International: All stories
US official warns against dropping 2030 climate targets after Dutton refuses to commit to 43% emissions cut
24 Jun 2024
A senior US official has urged Australia and other countries not to back away from their 2030 climate commitments, insisting that “we all have a collective responsibility for the planet we live in”.
California seeks to seize big oil companies’ profits in climate greenwashing suit
24 Jun 2024
California’s Attorney General announced the state would seek to seize the “illegally obtained profits” of several big oil companies, for falsely advertising the environmental sustainability attributes of their products.
Telstra ditches carbon credits to push harder on direct emissions
24 Jun 2024
Australia's telco giant is dumping its carbon credit offset scheme and claims its plans are “carbon neutral” or “carbon offset”, instead moving to a direct-investment model.
#ShowYourStripes Day: what the ‘warming stripes’ tell us
24 Jun 2024
Climate scientist Ed Hawkins created the “warming stripes” visual representations of annual or monthly temperature anomalies for a specific location or region over the past 100+ years.
Fossil fuel use reaches global record despite clean energy growth
21 Jun 2024
Report finds developing countries are increasing reliance on coal, gas and oil as overall demand for energy rises.
Stonehenge covered in powder paint by Just Stop Oil
21 Jun 2024
Part of Stonehenge has been covered in orange powder paint by protesters, the day before celebrations begin for the Summer Solstice at the 5,000-year-old landmark.
“Ineffective, harmful": Science Based Targets initiative and carbon offsetting
21 Jun 2024
The Science Based Targets initiative's announcement that it would allow carbon offsetting to meet Scope 3 emissions reduction targets was a shock — even to people working at SBTi.
Insurer says industry failed to estimate impact of extreme weather
21 Jun 2024
Global insured losses from natural catastrophes exceeded $100bn for fourth consecutive year in 2023.
India reports over 40,000 suspected heatstroke cases over summer
21 Jun 2024
India recorded more than 40,000 suspected heatstroke cases this summer as a prolonged heatwave killed more than 100 people across the country.
Lessons from trade tensions targeting “overcapacity” in China’s cleantech industry
20 Jun 2024
Comment: Clean technology is turning into the next global climate spat. The debate over China’s dominance is highly politicised, but there are ways forward.
New building designs use pumped hydro to generate power
20 Jun 2024
Architects and engineers are collaborating with an energy storage company to design skyscrapers that leverage gravity to generate electricity.
Cars are slowing down in European cities
20 Jun 2024
Across Europe, cities are proving that lowering speed limits makes neighbourhoods safer and more livable while reducing dependence on cars.
Study reveals impact of surface coal mining on carbon sequestration
20 Jun 2024
Surface coal mining and subsequent restoration activities significantly impact regional carbon sinks, particularly vegetation.
Researchers say low-sulphur shipping rules made climate change worse
20 Jun 2024
The rule change resulted in an 80% reduction in sulphur dioxide emissions, a team of scientists said, and may help to explain why last year’s record-breaking heat was so extreme.
Scotland misses another climate change target
20 Jun 2024
The Scottish government has missed another of its key annual targets for reducing planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.
EU states push past opposition to adopt landmark nature restoration law
19 Jun 2024
The law includes legally binding targets and obligations for not only preserving, but restoring natural habitats.
How climate change is hitting Europe: three graphics reveal health impacts
19 Jun 2024
A growing body of research reveals the deaths and diseases linked to rising temperatures across the continent.
Record-breaking US heat wave scorches the Midwest and Northeast, bringing safety measures
19 Jun 2024
Stifling heat blanketed tens of millions across United States on Tuesday, forcing people and even zoo animals to find ways to cool down as summer arrives in what promises to be a sweltering week.
New finance goal needed to protect climate momentum from a Trump win
19 Jun 2024
Comment: The victims of the climate crisis will need support, and the energy transition will need to be funded, whoever is elected as the next US president.
More than 800 coal plants worldwide could be profitably decommissioned
19 Jun 2024
More than 800 coal-fired power plants in emerging countries could be decommissioned and profitably replaced by cleaner solar energy starting from the end of the decade.
Australia’s foreign affairs minister warns dropping 2030 climate targets would abandon Pacific nations
18 Jun 2024
Foreign Affairs Minister labels the Coalition's decision to rule out setting a 2030 climate target as a move that will increase energy bills and risk further Chinese influence in the Pacific.
UN food chief: Poorest areas have zero harvests left
18 Jun 2024
Droughts and flooding have become so common in some of the poorest places, that the land can no longer sustain crops, said the director of the World Food Programme’s global office.
Global Environment Facility will give $736 million to environmental projects
18 Jun 2024
GEF will consider projects that protect biodiversity, counter climate change and pollution, and support land and ocean health.
Large birds can boost forest carbon storage — if deforestation doesn’t interfere
18 Jun 2024
A new study shows large fruit-eating birds in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest can contribute to a 38% increase in carbon storage by regenerating tropical forest.
Polarisation and risk perception could play important roles in climate policy outcomes
18 Jun 2024
Times of crises often call for strong and rapid action, but in polarised societies, strong top-down policies can backfire.
Deadly heat waves in Mecca and Greece underscore climate crisis
18 Jun 2024
As the U.S. faces another potentially record heat wave this week, the Middle East and Europe's Mediterranean have endured extreme temperatures that have proven deadly.
Bonn climate talks: Key outcomes from UN conference
17 Jun 2024
Climate diplomats have finished another two weeks of intense negotiations in the German city of Bonn, discussing global efforts to cut emissions and protect people from climate hazards.
‘The time is right’ for US to catch up on high-speed rail, says British Amtrak exec
17 Jun 2024
With half a dozen US rail projects in the works, Andy Byford thinks Americans will soon clamor for 200mph train lines.
What grief for a dying planet looks like: Climate scientists on the edge
17 Jun 2024
Desperate climate scientists embrace civil disobedience and specialised therapy to deal with their growing anxiety over global warming.
How congestion pricing makes cities more livable
17 Jun 2024
As New York puts its gridlock-busting plans on hold, the success of congestion pricing elsewhere proves it’s not just smart — it’s popular.
The motley (star-studded) crew that paved the way for Norway’s EV revolution
17 Jun 2024
An activist, a professor and the lead singer of A-ha drove a makeshift electric car across Norway in the 1980s, skirting road regulations, to make a point to the government that policies around EVs needed to change.
This city just made it illegal to advertise SUVs. Here’s why.
17 Jun 2024
Edinburgh became the latest European capital city to ban ads for aviation, SUVs and more.
The world could soon see a massive oil glut
14 Jun 2024
The world could have a glut of oil by the end of the decade because of rising production combined with declining demand as consumers and businesses switch to electric vehicles and renewable energy.
EU hits Chinese EVs with tariffs, drawing rebuke from Beijing
14 Jun 2024
The European Commission said it will impose extra duties of up to 38.1% on imported Chinese electric cars from July, risking retaliation from Beijing.
The Tory network of climate denial and fossil fuel funding
14 Jun 2024
DeSmog catalogues how oil and gas firms have forged ties with the highest levels of government in the UK, as well as with the media and influential think tanks.
Russia’s war with Ukraine accelerating global climate emergency, report shows
14 Jun 2024
Most comprehensive analysis ever of conflict-driven climate impacts shows emissions greater than those generated by 175 countries in a year.
Florida’s 2024 hurricane season arrives with a rainy deluge
14 Jun 2024
Dangerous flooding from a tropical disturbance inundated much of southern Florida, blocking roads, floating vehicles and delaying the Florida Panthers on their way to Stanley Cup games.
G7 coal charade: Funding the fire they claim to fight
14 Jun 2024
COMMENT: Rich countries should take concrete steps to stem the global flow of funds from their commercial banks which are fuelling expansion of the coal industry.
Swiss parliament spurns European climate ruling
13 Jun 2024
The Swiss parliament voted to snub a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) that accused the country of being ineffective in fighting climate change.
Nitrous oxide emissions are accelerating with growing demand for fertilizer and meat
13 Jun 2024
Food’s role in climate change has emerged as one of the defining challenges of our time.
China to reach 2030 solar and wind energy target five years ahead of schedule
13 Jun 2024
China is expected to exceed its 2030 solar and wind energy target already in 2025, when its solar and wind capacity is projected to reach 1,720 GW, GlobalData said.
What do the European elections mean for EU climate action?
13 Jun 2024
This week’s European parliamentary election results saw parties on the populist right making big gains in France and Germany, while the historic “green wave” of 2019 receded.
The anti-windfarm 'odd couple' joining forces to fight the renewable energy projects Australia's already failing to build
13 Jun 2024
Deep in coal country, a lifelong environmentalist and one-time Greens candidate is feeling the applause.
Canada signs second deal to guarantee price of captured carbon
13 Jun 2024
The Canada Growth Fund, a federal clean-tech financing agency, signed its second deal to backstop carbon prices with a proposed Alberta facility that would convert landfill waste to electricity and sequester the resulting carbon emissions.
EU climate policies could be slowed in future after rightward shift in election
12 Jun 2024
A more rightward-leaning European Parliament will make it harder to pass ambitious EU climate policies, but the majority of current world-leading green policies are likely to stay put, analysts said.
Bonn bulletin: Fossil fuel transition left homeless
12 Jun 2024
Countries clash over where to negotiate the shift away from dirty energy agreed at COP28, while talks on a new climate finance goal make little progress.
Supreme court ruling delays climate litigation big oil has sought to thwart
12 Jun 2024
The supreme court asked the Biden administration to weigh in on big oil’s request to thwart litigation that could put them on the hook for billions of dollars.
Are we finally hitting a sweet spot in the energy transition?
12 Jun 2024
COMMENT: The race between a rapidly unraveling climate and a rapid buildout of renewable energy will determine just how many people die, how many cities drown, and how many species survive.
Brazil police raid Amazon carbon credit projects
12 Jun 2024
The Brazilian Federal Police arrested people and seized assets linked to some of the country’s largest carbon credit projects.
Scientists have built a ‘digital twin’ of Earth to predict the future of climate change
12 Jun 2024
The complex computer model takes into account weather and climate systems as well as our impact on the planet.
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.
