International: All stories
Drought behind Panama Canal’s 2023 shipping disruption ‘unlikely’ without El Niño
3 May 2024
Panama’s low rainfall last year caused water levels in Gatún Lake to drop to record-low levels.
Indian Ocean is heating up much faster than we think, at a rate of 1.7-3.8°C per century
3 May 2024
Future increase in heat content equivalent to adding energy of one Hiroshima atomic bomb detonation every second, all day, every day, for a decade.
Charge Big Oil with conspiracy, former tobacco prosecutor says
3 May 2024
Following the release of new internal documents, Sharon Eubanks told the Senate Budget Committee that there is evidence for a DOJ climate case against Big Oil.
Tensions grow as China ramps up global mining for green tech
3 May 2024
Earlier this year, Ai Qing was woken up in the middle of the night by angry chants outside her dormitory in northern Argentina.
Cows are just an environmental disaster
3 May 2024
OPINION: A decade ago, I was feeling pretty pessimistic about climate change. The politics of mitigating global warming just seemed impossible: asking people to make sacrifices, or countries to slow their development, and delay dreams of better, more prosperous lives.
EU investigates ‘greenwashing’ at 20 airlines
2 May 2024
Environmental claims come under scrutiny, including the benefits of offsetting emissions from flying.
Indonesian government revokes Rimba Raya REDD project’s license
2 May 2024
The Indonesian government has revoked the license of the Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve Project, which has issued more than 33.6 million carbon credits since 2013, for violating local regulations.
China climate chief says he’ll visit US to bolster key ties
2 May 2024
China’s new climate chief plans to visit the US in May for formal talks with his American counterpart.
Southern Africa drought flags dilemma for loss and damage fund
2 May 2024
Scientists blame the current drought on El Niño – which could exclude those affected from receiving aid for climate-change damage.
The end of coral reefs as we know them
2 May 2024
Years ago, scientists made a devastating prediction about the ocean. Now it’s unfolding.
Conservation efforts are succeeding overall at slowing biodiversity loss, global study confirms
2 May 2024
A first-of-its-kind study that analysed hundreds of conservation actions around the world has confirmed that efforts toward preserving wildlife are resulting in measurable achievements.
Why BYD's EV exports sell for twice the China price
1 May 2024
US and European politicians have raised alarms that their domestic auto industries could be destroyed by a wave of cheap Chinese electric vehicles.
G7 agrees to end coal-fired power plants by 2035
1 May 2024
The group of seven of the world’s biggest economies have agreed to put an end date on coal-fired power plants in a “historic” agreement.
Countries consider pact to reduce plastic production by 40% in 15 years
1 May 2024
Global leaders will gather in Canada's capital this week to discuss progress in drafting a first-ever global treaty to rein in soaring plastic pollution by the end of the year.
Torres Strait Islanders in landmark Australian federal court case
1 May 2024
Uncle Paul Kabai and Pabai Pabai are suing the Australian government for "failing its duty of care" to protect their ancestral lands from the impacts of climate change.
Fifty killed in Kenya floods
1 May 2024
About 50 people have died in Kenya in a deluge following heavy rains and flooding, a Red Cross official has said.
They turned cattle ranches into tropical forest — then climate change hit
1 May 2024
They brought forests back to life in Costa Rica. Their next challenge? Restoring ecosystems in a warming world.
US Federal Emergency Management Agency cracks down on flood insurance
30 Apr 2024
The housing bubble in climate-threatened areas is primed to burst in the United States as the federal agency responsible for emergency response finally cracks down on flood insurance.
In the rush to decarbonise, the shipping industry is exploring alternative fuels
30 Apr 2024
The shipping industry is finally embracing greener fuels, but which one, or ones, will they land on?
Climate change could become the main driver of biodiversity decline by mid-century
30 Apr 2024
Global biodiversity has declined between 2% and 11% during the 20th century due to land-use change alone, according to a large multi-model study published in Science.
Investigating climate-driven migration in rural Thailand
30 Apr 2024
Extreme weather events displace tens of millions of people every year, while multi-year droughts and rising sea levels are making many densely populated regions increasingly hostile to human habitation.
World Bank advises South Africa on climate insurance, contingency fund options
30 Apr 2024
The World Bank is advising South Africa’s National Treasury on a climate risk strategy after floods in recent years caused billions of dollars of damage.
Is Russia ready for climate change? Mass floods expose lack of adaptation, campaigners say
30 Apr 2024
Mass floods in Russia have thrown a spotlight on the country’s approach to managing the increasing risks it faces from climate change.
UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples calls for moratorium on carbon markets
29 Apr 2024
Francisco Calí Tzay was speaking at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York.
56 companies responsible for half of global plastic pollution that researchers could trace
29 Apr 2024
A new study on 84 countries has linked 24% of plastic waste to just five companies: Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestlé, Danone and Altria.
EU votes to leave energy treaty as green rules pushed through
29 Apr 2024
EU lawmakers voted overwhelmingly for the bloc to exit a controversial international treaty that is seen by campaigners as protecting fossil fuel investments, in a series of positive votes on green legislation.
Extreme heat, heavy rain kill hundreds across Thailand, East Africa
29 Apr 2024
Extreme heat in Thailand has killed 30 people so far this year, meanwhile, East Africa has been battling torrential rain over the past month.
South Korean court hears children's climate change case against government
29 Apr 2024
South Korea's Constitutional Court is hearing a case that accuses the government of having failed to protect 200 people by not tackling climate change, in Asia's first climate-related litigation.
Mosquito-borne diseases spreading due to climate crisis
29 Apr 2024
Illnesses such as dengue and malaria to reach unaffected parts of northern Europe, America, Asia and Australia, conference to hear.
EU Policy: Rapid militarisation jeopardising climate, claim NGOs
26 Apr 2024
Impact of conflict-related carbon emissions should be accounted for and more data from military operations is needed, according to NGOs and lawmakers.
Tensions rise over who will contribute to new climate finance goal
26 Apr 2024
Germany wants all high-emitters, especially among G20 countries, to pitch in. But China and Saudi Arabia say it is only the responsibility of developed nations.
We might be closer to changing course on climate change than we realised
26 Apr 2024
Greenhouse gas emissions might have already peaked. Now they need to fall — fast.
Scientists say Oman, UAE deluge ‘most likely’ linked to climate change
26 Apr 2024
A new study has found climate change caused by fossil fuel emissions is the likely reason for the extreme weather events.
Asia is officially the most ‘disaster-prone’ region in the world
26 Apr 2024
Asia has to cope with more disasters than any other part of the world, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
Battling climate change, Japan looks to seagrass for carbon capture
26 Apr 2024
Some 100 volunteers gathered on a popular beach in the Japanese port city of Yokohama, wading in the shallows to plant strands of light-green eelgrass on the seabed.
Oil bosses call phasing out fossil fuels a ‘fantasy’ – but an international agreement is plausible
24 Apr 2024
The Conversation: Amin Nasser, chief executive of the world’s largest oil company Saudi Aramco, recently called on nations to “abandon the fantasy” to phase out fossil fuels, adding that the transition to renewable energy sources is “visibly failing”. However, the latest science on climate change is unequivocal: the world must eliminate fossil fuel-based energy systems – and fast.
‘Children won’t be able to survive’: inter-American court to hear from climate victims
24 Apr 2024
Historic hearing will receive submissions from people whose human rights have been affected by climate change.
Rooftop solar panels are flooding California’s grid. That’s a problem.
24 Apr 2024
As electricity prices go negative, the Golden State is struggling to offload a glut of solar power.
How can India hold elections when it’s too hot to vote?
24 Apr 2024
Sweltering heat is keeping some voters away. Changing the system is a risk worth taking.
UN labour agency report warns of rising threat of excess heat, climate change on world’s workers
24 Apr 2024
The UN labor organisation warned Monday that over 70% of the world’s workforce is likely to be exposed to excessive heat during their careers, citing increased concern about exposure to sunlight.
Floods swamp southern China sparking extreme weather fears
24 Apr 2024
Floods swamped cities in southern China's densely populated Pearl River Delta following record-breaking rains, sparking worries about the region's defences against bigger deluges induced by extreme weather events.
Trillions of tonnes of carbon locked in soil has been left out of environmental models – and it’s on the move
23 Apr 2024
We all know about the carbon in Earth’s atmosphere, and probably about the carbon contained in plants and the bodies of animals.
US must choose between cheap EVs or an American industrial renaissance
23 Apr 2024
Chinese electric vehicles—should be a godsend to the Biden administration, whose two biggest priorities are reducing carbon emissions quickly enough to avert a climate catastrophe and reducing consumer prices quickly enough to avert an electoral catastrophe.
Dubai floods expose weaknesses to a rapidly changing climate
23 Apr 2024
The heavy rains that flooded Dubai this week halted air traffic, damaged buildings and streets — and left climate experts and common citizens asking whether one of the world’s hottest and driest cities should be better prepared for extreme storms.
European carbon trading catching less than quarter of airline emissions, data finds
23 Apr 2024
Less than a quarter of airline emissions were caught by Europe’s carbon trading schemes last year, according to new data that illustrates the limitations of one of the key tools to fight pollution from aviation.
'Unprecedented': Changes in Antarctica's sea ice could have dramatic impacts
23 Apr 2024
In 1898, the crew of the first scientific expedition to Antarctica became trapped inside sea ice around the southernmost continent.
Liz Truss book calls for climate laws to be abolished and boasts of effort to cancel UK COP summit
23 Apr 2024
The former UK prime minister attacks flagship climate deals and makes false claims about electric vehicles, Russia’s influence on energy policies, and net zero.
Finnish startup making food ‘from air and solar power’
22 Apr 2024
The company's founders hope solein, a protein grown with CO2 and electricity, will cut the environmental impacts of farming.
Biden administration moves to make conservation an equal to industry on US lands
22 Apr 2024
The Biden administration finalised a new rule for public land management to put conservation on more equal footing with oil drilling, grazing and other extractive industries on vast government-owned properties.
If ten straight months of record-breaking heat isn’t a climate emergency, what is?
22 Apr 2024
The planet is experiencing a horrifying streak of record-breaking heat, with March marking the tenth month in a row that the average global temperature has been the highest ever recorded.
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.
