International: All stories
Heat deaths in Europe may triple by end of the century, study finds
26 Aug 2024
Countries in south most at risk, with rise likely to outstrip fall in cold-related deaths if global heating hits 3C or 4C.
Which governments are backpedalling on climate commitments?
23 Aug 2024
New Zealand, Australia, the US and the UK are among countries that have revised, or may revise, climate commitments for fiscal ends.
Millions broil as southern US heat dome causes record highs and wildfires
23 Aug 2024
Extreme heat affecting nearly 23m people across US south-west and pushing Texas’s electrical grid to the limit.
The scientist who proposes pumping sulfuric acid into the atmosphere to cool the planet
23 Aug 2024
American physicist David Keith is the best-known promoter of solar geoengineering, a controversial alternative in the fight against climate change.
The 1.5°C target is dead, but climate action needn't be
23 Aug 2024
For the first time, climate scientists have explicitly said it will be impossible to limit peak warming to 1.5°C. Now our focus should be on taking action, not meaningless platitudes and slogans.
Global warming may be factor in deadly Italian shipwreck, climatologist says
23 Aug 2024
Global warming may have contributed to the freak storm that sank a luxury British-flagged yacht off the coast of Sicily, Italian climatologist Luca Mercalli told Reuters.
Democratic platform calls for net-zero agricultural emissions by 2050
22 Aug 2024
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says the climate-smart initiative will spur the development of sustainable farm products and markets for them.
How ‘green’ electricity from wood harms the planet — and people
22 Aug 2024
Many nations have embraced burning wood pellets to produce electricity — under the assumption that it is carbon neutral.
China is backing off coal power plant approvals after a 2022-23 surge that alarmed climate experts
22 Aug 2024
Approvals for new coal-fired power plants in China dropped sharply in the first half of this year, after a flurry of permits in the previous two years raised concern about the government’s commitment to limiting climate change.
You can’t keep burning fossil fuels and expect scientists of the future to get us back to 1.5°C
22 Aug 2024
Like the proverbial frog in the heating pan of water, we refuse to respond to the climate and ecological crisis with any sense of urgency.
The livestock lobby is waging war on ‘lab-grown meat’
22 Aug 2024
OPINION: These new proteins could be our best hope of averting catastrophe. But governments are trying to have them banned.
China reports record high flood incidents with frequent, heavy rainfall across north and south
21 Aug 2024
Since the start of this year's flood season, China's major rivers have experienced 25 significant flood events, the highest number recorded since data collection began in 1998.
I’ve cancelled my holiday because of climate change
21 Aug 2024
OPINION: Extreme heat and the associated effects of climate change will stop us going to traditional resorts.
Azerbaijan raises alarm over Caspian Sea's 'catastrophic' shrinking
21 Aug 2024
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin his concern over what he said was the "catastrophic" shrinking of the Caspian Sea.
Humans can work with nature to solve big environmental problems – but there’s no quick fix
21 Aug 2024
“Nature-based solutions” are gaining momentum in environmental policy, including in Australia.
Climate change is making the Middle East uninhabitable
21 Aug 2024
ANALYSIS: It’s been a brutal summer for the region—and the effects are spreading to the rest of the world.
EVs are starting to overtake gas-powered cars in a surprising place
20 Aug 2024
Ethiopia has banned the import of all gas-powered passenger vehicles — becoming the first nation in the world to do so.
How methane emissions are pushing the Amazon towards environmental catastrophe
20 Aug 2024
As the world heats up, methane released from thawing permafrost and warming tropical wetlands is intensifying climate breakdown. But curbing it is achievable.
The Mediterranean Sea reaches new record temperatures
20 Aug 2024
The daily median surface temperature of the Mediterranean Sea reached 28.9°C, beating the record of 28.71°C measured on July 24, 2023.
Switzerland and Canada propose ways to expand climate finance donors
20 Aug 2024
Detailed criteria would include China and Gulf States in the donor base. But experts recommend incentives not coercion.
Harris stirs hope for a new chapter in climate action
20 Aug 2024
Although expected to follow in Biden's pragmatic footsteps, her record as a prosecutor and voice for justice has environmentalists looking to the future.
Countries' climate obligations could be legally defined at top UN court in December
20 Aug 2024
A date has been set for public hearings at the International Court of Justice which could help define countries' legal obligations to fight climate change.
Nearly 68 million people reeling from drought in Southern Africa
19 Aug 2024
Seventeen percent of people across the region need aid amid the climate change-fuelled drought.
‘The wells are salty’: how the invading ocean is contaminating Vanuatu’s water
19 Aug 2024
As the climate crisis causes the Pacific to rise, the archipelago’s water is increasingly unsafe to drink.
Reforestation to capture carbon could be done much more cheaply, study says
19 Aug 2024
New research shows that a mix of natural forest regrowth and tree planting could remove up to 10 times more carbon at $20 per metric ton than previously estimated by the IPCC, the UN’s climate science panel.
How climate change has pushed our oceans to the brink of catastrophe
19 Aug 2024
For decades, the oceans have absorbed much of the excess heat caused by greenhouse gases. The latest observations suggest they are reaching their limits, so how worried should we be?
We pumped extra CO₂ into an oak forest and discovered trees will be ‘woodier’ in future
19 Aug 2024
Oak trees accumulate more wood when there is more carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere.
Fighting global warming, one abandoned oil well at a time
19 Aug 2024
When Curtis Shuck learned that the oil and gas industry had left orphaned wells all over the US, he made it his mission to cap as many as he could.
A Trump election win could lead to billions of tonnes more carbon pollution
16 Aug 2024
Experts say climate policies contained within rightwing manifesto would wreck US climate targets and cost jobs.
World Bank prices $225 million bond linked to Amazon reforestation
16 Aug 2024
The World Bank issued a $225 million, principal-protected nine-year bond linked to reforestation in the Amazon, the global lender said on Tuesday, calling it the biggest outcome bond it has ever priced.
Wildfires in Canada and the Amazon made more likely by climate change
16 Aug 2024
Wildfires are becoming more frequent and intense as the climate warms, researchers behind first annual global wildfire report warn.
Ancient building material could cut modern industry emissions
16 Aug 2024
Generating heat for industrial processes creates 17% of global carbon emissions. Cheap firebricks could store renewable electricity for one-tenth the cost of batteries.
Kids in France are pedalling toward two-wheeled equality
16 Aug 2024
More than 500,000 students have learned to bike safely, encouraging them to live healthier, more independent and lower-carbon lives.
Carbon offset setback risks corporate backtrack on climate goals
15 Aug 2024
Stalled efforts to expand companies' use of carbon credits to offset greenhouse-gas emissions are raising the prospect that some will backtrack or abandon targets to shrink their carbon footprint.
Half a billion children live in areas with twice as many very hot days as in 1960s
15 Aug 2024
Unicef analysis also finds children in eight countries spend more than half the year in temperatures above 35C.
Who is legally responsible for climate harms? The world’s top court will now decide
15 Aug 2024
The International Court of Justice will clarify states’ legal responsibility for impacts of climate change. Although non-binding, its opinion will matter for thousands of climate lawsuits.
Tropical Storm Ernesto hits Caribbean, heads to Puerto Rico
15 Aug 2024
Tropical Storm Ernesto battered the northeast Caribbean on Tuesday as it took aim at Puerto Rico, where officials shuttered schools and government agencies.
Wildfires can contaminate the water farmers use to irrigate crops and support livestock
15 Aug 2024
The wildfires that burned across Maui, Hawaii, in August 2023 became the deadliest conflagration in the United States in more than a century.
How four cities are cooling down creatively
15 Aug 2024
Cities around the world are trying everything from reflective paint to underground water channels to manage the hotter days ahead.
Australian fossil fuel exports ranked second only to Russia for climate damage with ‘no plan’ for reduction
14 Aug 2024
Coal and gas exports expected to remain roughly at current level until at least 2035 with 4.5% of emissions linked to Australia, report finds.
More than 47,000 heat-related deaths in Europe last year
14 Aug 2024
Heat-related deaths in Europe last year would have been 80% higher without adaptation work, scientists estimate.
Modern fuel-efficient jets can cause more warming than older planes
14 Aug 2024
Passenger planes and private jets that fly higher can create longer-lasting contrails, meaning their contribution to global warming has been underestimated.
Will climate cash help democrats win US election?
14 Aug 2024
An area near Pittsburgh is being recast into a clean energy hub by IRA cash. It’s a test of whether climate policies can help Democrats beat Trump.
The lost history of what Americans knew about climate change in the 1960s
14 Aug 2024
It wasn't just scientists who were worried, but Congress, the White House, and even Sports Illustrated.
A line-by-line fact check of the Musk-Trump interview
14 Aug 2024
Donald Trump told some wild lies about climate change in his two-hour live-streamed conversation with Elon Musk last night.
Breakthrough flexible solar panels are so thin they can be printed on any surface – even backpacks
13 Aug 2024
Oxford University researchers have developed a flexible perovskite material about 100 times thinner than a human hair that can generate solar electricity just as efficiently as traditional silicon panels.
Wary of Trump and Azerbaijan, businesses shun COP climate talks
13 Aug 2024
Companies are anxiously wondering: Can we get hotel rooms? What about the autocratic regime hosting? What if Trump wins?
Chinese battery industry faces consolidation wave
13 Aug 2024
Companies cancel investments and smaller players leave amid slowing EV sales, fierce competition and stricter regulations.
UK could approve 13 new oil and gas projects despite North Sea pledge
13 Aug 2024
The UK government could approve 13 new oil and gas projects in the North Sea, with the fuel produced emitting 350m tonnes of CO2 equivalent (MtCO2e) if burned.
Why is there still a gap between public opinion and scientific consensus, and how can we close it?
13 Aug 2024
As children, many of us played the “telephone” game – a message is whispered from one person to the next, invariably getting distorted as it passes along the line.
No room for the timid: setting Australia’s 2035 emissions target is a daring tightrope act
Today 11:00am
Any week now, Australia will set its 2035 emissions target. It must signal the nation’s strong ambition on climate action, to drive policy and investment. And it must avoid being seen as either unrealistic or too costly.
California is backsliding on climate progress. It’s (mostly) Gavin Newsom’s fault
Today 11:00am
The California Supreme Court just gave state officials a golden opportunity to revitalize the rooftop solar industry, helping millions of homes and businesses lower their electric bills and fight the climate crisis.
Is historically arid Beijing ready for a wetter future?
Mon 25 Aug 2025
Beijing's mountainous northern Huairou district and neighbouring Miyun district received a year's worth of rain in a single week, triggering flash floods that devastated entire villages and killed 44 people in the deadliest flood since 2012.
EU wildfires hit new record as flames scorch area larger than Cyprus
Mon 25 Aug 2025
The area burned this year has exceeded the 1 million hectare mark for the first time since records started in 2006.
What happens to net zero if the trees don’t survive?
Wed 20 Aug 2025
When climate change undermines the climate plan.
Challenges persist in bid to mine the deep sea, even after boost from Trump
29 Jul 2025
After years of delay, the deep-sea mining plans of Canadian firm The Metals Company (TMC) now appear to be progressing as it pursues a controversial new path to securing a license to mine in international waters under U.S. jurisdiction.
India needs $467 billion climate finance by 2030 to decarbonise 4 key sectors
Mon 25 Aug 2025
India will need to mobilise USD $467 billion in climate finance by 2030 to put four of its most carbon-intensive sectors – power, steel, cement and transport – on a low-carbon pathway.
Rise in dengue fever outbreaks across the Pacific driven by the climate crisis, experts say
13 Aug 2025
Samoa, Fiji and Tonga among the worst affected amid warning the disease and others will become ‘more common and more serious’ as the planet warms.
Iconic Antarctic species at risk amid 'regime shift', with 'rapid and self-perpetuating changes'
Fri 22 Aug 2025
Scientists say there is emerging evidence of abrupt and potentially unstoppable changes in the Antarctic environment.
Africa’s top climate change challenges: a fairer deal on phasing out fossil fuels and mobilising funds
Fri 22 Aug 2025
African countries have made binding commitments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. To do this, they will need to shift to renewable energy and stop mining and using fossil fuels like oil and coal.
Bolivia will choose a new president but environmental activists see little hope of progress
Fri 22 Aug 2025
Many Indigenous and environmental leaders doubt the election will bring progress in stopping deforestation, wildfires or pollution in the Amazon.
Brazil issues last-ditch plea for countries to submit climate plans ahead of COP30
Wed 20 Aug 2025
Only 28 countries have submitted carbon-cutting proposals to the UN, with some of the biggest emitters yet to produce plans.
