International: All stories
Can a climate summit in an oil state change anything?
30 Nov 2023
The world's most important climate meeting, which starts today, is being hosted in Dubai by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - one of the world's top ten oil producers.
Climate change is the biggest human health risk, says Africa's disease boss
30 Nov 2023
Climate change is the biggest threat to human health in Africa and the rest of the world, the head of the continent's public health agency said.
Has wind power blown it?
30 Nov 2023
Financial headwinds could be a passing storm or a long-term headache for the carbon-free energy source.
US moves to protect wolverines as climate change melts their mountain refuges
30 Nov 2023
The North American wolverine will receive long-delayed threatened species protections under a Biden administration proposal released in response to scientists warning that climate change will likely push them toward extinction.
We can’t address the climate crisis without nature
30 Nov 2023
At a climate summit, Bill Gates sparked controversy by dismissing tree planting as a climate crisis solution, calling it “complete nonsense.”
Saudi Arabia’s grand plan to ‘hook’ poor countries on oil
29 Nov 2023
Climate scientists say fossil fuel use needs to fall rapidly – but oil-rich kingdom is working to drive up demand.
Biden not scheduled to attend COP 28 climate summit
29 Nov 2023
US President Biden is not expected to attend the opening of COP 28 this week but will send top US officials to the UN climate summit in Dubai, the White House confirmed.
Who wants what at COP28?
29 Nov 2023
As a year of record-breaking temperatures and climate change-fuelled disasters draws to a close, nations are once again preparing to gather for another round of UN climate talks.
World's biggest iceberg three times the size of New York City is escaping Antarctica after almost 40 years
29 Nov 2023
The gigantic iceberg A23a, which broke off from Antarctica in 1986, is finally moving away from the icy continent after being stuck on the seafloor for decades.
Leaks reveal how McKinsey drives African climate agenda
29 Nov 2023
Whistleblowers raise alarm over American consultancy’s growing influence in pushing carbon markets and developing energy transition plans.
No easy way to communicate the impacts of climate change, says study
29 Nov 2023
A new study outlines how researchers sought to reduce the psychological distance of climate change by showing a 3D virtual simulation of a storm surge to see if it would change their behaviours and attitudes regarding climate change.
COP28: UAE planned to use climate talks to make oil deals
28 Nov 2023
The United Arab Emirates planned to use its role as the host of UN climate talks as an opportunity to strike oil and gas deals, the BBC has learned.
The green battery of the future is right under your feet
28 Nov 2023
As the world transitions to renewable energy, some researchers are looking for a more Earth-friendly alternative to lithium ion batteries.
Portugal just ran on 100 percent renewables for six days in a row
28 Nov 2023
For nearly a week, the country of 10 million met customer needs with wind, hydro and solar — a test run for operating the grid without fossil fuels.
Heat, disease, air pollution: how climate change impacts health
28 Nov 2023
Growing calls for the world to come to grips with the many ways that global warming affects human health have prompted the first day dedicated to the issue at crunch UN climate talks.
Most people don’t realise how much progress we’ve made on climate change
28 Nov 2023
The rapid rise of renewables and EVs has already put us on a safer path.
Indigenous peoples and local communities can make the voluntary carbon market work for them
28 Nov 2023
The voluntary carbon market has the potential to address $4.1 trillion in nature financing gap by 2050 and support Indigenous peoples and local communities — when done right.
Oil and gas industry needs to let go of carbon capture as solution to climate change, IEA says
27 Nov 2023
The oil and gas industry faces a reckoning over its role in the clean energy transition, according to an International Energy Agency report.
Australia climate change activists disrupt shipping at coal port
27 Nov 2023
A climate change protest off Australia's east coast disrupted operations at the country's biggest coal export port on Saturday.
Green growth or degrowth: what is the right way to tackle climate change?
27 Nov 2023
Nearly all the world’s governments and vast numbers of its people are convinced that addressing human-induced climate change is essential if healthy societies are to survive.
Brazil to propose mega fund to conserve forests at COP28 climate summit
27 Nov 2023
Brazil plans to propose a “huge” fund to pay for the conservation of tropical forests at the United Nations COP28 climate change summit, the country’s top climate negotiator said.
Devastating flooding in East Africa
27 Nov 2023
Heavy rainfall led to extensive flooding in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya in October and November.
China engineers complete largest solar farm on Earth in UAE ahead of Cop28
27 Nov 2023
The 4 million panels in the desert outside Abu Dhabi will reduce carbon emissions by 2.4 million tonnes per year and power 200,000 households.
Thousands of fossil fuel lobbyists attend COP meetings: NGOs
24 Nov 2023
Delegates openly affiliated with oil, gas and coal firms have attended the UN climate talks to address the escalating global impacts of human-induced climate change at least 7,200 times over the last 20 years.
In numbers: The state of the climate ahead of COP28
24 Nov 2023
Annual emissions may have just peaked but the world’s temperature will keep rising until we reach net zero.
Pacific women are among the most vulnerable to extreme weather
24 Nov 2023
Roughly 90 kilometres from northern Bougainville, the Carteret Islands were the first place in the world to move people due to climate change-related sea level rise.
China rolls out product carbon footprint directive in bid to meet global standards
24 Nov 2023
State planner NDRC sets new policy to calculate, label carbon footprints for ‘key products’ as EU moves toward carbon border tax.
Shell to face human rights claims in UK over chronic oil pollution in Niger delta
24 Nov 2023
More than 13,000 Nigerian villagers can bring legal claims against oil firm, rules high court.
The case for climate neuroscience
24 Nov 2023
In a new paper, brain scientists lay out how their field could probe the reciprocal relationships between the changing climate and the brain.
Is it too late to keep global warming below 1.5C? The challenge in seven charts
23 Nov 2023
Chances are rapidly disappearing to limit Earth’s temperature rise to the globally agreed mark, but researchers say there are some positive signs of progress.
US carbon emissions set to fall again, a key sign of progress
23 Nov 2023
A projected drop in US greenhouse gas emissions—one of the largest of the past decade—is still not enough to meet the country’s commitments under the Paris climate accord.
Why deals at COP28 to ‘triple renewables’ and ‘double efficiency’ are crucial for 1.5C
23 Nov 2023
COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber has urged governments to agree on global goals to triple renewables capacity and double the rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030.
Iraqis displaced by climate change fall into poverty
23 Nov 2023
In a country of 43 million people, nearly one Iraqi in five lives in an area suffering from water shortages.
Ban private jets to address climate crisis, says Thomas Piketty
23 Nov 2023
French economist says class inequality must be at centre of climate response and calls for progressive carbon taxes.
The Galapagos are going green
23 Nov 2023
In recent years, there has been a growing movement to transform the archipelago into a beacon of sustainability.
Richest 1% account for more carbon emissions than poorest 66%, report says
22 Nov 2023
‘Polluter elite’ are plundering the planet to point of destruction, says Oxfam after comprehensive study of climate inequality.
Earth is hurtling toward nearly 3°C of warming
22 Nov 2023
The globe is headed for nearly 3°C (5.4°F) of warming compared with preindustrial levels through 2100, new data finds, even if current policies to cut planet-warming emissions are met.
Does the Amazon’s drought mean the forest is at a tipping point?
22 Nov 2023
Scientists say deforestation is compounding the effects of climate change, threatening to turn parts of the forest into savannah.
UK government plans radical shake-up of foreign aid for climate change disasters
22 Nov 2023
The UK government is to spend millions of pounds helping countries prepare for future humanitarian disasters in a radical shake-up of its development policy.
US plans to push for curbs on methane emissions worldwide at key UN meet
22 Nov 2023
Curbing methane is the fastest and cheapest way to keep average temperature rise under 1.5 degrees Celsius, a US state department official said.
COP28 must not repeat the mistakes of the Africa Climate Summit
22 Nov 2023
Lobbyists for big emitters in the Global North must not be allowed to push false solutions on COP28.
Anti-green backlash hovers over COP climate talks
21 Nov 2023
War, a fossil fuel boom and populist revolts are sapping the optimism from the fight against climate change. And then there’s Trump.
Oil and gas companies are digging in. That’s why COP28 must force a phase-down of fossil fuels
21 Nov 2023
COP28 is just a few weeks away, and if we are to have any hope of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees and a positive outcome at the conference, we must see the oil and gas sector start to move the needle.
Warming of 2C would trigger ‘catastrophic’ loss of world’s ice, new report says
21 Nov 2023
Global warming of 2C would see “extensive, long-term and essentially irreversible” losses from the Earth’s ice sheets and glaciers, warns a new report.
Gaza at risk from climate crisis: conflict compounds looming environmental disaster
21 Nov 2023
On November 18 2023, the planet’s temperature went past the 2.0 degree Celsius barrier for the first time. It’s temporary—but it’s a terrible reminder that we’re now in the desperate end game for global warming.
Record-breaking heat set to hit southern hemisphere as summer begins
21 Nov 2023
The northern hemisphere experienced a sweltering summer due to climate and meteorological patters. Scientists say the south will not escape.
To meet climate goals, Gulf countries will have to overhaul everything
21 Nov 2023
When Dubai hosts the COP28 climate conference, the tension between Gulf countries’ net-zero targets and reliance on fossil fuels will be front and center.
What happens when you put a fossil fuel exec in charge of solving climate change?
20 Nov 2023
For a taste of the United Arab Emirates, try the cappuccino at Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Palace hotel. At around $25, it’s a quality cup of coffee, but the gold flakes that come sprinkled on top are its primary selling point.
Neighbourhoods submerged following flash floods in the Horn of Africa
20 Nov 2023
More than 100 people, including 16 children, have died and over 700,000 been forced out of their homes in the Horn of Africa due to flash flooding.
Plants are likely to absorb more CO₂ in a changing climate than we thought
20 Nov 2023
The world’s vegetation has a remarkable ability to absorb carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the air and store it as biomass.
Companies could have profits from breaking environment laws stripped under Australian reforms
23 Oct 2025
The Albanese government wants the power to strip companies of any financial gains made from breaking environment laws, as part of a package of landmark reforms to be put before parliament in the next two weeks.
Judge says Greenpeace must pay $345 million in pipeline lawsuit, cutting jury amount nearly in half
Fri 31 Oct 2025
A North Dakota judge has ordered Greenpeace to pay damages of $345 million, reducing an earlier jury award after it found the environmental group and related entities liable for defamation and other claims in connection with protests of an oil pipeline nearly a decade ago.
How ‘vehicle-to-grid’ technology could boost China’s electricity system
Fri 31 Oct 2025
China’s surging electric vehicles ownership – now exceeding 25.5m – is opening the door to a new technology that can help to enhance the flexibility of electricity supply.
Norway faces European Court climate ruling over oil licences
Wed 29 Oct 2025
The European Court of Human Rights will decide on Tuesday if Norway breached its climate obligations when it awarded Arctic oil exploration licenses in 2016.
UK Prime Minister will attend Brazil climate summit
21 Oct 2025
Keir Starmer will travel to the Amazon rainforest for the COP30 United Nations climate summit next month, Downing Street has confirmed, after weeks of speculation that he would not.
Renewables are a global economic engine, not a culture war threat
2 Oct 2025
Energy companies are learning this lesson faster than Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
Thousands evacuated in Vietnam after record rain triggers floods
Thu 30 Oct 2025
Thousands of people in Vietnam were evacuated from their homes after record rainfall of more than one metre in 24 hours submerged a central city.
Mystery heatwave warms Pacific Ocean to new record
21 Oct 2025
The waters of the north Pacific have had their warmest summer on record, according to BBC analysis of a mysterious marine heatwave that has confounded climate scientists.
Scientists discovered something alarming seeping out from beneath the ocean around Antarctica
13 Oct 2025
Planet-heating methane is escaping from cracks in the Antarctic seabed as the region warms, with new seeps being discovered at an “astonishing rate".
Nigerian billionaire plans expansion of Africa’s biggest oil refinery
Fri 31 Oct 2025
The billionaire owner of Africa’s largest refinery plans to expand its capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day to meet growing fuel needs in the continent and beyond.
Police raids in Brazil’s Rio kill 64 ahead of events related to COP30 climate summit
Thu 30 Oct 2025
At least 64 people died on Oct 28 in Rio de Janeiro’s most deadly police operation ever, which targeted a major gang days before the city hosts global events related to the United Nations climate summit known as COP30.
Most countries fail to submit new climate pledges ahead of summit
Wed 29 Oct 2025
Only 64 countries have submitted new plans to cut carbon, the UN says, despite all being required to do so ahead of next month's COP30 summit.
