International: All stories
Canada on track to miss 2030 emissions targets
10 Nov 2023
Canada is set to miss its 2030 target to cut carbon emissions by at least 40% below 2005 levels by 2030, according to the latest audit from the commissioner of the environment's office.
OPINION: How climate research is polluted by fossil fuel money — and how to fix it
10 Nov 2023
It's no secret that Sultan Al Jaber, president-designate of COP28, has a contradictory role as head of a fossil fuel company. But his situation points to a broader web of conflicts of interest that endangers climate progress.
China unveils action plan to reduce methane emissions
10 Nov 2023
China published its long-awaited plan to tackle climate-warming methane on Tuesday, but included no firm targets for reducing those emissions - only goals for re-using them as fuel.
Amid tensions with US, China tightens controls over exports and imports of key commodities
10 Nov 2023
China has asked exporters to report transactions of strategically important rare earth metals and oxide products, as economic security remains high on the agenda for policymakers.
UK watering down net zero policies 'will lead to rising deaths from global heating'
10 Nov 2023
The ‘watering down’ of net zero policies ‘will ensure that the number of deaths due to the impact of global heating on the UK population will keep on rising’, says climate scientist Bill McGuire.
‘Insanity’: petrostates planning huge expansion of fossil fuels, says UN report
9 Nov 2023
The world’s fossil fuel producers are planning expansions that would blow the planet’s carbon budget twice over, a UN report has found. Experts called the plans “insanity” which “throw humanity’s future into question”.
Disasters "very rarely not a design failure" - expert
9 Nov 2023
The UK's leading disaster expert says the term "natural disaster" conceals the fact that related deaths are often created by human action - or inaction.
Just 4% of top companies meet UN climate target guidelines, study says
9 Nov 2023
Half of the world's 2,000 biggest listed companies have set a target to get to net-zero emissions by mid-century, but just a fraction meet tough United Nations guidelines for what constitutes a quality pledge, a report showed.
Climate change has become a human rights crisis
9 Nov 2023
In a new study, experts have presented evidence that climate change is impeding the human rights of people living in the Pacific.
Rich people are the big barrier to stabilising the climate
9 Nov 2023
Efforts to curb climate change are failing. That’s partly due to the staggering contributions of the global elite.
The low-carbon energy transition will need less mining than fossil fuels, even when adjusted for waste rock
9 Nov 2023
Low-carbon electricity will reduce material requirements, but moving to electric vehicles will increase them.
‘Loss and damage’ deal struck to help countries worst hit by climate crisis
8 Nov 2023
Countries have agreed key measures to supply funds to the world’s most vulnerable people to repair the damage from climate breakdown.
Three major gaps in climate-adaptation finance for developing countries
8 Nov 2023
Developing countries require hundreds of billions of dollars in investment every year to help them adapt to the rising threat of climate change.
We are looking for a transformational roadmap to transform our energy sectors: German envoy
8 Nov 2023
With less than four weeks until the next UN climate conference COP-28, Germany's special envoy for climate diplomacy, Jennifer Morgan, is in Australia for a series of meetings with key climate players.
The world’s boreal forests may be shrinking as climate change pushes them northward
8 Nov 2023
Earth’s boreal forests circle our planet’s far northern reaches, just south of the Arctic’s treeless tundra.
Can the PIF leaders’ meeting break the cycle after another climate fund setback?
8 Nov 2023
The PIF Leaders’ Meeting is an important chance to jolt the world into action on a climate Loss and Damage Fund after decades of fighting for justice.
Young trees are not responding well to climate change
8 Nov 2023
In the depths of verdant forests, where the tranquility is often only disturbed by the sounds of wildlife and rustling leaves, a silent crisis is unfolding amongst young trees.
Aotearoa could make a real impact on cutting greenhouse gas emissions internationally: Thomas Pogge
7 Nov 2023
By Jeremy Rose | The director of Yale University’s Global Justice Program, Thomas Pogge, says for a relatively small investment of, say, US$100 million, New Zealand could make a significant impact on cutting the greenhouse gas emissions of the developing world.
We can now only stay under 1.5°C target if we achieve net zero by 2034
7 Nov 2023
The amount of carbon dioxide we can still emit to have just a 50 per cent chance of limiting warming to 1.5°C is even smaller than previously thought.
Banks pumped more than $150bn in to companies running ‘carbon bomb’ projects in 2022
7 Nov 2023
Projects that risk 1.5C heating target operated by companies receiving financing from European, Chinese and US banks.
What the ‘underwhelming’ Three Basins Summit means for tropical forests
7 Nov 2023
Rainforest countries from three continents agreed at the Three Basins Summit in Brazzaville to work together to finance and protect their ecosystems – but failed to firm up a unified alliance.
Capturing carbon with seaweed: what we do and don’t know, and what we’re unsure about
7 Nov 2023
Towering underwater kelp forests are often likened to trees, but seaweed carbon sequestration is far more complex than in soil-bound ecosystems.
Pope says he will attend COP28 climate summit in Dubai, a first by a pontiff
7 Nov 2023
Pope Francis said that he will attend the COP28 climate conference starting next month in Dubai, the first time a pontiff will be at the U.N. environmental meeting since they began in 1995.
Why can’t we just quit cows?
7 Nov 2023
Eating less beef, cheese, and ice cream would slash emissions. If only it were that easy.
Global heating is accelerating, warns scientist who sounded climate alarm in the 80s
6 Nov 2023
Study delivers dire warning although rate of increase is debated by some scientists amid a record-breaking year of heat.
Scientists say only transformational change will avoid environmental tipping points
6 Nov 2023
Ahead of COP28, UN-backed scientists warn that to avoid six irreversible climatic and ecological changes, the root causes must be addressed.
Australia’s bid to host climate talks is welcome but its words must be matched with action
6 Nov 2023
The climate minister of Pacific Island Vanuatu says those choosing the Cop31 host should examine Australia’s gas expansion plans.
Pasifika activists say climate inaction is a violation of human rights
6 Nov 2023
The Pacific Islands are on the frontline of climate change, with the future for many living there becoming increasingly uncertain.
As climate threats grow, poor countries still aren't getting enough money to prepare
6 Nov 2023
The world is facing more extreme weather that scientists say is fueled by human-driven climate change.
Climate scientists are working with indigenous tribes
6 Nov 2023
Native peoples have long collected environmental data. Now scientists are cataloguing these observations and learning how they're affecting indigenous communities globally.
COP28 Presidency launches net zero transition charter
3 Nov 2023
Charter launched to drive corporate climate action amid flurry of pre-COP activity, including confirmation that King Charles will attend climate talks.
Levy on aviation and maritime firms should be considered
3 Nov 2023
Ireland’s environment minister made the case for the World Bank to administer any agreed climate loss and damage funding.
Cigarette-style climate warnings on food could cut meat consumption, study suggests
3 Nov 2023
Durham University research found warnings of environmental or health impacts reduced choice of meals containing meat by 7-10%.
Philanthropic giving to climate change stayed flat in 2022
3 Nov 2023
Despite increased urgency of reducing emissions, a new analysis shows that total philanthropic giving by foundations and individuals remained essentially flat from 2021 through 2022.
California startup to 'sponge' CO2 from atmosphere
3 Nov 2023
Scrubbing carbon dioxide from the air is imperative if humanity is to limit global warming, experts say, and a California startup says it can do just that, using limestone as a carbon-sucking sponge.
New approach: save tropical forests by restoring faith in carbon credits
3 Nov 2023
Valuing the carbon storage potential of natural habitats aims to help restore faith in offset schemes, by enabling investors to directly compare carbon credit pricing across projects.
Deep divisions ahead of crucial UN climate talks
2 Nov 2023
There are already signs that deep divisions could hamper progress at the UN's crucial COP28 climate summit.
What is a 'carbon bomb' project? Examples and climate impact
2 Nov 2023
Recent reports have revealed that banks pumped more than $150 billion into companies with “carbon bomb” projects that could destroy humanity’s last chance to stop the climate crisis in the past year.
This California desert oasis has lessons for climate change
2 Nov 2023
Big Morongo Canyon Preserve is so green right now it’s hard to believe it’s in the middle of the desert.
When idiot savants do climate economics
2 Nov 2023
How an elite clique of math-addled economists hijacked climate policy.
Engineers create cool water patches to protect fish from climate change
2 Nov 2023
Cold-loving fishes, like Atlantic salmon, may get their own version of air conditioning to cope with high summer water temperatures.
A new hope for concentrating solar power
2 Nov 2023
Concentrating solar power systems are getting an energy efficiency makeover and a new job: producing solar fuels.
A critical meeting before the big COP28 summit will tackle thorny issues
1 Nov 2023
Set against the backdrop of heightened Middle Eastern tensions, the United Arab Emirates is hosting a series of key meetings this week to prepare for the upcoming UN Climate Summit in Dubai.
US pushes to ensure nuclear “is not forgotten” in COP renewables pledge
1 Nov 2023
The United States is working behind the scenes to ensure nuclear power is not excluded from an expected global pledge to boost renewables at the upcoming climate summit in Dubai.
Why many scientists are now saying climate change is an all-out ‘emergency’
1 Nov 2023
Escalating rhetoric comes as new study shows there’s just six years left to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius at current CO2 emissions rate.
The Beetaloo gas field is a climate bomb. How did CSIRO modelling make it look otherwise?
1 Nov 2023
As Australia braces for a summer of projected extreme heatwaves and bushfires, the fossil gas industry is gearing up for a truly enormous new fracking project in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin.
Who were the worst of the worst climate polluters in 2022?
1 Nov 2023
US Environmental Protection Agency’s annual greenhouse gas report for large emitters show some facilities slashed their emissions while others polluted more than ever.
Caterpillars struggle to survive climate changes: study
1 Nov 2023
Research on nature reserves and at an allotment has revealed how susceptible caterpillars are to climate change.
Inside the campaign that put an oil boss in charge of a climate summit
31 Oct 2023
Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of the UAE’s national oil company, secured the COP28 presidency despite questions over his green credentials.
Calling this "climate change" is not enough
31 Oct 2023
Journalists and meteorologists must go further, and call rapid hurricane intensification a symptom of fossil fuels.
No room for the timid: setting Australia’s 2035 emissions target is a daring tightrope act
Tue 26 Aug 2025
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
Tue 26 Aug 2025
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?
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
20 Aug 2025
Only 28 countries have submitted carbon-cutting proposals to the UN, with some of the biggest emitters yet to produce plans.
