International: All stories
Donald Trump's plan to leave Paris climate deal could hand competitors advantage in clean energy race
24 Jan 2025
Experts warn US withdrawal could slow progress, boosting rivals in the global push for sustainability.
Ecuador’s coastal ecosystems have rights, Constitutional Court rules
24 Jan 2025
The Constitutional Court of Ecuador has determined that coastal marine ecosystems have rights of nature, including the right to “integral respect for its existence and for the maintenance and regeneration of its life cycles, structure, functions and evolutionary processes."
EU’s solar and wind growth pushes fossil-fuel power to lowest level in 40 years
24 Jan 2025
Over the past decade, coal power use in the European Union (EU) has fallen by 61%, according to new figures from energy analysts Ember.
Dutch court orders government to meet pollution reduction targets or face millions in fines
24 Jan 2025
A Dutch court on Wednesday ordered the country’s government to meet its own goals for reducing overall nitrogen emissions by 2030, a decision that could have major economic and political consequences.
Current climate policies risk catastrophic societal and economic impacts
24 Jan 2025
The global economy could face a 50% loss in GDP between 2070 and 2090 unless immediate policy action on risks posed by the climate crisis is taken, warns a new report by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) and University of Exeter.
Bloomberg steps in to help fund UN climate body after Trump withdrawal
24 Jan 2025
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's philanthropy arm said on Thursday it will provide funding to help cover the U.S. contribution to the U.N. climate body's budget, filling a gap left by President Donald Trump.
"Drill, baby, drill" – local experts slam Trump's move to quit Paris Agreement
23 Jan 2025
President Donald Trump's move withdraw the US from the Paris climate agreement has been greeted with criticism in Aotearoa, with experts and politicians voicing concern.
What did Trump just do to the environment?
23 Jan 2025
Within hours of being sworn into office on Monday, President Donald Trump announced a spate of executive orders and policies to boost oil and gas production, roll back environmental protections, withdraw from the Paris climate accord, and undo environmental justice initiatives enacted by former President Joe Biden.
European leaders at Davos vow to stick to Paris climate agreement despite Trump’s withdrawal
23 Jan 2025
Day two of the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland saw strong responses to US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, with European leaders stating in no uncertain terms that they will remain a part of the global climate pact.
Carbon dioxide levels rose by a record amount last year
23 Jan 2025
Carbon dioxide is accumulating in the atmosphere faster than ever before, putting hopes of limiting warming in jeopardy.
Los Angeles is a climate disaster. The fires will change nothing
23 Jan 2025
OPINION: Los Angeles is burning. Fossil fuel companies laid the kindling. Soon the world will stop caring.
As the world gets hotter, banks are offering corporations another form of “green” finance.
23 Jan 2025
Banks poured $286 billion into corporations linked to deforestation and polluting industries like fossil fuels and mining through a lax type of green finance called sustainability-linked loans.
Great Barrier Reef hit by its most widespread coral bleaching, study finds
23 Jan 2025
More than 40% of individual corals monitored around a Great Barrier Reef island were killed last year in the most widespread coral bleaching outbreak to hit the reef system, a study has found.
The night shift
20 Dec 2024
With extreme heat making it perilous to work during the day, farmers and fisherfolk worldwide are adopting overnight hours. That comes with new dangers.
What's the lowest carbon alcohol?
20 Dec 2024
Are beer, wine or spirits better for the climate? And how does alcohol overall compare to other drinks and foods? Jocelyn Timperley takes a look into her drinking habits to find the most environmentally friendly tipple.
The bitter final showdown over British coal, as sun sets on ‘dirtiest fuel’
20 Dec 2024
The county of Cumbria in Northern England has become the battleground for a final war, which is raging over plans to build a new coal mine.
Saving the ‘kidneys’ of the Great Barrier Reef
20 Dec 2024
In Queensland, Australia, once-unlivable wetlands are now attracting birds and fish while also reconnecting Indigenous youth with the land.
‘A valuable and generous ally’: How Exxon and Atlas Network worked to block global climate action
20 Dec 2024
New documents show close coordination between the oil major and a coalition of free-market think tanks at a crucial moment in climate diplomacy.
No glue, chains or locks: Victoria’s antisemitism crackdown a smokescreen to target climate protesters, critics say
20 Dec 2024
The Victorian government has been accused of “shoehorning” new anti-protest measures that could be used to crack down on the climate movement into reforms touted as necessary to combat antisemitism.
Coal use to reach new peak – and remain at near-record levels for years
19 Dec 2024
Spike in fossil fuel use a result of global gas crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Scientists struggle to explain record surge in global heat
19 Dec 2024
The world has been getting hotter for decades but a sudden and extraordinary surge in heat has sent the climate deeper into uncharted territory -- and scientists are still trying to figure out why.
How the UK plans to reach clean power by 2030
19 Dec 2024
The UK government has set out an “action plan” for reaching its target of clean power by 2030, which it describes as “the most ambitious reforms to our energy system in generations”.
As climate change threatens Christmas trees, the farming industry tries to evolve
19 Dec 2024
Christmas trees, like any other crop, are affected by the general rise in temperature associated with global warming and the extreme weather events that result from it.
Our changing Earth: photographers capture climate change in 2024
19 Dec 2024
All year, Associated Press photographers around the globe have captured moments, from the brutality unleashed during extreme weather events to human resilience in the face of hardship, that tell the story of a changing Earth.
A marine heatwave killed 4 million of Alaska’s murre seabirds
19 Dec 2024
Beginning in late fall 2014 and lasting into 2016, an anomalous, massive marine heatwave nicknamed “the Blob” developed off the western coast of the U.S., covering all of Alaska’s coastwater and extending as far south as Southern California, raising ocean temperatures by several degrees Celsius.
Major report joins dots between world's nature challenges
18 Dec 2024
Climate change, nature loss and food insecurity are all inextricably linked and dealing with them as separate issues won't work, a major report has warned.
Experts quit carbon market watchdog in row over quality label for forest credits
18 Dec 2024
Two ICVCM expert advisors have resigned from their positions over what they called a “problematic precedent” set with the REDD+ decision.
As the heat soars, dangers mount in Sydney’s parks and playgrounds
18 Dec 2024
In the state’s far west, the temperature was oppressive on Monday, reaching well into the 40s as residents braced for the prospect of Australian heat records being shattered.
Small island nations face climate-induced ‘catastrophe’, warn experts
18 Dec 2024
The first comprehensive study on health and climate change in small island developing states lays bare impact of the crisis and calls for action from richer countries.
Kenya’s devastating drought is the worst in 40 years
18 Dec 2024
The extreme conditions are leaving millions without food or clean water.
Google signs its largest ever carbon removal deal to capture CO2 in crushed rocks and soil
18 Dec 2024
Google announced an agreement for the purchase of 200,000 tonnes of carbon removal credits, to be earned through capturing CO2 in crushed rock and storing it in soil, with enhanced rock weathering (ERW) startup Terradot.
Australia leads the world in arresting climate and environment protesters
17 Dec 2024
Australian police are world leaders at arresting climate and environmental protesters.
Landmark climate hearings conclude at world's top court
17 Dec 2024
Two weeks of powerful testimonies from people on climate change's frontlines have come to a close. Now they must wait for a decision from the top UN court. But what impact could it have?
Trump’s climate threats rattle world’s biggest science meeting
17 Dec 2024
Researchers attending the American Geophysical Union conference worry their work could disappear when a president who rejects climate science takes office.
Several hundreds, maybe thousands, may have died in Mayotte cyclone
17 Dec 2024
Several hundred people and possibly even thousands may have been killed when the most powerful cyclone in nearly a century hit the French Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte, a senior local French official said on Sunday.
What could a US-China trade war mean for the energy transition?
17 Dec 2024
Ahead of Donald Trump’s second term as US president, a rerun of his first trade war with China is firmly on the cards – and minerals key to the energy transition may end up in the crossfire.
How to buy a secondhand gift someone might actually want
17 Dec 2024
In search of uniqueness and affordable quality, shoppers are increasingly open to buying and receiving secondhand gifts — and it’s better for the planet.
Trawl the sea or mine for metals? Pacific nations wrestle with how to protect oceans - and livelihoods
16 Dec 2024
Palau plans to allow more fishing in its marine sanctuary, as countries across the region seek to balance conservation with economic needs.
Rising desertification shows we can’t keep farming with fossil fuels
16 Dec 2024
Three-quarters of Earth’s land has become drier since 1990.
Government unveils new powers to approve onshore wind farms
16 Dec 2024
The government has unveiled plans to give ministers the final say on approving large onshore wind farms rather than leaving decisions to local councils, where opposition has often been fierce.
Canada ignores official advice in setting much-criticised 2035 emissions target
16 Dec 2024
While the Net Zero Advisory Body recommended a 50-55% cut in emissions, the government settled for a weaker 45-50% range.
Top advisers say EU should ban solar geoengineering … for now
16 Dec 2024
The bloc’s scientific advisers say the EU should push for an international treaty regulating the controversial technologies.
Record-breaking Philippines typhoon season was ‘supercharged’ by climate change
16 Dec 2024
This year’s record-breaking typhoon season in the Philippines – which saw six consecutive storm systems hit the country in under a month – was “supercharged” by climate change, according to a rapid attribution study.
‘A human face on an abstract problem’: international court forced to listen to climate victims
13 Dec 2024
Marginalised communities have been elevated during hearings in The Hague on impact of climate crisis
A new global carbon trading market could be held hostage by speculators
13 Dec 2024
Our planet’s future hangs in the balance due to the unabated greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels. Treating these emissions as something that can be owned and exchanged in a market has been touted as a solution since the early 1990s, when UN negotiations to agree a limit to global heating began. At the latest round of talks in Azerbaijan, countries finally agreed rules for a global carbon credit market.
Greece faced 9,500 forest fires this year, says minister
13 Dec 2024
About 9,500 forest fires, including one on the outskirts of Athens, consumed nearly 44,500 hectares of land this year, Greece's hottest and driest on record, official said on Tuesday.
Coal will be a central pillar of COP31 wherever it’s held
13 Dec 2024
In the shadows of COP29, two of the world’s most coal-dependent countries are still bidding to host the UN climate summit in 2026, offering what could be a unique moment to renew focus on coal, write two climate analysts.
EU’s new energy chief vows to end Russian fuel ties for good
13 Dec 2024
Momentum for quitting Moscow’s revenue driver has stalled. “Something new needs to happen,” Dan Jørgensen told POLITICO.
To fix the world's problems, we need both optimism and pessimism
13 Dec 2024
Solving challenges like climate change not only requires ambitious targets, but also an honest appraisal of uncertainty and possible failure.
What could a US-China trade war mean for the energy transition?
12 Dec 2024
Ahead of Donald Trump’s second term as US president, a rerun of his first trade war with China is firmly on the cards – and minerals key to the energy transition may end up in the crossfire.
Datacentres should be forced to invest in wind and solar energy, all states agree – except Queensland
Wed 13 May 2026
Power hungry datacentres that are growing to meet the demands of artificial intelligence could be forced to invest in enough new solar and wind generation to completely cover their electricity needs.
US EPA moves to speed clean air permits for power plants, industry
Wed 13 May 2026
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it would speed up the process for large polluters to obtain clean air permits, the latest move by the Trump administration to ease regulatory burdens on American power plants and industry.
China’s leadership calls for ‘strict control’ of fossil fuels
28 Apr 2026
Chinese government leaders published a policy document on 22 April – Earth Day – calling for stricter controls on fossil-fuel consumption and greater oversight of heavy emitters.
Inequality causing 100,000 extra deaths a year from heat and cold in Europe
Tue 12 May 2026
Economic inequality adds more than 100,000 deaths to the vast toll from heat and cold in Europe each year, research has found.
Nature recovery zones inspired by Attenborough
Tue 12 May 2026
A wildlife trust has been inspired by Sir David Attenborough's climate change mantra to designate 11 nature recovery zones in honour of the broadcaster's 100th birthday.
Carbon capture ‘doesn’t work’: Former British Columbia premier
Fri 8 May 2026
Former British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell warned the costly, troubled technology has failed to deliver, undercutting a central justification for billions in public subsidies and new oil infrastructure.
Climate change, socioeconomic shifts threaten Nepal’s yak herding traditions
7 May 2026
According to the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), warming temperatures are fundamentally altering Himalayan high-altitude ecosystems.
How climate change threatens the economic backbone of the Pacific
4 May 2026
The vast Pacific Ocean and the islands dotted within it produce more than half of the world's tuna.
‘Triple whammy of climate chaos’: Why Antarctica's sea ice collapse is no longer a mystery
Mon 11 May 2026
Scientists have finally identified the ‘triple whammy’ behind Antarctica’s dramatic collapse, shedding new light on the chain reaction that has pushed its sea ice to record lows.
With its first marine reserve, Ghana protects its ocean to secure its future
5 May 2026
Comment: Last month, Ghana made news when it declared its first marine reserve and sited it in one of the nation’s most ecologically and biologically significant marine environments.
The country where lethal hantavirus cases are on the rise. Experts blame climate change
Wed 13 May 2026
Experts believe environmental degradation caused by climate change and human activity is contributing to its spread by allowing the rodents that transmit the virus to thrive in new areas.
UN methane alert system expanded to coal and waste sectors after Indian landfill named among world’s top emitters
6 May 2026
The United Nations is expanding its methane monitoring system to cover coal mines and waste facilities, after satellite analysis identified a landfill in India among the world’s three largest methane-emitting sites.
