International: All stories
How oil push in Democratic Republic of Congo could affect climate change
4 Aug 2025
Home to the world's second largest tropical rainforest, Democratic Republic of Congo plans to expose half its land to oil and gas drilling in what conservationists call a major threat to endangered apes, local jobs and global climate goals.
The renewable energy revolution is a feat of technology
4 Aug 2025
By Rebecca Solnit | COMMENT: An energy revolution is underway in this century, though most people have not noticed it.
UN holds emergency talks over sky-high costs for COP30 climate summit
4 Aug 2025
The United Nations' climate bureau held an urgent meeting over concerns that sky-high accommodation prices for this year's COP30 climate summit could price poorer countries out of the negotiations.
What’s in a number? New carbon target sparks new climate warfare
4 Aug 2025
Casual observers of Australia's federal parliament might this week have been startled by a sudden resumption of conflict over climate, but the timing was no accident.
The US is sitting out the most consequential climate summit in a decade. It may offer a victory to China
1 Aug 2025
The Trump administration fired the last of the US climate negotiators earlier this month, helping cement America’s withdrawal from international climate diplomacy. It may also have handed a huge victory to China.
Freshwater is disappearing from the Earth at alarming rates
1 Aug 2025
The planet has endured massive freshwater losses over the past two decades due to the combined effects of climate change, overconsumption and drought, a new study has found.
How the grift works
1 Aug 2025
By Bill McKibben | COMMENT: The Trump administration’s climate policies are one big grift but the president also seems to have fallen for a con set up by European leaders.
PR firm working for Shell wins COP30 media contract
1 Aug 2025
As calls grow to keep fossil fuel influence out of UN climate talks, campaigners say Edelman’s partnership with the oil and gas major raises an alarming conflict of interest.
Reintroducing a carbon price the 'most economically efficient tax reform' to repair Australia's budget
1 Aug 2025
Economist Ross Garnaut has warned of "tragic consequences" for productivity and the federal budget, as well as climate change, unless Australia reintroduces a carbon price "as a matter of urgency".
Plant trees in urban areas to tackle deadly heatwaves, say experts
1 Aug 2025
Tree planting in city centres needs to "go harder and go faster" in order to help keep them cool ahead of future deadly heatwaves, an expert has said.
Trump administration moves to repeal scientific declaration on dangers of greenhouse gases
31 Jul 2025
In one of its most significant reversals on climate policy to-date, the Trump administration on Tuesday proposed to repeal a 2009 scientific finding that human-caused climate change endangers human health and safety.
2025 on track to be second or third warmest year on record
31 Jul 2025
As it passes its midway point, 2025 is on track to be the second or third warmest year on record. However, it is very unlikely to beat 2024 as the hottest year.
European Central Bank to consider 'climate factor' when lending to banks
31 Jul 2025
The European Central Bank will add climate change considerations to its lending operations from late 2026, raising pressure on banks to channel financing towards greener sectors as the euro zone seeks to reduce its carbon footprint.
The EU’s ‘fantasy’ $750B energy promise to Trump
31 Jul 2025
The EU has narrowly avoided a full-blown trade war with Donald Trump by pledging to buy $750 billion of U.S. oil and gas by the end of his term. But achieving that will be almost impossible.
Earth’s wetlands are disappearing and global efforts to save them are unravelling
31 Jul 2025
More than 170 countries have gathered to save critical ecosystems. But the U.S. was a no-show for most of the summit and Russia said it will withdraw from the wetlands treaty.
Tilting at windmills? Trump’s claims about turbines fact-checked
31 Jul 2025
The US president has taken a swipe at wind power as the blades visible from his Turnberry golf course turn.
At least 30 killed and several missing as heavy rains and floods lash northern China
30 Jul 2025
Thousands of people were evacuated as the region, including the capital Beijing, braced for more rainfall overnight.
Tax on AI and crypto could fund climate action, says former Paris accords envoy
30 Jul 2025
Laurence Tubiana urges governments to consider levies on energy-hungry technology.
A third of ‘slum residents’ in global south are exposed to disastrous flood risks
30 Jul 2025
One in three people in informal settlements in the global south live in floodplains and are at risk of a “disastrous flood”.
As US climate data-gathering is gutted, Australian forecasting is now at real risk
30 Jul 2025
As damage from climate change intensifies, political change overseas is threatening Australia’s ability to track what’s happening now, and predict what will happen next.
320 million trees die each year from lightning, and climate change is making it worse
30 Jul 2025
Every year, lightning kills around 320 million trees across the globe, not with raging wildfires but through direct strikes that often go unseen.
The World Court finally opens the door to 'climate reparations'
30 Jul 2025
COMMENT: The International Court of Justice’s landmark opinion means big polluters must answer for climate harm.
UN climate chief urges Australia to 'go big' on 2035 emissions target
29 Jul 2025
One of the world's top climate diplomats has urged the federal government to commit to an ambitious 2035 target to cut carbon emissions, saying Australia can reap "colossal" economic rewards if it embraces clean energy.
Climateflation could push up UK food prices by more than a third by 2050, report says
29 Jul 2025
Increasingly extreme weather threatens production and supply chains in Britain and elsewhere.
Wildfires rage in Greece and Turkey as extreme heat persists
29 Jul 2025
Greece continued to battle major wildfires across the country amid a severe heatwave, but firefighters have brought many outbreaks under control.
Toxic algae are turning South Australia’s coral reefs into underwater graveyards
29 Jul 2025
Since March, a harmful algal bloom, fueled by a marine heat wave, has been choking South Australia’s coastline.
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.
Dire warning aid cuts are stopping vulnerable nations from preparing for climate disaster
29 Jul 2025
Funding cuts plus the failure to agree a financial target to help poorer countries adapt to climate change is already having a stark impact.
Europe and China agree to take action on climate change and nothing else in tense Beijing summit
28 Jul 2025
China and the European Union have issued a joint call to action on climate change during an otherwise tense bilateral summit in Beijing on Thursday riven with major disagreements over trade and the war in Ukraine.
‘Total infiltration’: How plastics industry swamped vital global treaty talks
28 Jul 2025
Petrostates and well-funded lobbyists at UN-hosted talks are derailing a deal to cut plastic production and protect people and the planet.
India misses chance to tackle UK carbon tax in trade pact
28 Jul 2025
India’s efforts to secure a concession for its small and medium enterprises under the UK’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism did not materialise, as the text of the India-UK Free Trade Agreement made no mention of a resolution on the contentious issue.
World’s largest carbon projects unlikely to deliver emissions cuts despite reforms
28 Jul 2025
So far, carbon markets have not led to a promised decrease in planet-heating emissions – and efforts to tighten standards have yet to prove their worth.
China's carbon emissions may have peaked thanks to renewables push
28 Jul 2025
Climate experts say China's carbon emissions may have peaked, which could affect global climate targets, the fight against global warming – and the Australian coal industry.
$22B in US clean energy projects canceled so far this year
28 Jul 2025
Thousands of jobs and billions in investments have been ditched in the first half of this year as President Trump’s administration has pushed back on new green energy investments, according to a new report.
The ICJ’s ruling means Australia and other major polluters face a new era of climate reparations
25 Jul 2025
By Harj Narulla | OPINION: Australia has found itself on the wrong side of history.
Ocean heatwaves may signal climate tipping point
25 Jul 2025
A recent study that tapped into satellite data has revealed that 2023 marked an unprecedented year for marine heatwaves, with record-breaking levels of duration, reach and intensity across the world's oceans.
Greenpeace hails Italy court ruling allowing climate lawsuit against energy company to go ahead
25 Jul 2025
Italy’s highest court has ruled that a lawsuit brought by climate activists against Italian energy company ENI and its government shareholders can go ahead.
India to issue climate risk disclosure rules for banks in the next few months, sources say
25 Jul 2025
India's central bank is close to finalising rules for banks and financial institutions to disclose and manage risks from climate change, three sources aware of the matter said.
Trump and the energy industry are eager to power AI with fossil fuels
25 Jul 2025
At a Pittsburgh summit, the Trump administration, energy executives, and tech barons joined as one to promote AI as the future of fossil fuels.
Dad concerned about climate change shifts company away from oil and gas
25 Jul 2025
Jordi Zonneveld says his first decade in the oil and gas industry was great. But in 2015 he realised he could pull his company toward a greener future by working on hydrogen to replace fossil fuels.
Top UN court singles out fossil fuels as part of states’ climate duty
24 Jul 2025
Landmark opinion says those that fail to prevent climate harm could be liable for compensation and restitution.
COP30 must make good on past climate commitments
24 Jul 2025
By Jacinda Ardern, Carlos Lopes, and Laurence Tubiana | COMMENT: COP presidencies tend to seek fresh agreements and ambitious initiatives, but when the celebrations are over, implementation often falls short. That is why Brazil’s COP30 presidency must eschew flashy results in favour of pragmatic pathways to deliver on past agreements.
Switching to renewables is ‘smart economics’ - Guterres
24 Jul 2025
The global energy transition is now “unstoppable” due to “smart economics”, UN secretary-general António Guterres has said in an online speech titled: “A moment of opportunity.”
SBTi releases Net Zero Standard for banks, investors
24 Jul 2025
The Science Based Targets initiative announced the release of its finalised Financial Institutions Net-Zero Standard, aimed at enabling banks and investors to set net zero-aligned targets for their lending, investing, insurance and capital markets activities.
Extreme weather events are the new frontline of online climate denial – report
24 Jul 2025
Climate science deniers are flooding social media with false claims during extreme weather events, drowning out reliable information and putting lives at risk.
Root intelligence: How old trees learn to suck more CO2 from the air
24 Jul 2025
New research finds that centuries-old oaks can dynamically rewire how they absorb nutrients—suggesting forests may be more resilient allies in the climate fight than once believed.
Global oil and gas emissions standard put on pause after Shell and others walk away
23 Jul 2025
Shell and other leading energy groups have abandoned a six-year-long attempt to define a net zero emissions strategy after being told that such a standard would require them to stop developing new oil and gas fields.
The tiny Pacific nation of Vanuatu turns to the world court as climate disasters mount
23 Jul 2025
The International Court of Justice will issue an advisory opinion on what legal obligations nations have to address climate change and what consequences they may face if they don’t.
Heatwave causes water shortages in Iran as temps top 50C
23 Jul 2025
Reservoirs of the dams supplying water to Tehran are currently at their lowest level in a century.
Climate denial is tearing our nation apart — we can’t wait much longer to act
23 Jul 2025
OPINION: The United States currently tolerates a national government whose climate and energy policies are diametrically opposed to what most Americans say they want.
Climate risk suburbs: The shocking truth about Aussie house prices
Thu 18 Sep 2025
Australia’s property market is hurtling towards a climate reckoning, with billions of dollars in potential losses looming.
Al Gore on China’s climate rise: ‘I would not have seen this coming’
Thu 18 Sep 2025
Twenty-five years ago, Al Gore was in the final stretch of his U.S. presidential campaign, just weeks away from an election that would ultimately slip through his fingers despite winning the popular vote.
China aims to nearly double battery storage by 2027 in $35 billion plan
Tue 16 Sep 2025
China is looking to almost double its so-called new energy storage capacity to 180 gigawatts (GW) by 2027, according to an industry plan announced by authorities on Friday.
One city’s race to ‘solarise everything we possibly can’
Thu 18 Sep 2025
Bordeaux is quickly transforming itself into France’s top solar-powered city, banking on innovations like transparent panels that preserve its historic architecture.
Republican gala dinner in Windsor disrupted by climate protesters ahead of Trump’s UK visit
Thu 18 Sep 2025
Climate protesters have interrupted a gala dinner for Republicans in Windsor celebrating Donald Trump’s second state visit to the UK.
Carney government noncommittal about Canada meeting 2030 climate goals
9 Sep 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney would not say Monday whether Canada will meet its climate goals under the Paris agreement by 2030, as his government faces criticism over his emission-reduction plans.
Tax rebalancing in Indian energy sector: Renewables cheaper, coal costlier
12 Sep 2025
Industry experts and developers have hail GST cuts on clean energy equipment, saying it will be a major enabler for India’s ambitious climate goals.
China, climate crisis and COP31: Five takeaways from the Pacific Islands Forum
Tue 16 Sep 2025
A key climate crisis funding treaty struck as Pacific leaders backed Australia’s bid for Cop31 despite some criticism of its environmental credentials.
Iconic Antarctic species at risk amid 'regime shift', with 'rapid and self-perpetuating changes'
22 Aug 2025
Scientists say there is emerging evidence of abrupt and potentially unstoppable changes in the Antarctic environment.
South African environmental groups push to block Shell’s new wells – how world court opinion might help
Wed 17 Sep 2025
The International Court of Justice’s landmark advisory opinion on climate change has come in handy for South African communities that are trying to stop global oil company Shell from drilling for oil and gas off the coast.
Brazil implores businesses to attend COP30 climate summit, despite 'second thoughts' amid Trump backlash
5 Sep 2025
November's COP30 summit comes at a precarious time for climate action, as companies back away from environmental initiatives, and attacks on green energy by President Trump.
UN pushes countries for new climate targets this month
9 Sep 2025
The United Nations urged countries on Wednesday to set more ambitious climate plans during this month, seeking to pressure major economies including the EU and China ahead of this year's U.N. climate summit.
