oil and gas faster, the U.N. climate secretary told Reuters on Monday.
