International: All stories
US climate retreat highlights need for China-EU green co-op
10 Feb 2025
OPINION: The US' withdrawal from the Paris Agreement as part of President Donald Trump's plans to halt US climate action has not only plunged global efforts to tackle climate change into a state of heightened uncertainty, but has also brought to the fore the pressing need for the rest of the world, particularly China and the EU, to strengthen cooperation on green development.
Over 100 deaths a day: UN warns of air pollution's toll on young children in East Asia, Pacific
10 Feb 2025
More than 100 children under the age of five die each day in East Asia and the Pacific from air pollution-related causes, said Unicef on Feb 6, in a call for urgent action to cut deadly emissions, toughen air quality standards and improve health systems.
Green campaigners fear UK to renew subsidies to Drax power station
10 Feb 2025
Green campaigners fear ministers are poised to award billions of pounds in fresh subsidies to Drax power station, despite strong concerns that burning trees to produce electricity is bad for the environment.
Who can share seeds? As climate change and counterfeits hurt Kenyan farmers, it's a growing question
10 Feb 2025
Tucked away in a lush, forested area of central Kenya's Kikuyu town, the National Seed Bank stands as a crucial safeguard for the future of the country's agriculture. Inside two chilly rooms of a government building, more than 50,000 seed varieties are cataloged and stored.
Record January warmth puzzles climate scientists
7 Feb 2025
Last month was the world's warmest January on record raising further questions about the pace of climate change, scientists say.
Germany likely to miss 2030 climate target, government advisers say
7 Feb 2025
Germany will probably fail to achieve its 2030 climate targets unless significant policy changes are implemented, government climate advisers said in a study released on Wednesday.
"No future": Climate projects face existential threat after Trump's aid shutdown
7 Feb 2025
The Trump administration's attack on USAID puts at risk close to $500 million a year in grant-based climate funding for developing countries.
That giant sucking sound? It's climate change devouring your home's value
7 Feb 2025
As the compounding impacts of climate-driven disasters take effect, we are seeing home insurance prices spike around the country, pushing up the costs of owning a home.
Arctic geoengineering experiment shuts down over environmental risks
7 Feb 2025
US-based nonprofit Arctic Ice Project has cancelled tests in Alaska because of potential disruption to the food chain.
Trump's reversal of climate policies risks undermining U.S. manufacturing -- and could cost people jobs
7 Feb 2025
United States President Donald Trump's early executive actions have set American manufacturing on a collision course with his administration's fossil-fuel-driven agenda. It's clear that climate change policies run counter to his vision of American primacy.
China imposes 15% tariffs on coal, LNG in response to Trump's tariffs
5 Feb 2025
China announced retaliatory tariffs on select American imports and an antitrust investigation into Google on Tuesday, just minutes after a sweeping levy on Chinese products imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump took effect.
Nine percent of England's farmland needs to be converted into wildlife habitats and forests
5 Feb 2025
Roughly nine percent of England's farmland needs to be converted into habitats for wildlife and forest by 2050 in order to meet the country's nature and net-zero goals, according to a consultation launched by Steve Reed, the United Kingdom's environment secretary.
US: More than 1000 Environmental Protection workers could be dismissed immediately
5 Feb 2025
The Trump administration has notified more than 1,000 employees at the Environmental Protection Agency that they could be dismissed immediately.
Lack of financial support would force India to reduce climate ambition
5 Feb 2025
The failure of the developed countries to commit adequate amounts of climate finance at last year's climate conference in Baku might force India to temper the ambition of its climate targets for 2035, the government said Friday.
Living near active oil and gas wells may have increased risk of dying from COVID-19
5 Feb 2025
Californians who lived near the highest-producing wells were more likely to die of COVID-19 at the beginning of the pandemic, recent research shows.
Rice variant slashes planet-warming methane emissions by 70 per cent
5 Feb 2025
Using traditional crossbreeding, researchers have created a new strain of rice that produces much less methane, a potent greenhouse gas, when it is grown in flooded fields.
Thousands flee homes as floods hit Australia
4 Feb 2025
A woman has died in Australia and thousands have been forced to flee their homes after torrential rainfall caused flooding in northern Queensland.
Paris Agreement no longer relevant for Indonesia, says envoy
4 Feb 2025
Indonesia's special envoy for climate change and energy, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, said he considers the Paris Agreement no longer relevant for Indonesia following the US withdrawal from the deal.
Shell dodges paying compensation for sham carbon credits in China
4 Feb 2025
The energy giant exited the failed projects after Verra asked for redress, but a legal expert says Shell should be held responsible.
Canada carbon tax appears dead after Carney pledges to scrap it
4 Feb 2025
Canada’s national carbon tax on consumer fuels is likely in its final weeks after both major contenders to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader have promised to scrap it.
Saving surf breaks to fight climate change
4 Feb 2025
The places where epic waves break store millions of tons of carbon. Preserving them protects a sport and the planet.
USDA ordered to scrub climate change from websites
4 Feb 2025
Agriculture Department employees have been ordered to delete landing pages discussing climate change across agency websites and document climate change references for further review, according to an internal email obtained by POLITICO.
US Treasury withdraws from global climate-related financial oversight initiative
3 Feb 2025
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Federal Insurance Office (FIO) has withdrawn from the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System (NGFS).
Leaders in the Pacific raise alarm over 'direct impact' of Trump's climate retreat and aid freeze
3 Feb 2025
Samoa's prime minister says US withdrawal from Paris climate agreement is 'very disappointing' and puts the survival of Pacific countries at greater risk.
In historic win, court rules against UK's Rosebank oilfield over climate impacts
3 Feb 2025
The decision by the previous Conservative government in the United Kingdom to approve the giant Rosebank oilfield off Shetland was ruled unlawful by an Edinburgh court on Thursday.
African nations want to connect 300 million people to electricity by 2030
3 Feb 2025
Several African nations committed on Monday to open up their electricity sectors to attract investors and light up homes of 300 million people currently lacking power in the next six years.
'Catastrophic' 2023 lake outburst in India driven by glacial melt and permafrost thaw
3 Feb 2025
Climate change played a key role in the "catastrophic" 2023 floods in the Himalayan state of Sikkim in India, a new study says.
California considers letting victims of natural disasters sue oil companies for damages
3 Feb 2025
Oil and gas companies would be liable for damages caused by climate change-related disasters in California under legislation introduced Monday by two Democratic lawmakers.
Swiss government approves new climate goals after court rebuke
31 Jan 2025
Switzerland's government on Wednesday approved new climate targets, proposing a cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 of at least 65% compared to 1990 levels.
UK drops climate and nature bill
31 Jan 2025
In dropping the bill, UK Labour ministers avoided an internal party row by promising potential rebels supporting the bill they would have input into environmental legislation.
Yes, you can blame climate change for the LA wildfires
31 Jan 2025
Los Angeles wildfire season now lasts roughly 23 days longer than in preindustrial times.
Trump tariff threat jolts Canada's energy and carbon tax debate
31 Jan 2025
Canada’s Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says the country's consumer carbon tax has become 'very unpopular' and could be replaced.
Elon Musk earns record amount from carbon trading
31 Jan 2025
Elon Musk's Tesla earned a record 2.8 billion dollars in 2024 from trading in regulatory carbon credits, according to figures published late on Wednesday.
Think your efforts to help the climate don't matter? African philosophers disagree
31 Jan 2025
If a single pro-environment lifestyle change - like one person giving up their SUV or cutting out meat in favour of plant-based foods - will not turn the tide of global climate change on its own, it's reasonable to feel there is little that 'doing your bit' can achieve. This mindset is disempowering.
Trump freezes $50 billion in funding, including for clean energy innovation
30 Jan 2025
The Trump administration has halted spending from the United States Department of Energy (DOE)'s approximately $50 billion budget while a 'comprehensive review' is conducted to ensure its spending and other actions - which include funding for new energy technologies - are in alignment with the priorities of President Donald Trump, according to an agency memo seen by Bloomberg.
Court papers link Exxon to climate hacking ring for first time
30 Jan 2025
A man charged with conspiring to steal information from climate advocates alleged that Exxon and one of its lobbying firms were involved with the hacking campaign.
US oilfield firms face pricing squeeze as fracking demand slumps
30 Jan 2025
Top U.S. oilfield services firms are facing weaker pricing and revenue this year as oil producers become increasingly efficient and keep a cap on spending, according to oilfield executives and analysts.
Probe details the playbook of one of Amazon's top land grabbers
30 Jan 2025
Professional land grabbers operating in the Brazilian Amazon have sophisticated strategies to steal and deforest public lands and get away with it.
From showers to tiny fish to windmills, Trump's climate policies are driven by fixations
30 Jan 2025
'It was striking that the White House memo included toilets and shower heads as a presidential priority,' said one expert.
The price of coffee hits an all-time high - here's why
30 Jan 2025
Rising coffee prices are part of a larger, global challenge driven by climate change, economic pressures, and geopolitical uncertainty.
Let's kill the Green Deal together, far-right leader urges EU's conservatives
29 Jan 2025
Jordan Bardella thinks he can convince the European People's Party to suspend EU climate legislation.
The 8 talking points fossil fuel companies use to obstruct climate action
29 Jan 2025
New research highlights companies’ “aligned and coordinated” use of Twitter to deny climate change and delay solutions.
Switzerland sets the bar with corporate carbon removal milestone targets
29 Jan 2025
The Climate and Innovation Act has set a groundbreaking precedent by mandating net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This month, the Act gained momentum with new guidance for corporate Net-Zero Roadmaps and a groundbreaking mandate to ramp up carbon removal efforts.
We live in times of multiple entwined crises - but our policy responses aren't keeping up
29 Jan 2025
Existing policies to tackle environmental challenges fail to take into account that biodiversity loss, climate change and pollution are intertwined crises and produce compounding and intensifying impacts.
Climate change is disrupting food systems across Latin America, UN report says
29 Jan 2025
Violent weather exacerbated by climate change fuelled hunger and food insecurity across Latin America and the Caribbean in 2023, according to a new United Nations report.
Green Climate Fund looks at capital-market borrowing to meet COP29 goal
29 Jan 2025
A GCF official says the fund needs new sources of money but campaigners worry the move could undermine climate justice.
The consequences of US climate denial will be costly
28 Jan 2025
With the second Trump administration refusing to acknowledge ongoing climate change, primary concern is naturally with its plan to gut U.S. efforts to reduce greenhouse emissions and again exit from the Paris Agreement. Unfortunately, this is not all the wreckage that is to come.
Climate crises disrupted schooling for 242 million children in 2024
28 Jan 2025
A new UNICEF report finds that heat waves, cyclones, floods and storms impacted education most severely in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Mozambique, Pakistan and the Philippines.
Nine things to expect for the climate following Trump's return
28 Jan 2025
Climate scientists are probably among those most aggrieved by Donald Trump's return as US president.
How the Mafia is weaponising wildfires
28 Jan 2025
Thousands of wildfires tear through southern Italy every year, fueled by scorching temperatures and the hot, dry, sirocco winds that sweep in from the Sahara. The climate crisis is pouring gasoline on these blazes, but the Mafia may be lighting the spark, according to new research.
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.
