International: All stories
Brazil to revise climate targets to cut emissions 53% by 2030
21 Sep 2023
Brazil is expected to announce revised climate targets this week, as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva strengthens a prior pledge made by his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro.
It’s time to engineer the sky
21 Sep 2023
Global warming is so rampant that some scientists say we should begin altering the stratosphere to block incoming sunlight, even if it jeopardizes rain and crops.
Renewables are cheaper than ever yet fossil fuel use is still growing
21 Sep 2023
Wind and solar are the world’s fastest growing energy sources and together generated 12% of global electricity in 2023. The amount of energy produced by wind and solar is expected to increase and accelerate.
This treaty could stop plastic pollution—or doom the earth to drown in it
21 Sep 2023
The UN has released a draft of what might become a landmark agreement to protect human health and the environment. Emphasis on might.
World needs $2.7 trillion annually for net zero emissions by 2050
20 Sep 2023
Global investment of $2.7 trillion a year is needed to avoid temperatures from rising above 1.5 degrees Celsius this century, according to a report by consultancy Wood Mackenzie.
Climate change displacement: ‘One of the defining challenges’
20 Sep 2023
As volatile weather patterns continue, some communities are being forced to move to survive.
How China schooled the West on climate change
20 Sep 2023
Brussels is launching a trade probe into Beijing’s EV subsidies. But China still leads the race to go green.
Climate action must respond to extreme weather driving health crisis, says WHO
20 Sep 2023
Melting ice caps and rising sea levels are less urgent than floods, wildfires, drought and other disasters, New York summit hears.
Inside Exxon’s strategy to downplay climate change
20 Sep 2023
Internal documents show what the oil giant said publicly was very different from how it approached the issue privately in the Tillerson era.
UN hopes to kick-start global action at Climate Ambition Summit
20 Sep 2023
This ‘critical political milestone’ hopes to demonstrate a global will for more ambitious climate action.
Lula scraps Bolsonaro’s cuts to Brazilian climate target ambition
19 Sep 2023
The Brazilian government has agreed to cancel former president Jair Bolsonaro’s cuts to its climate ambition and to work on a new improved climate target.
Australia would be raising $70 billion a year from the carbon price if it wasn't dismantled
19 Sep 2023
The problems at Qantas, and the explosion in executive remuneration this century, reflect a much more general problem in the Australian economy.
California sues major oil companies for ‘decades-long campaign of deception’
19 Sep 2023
California is suing five of the largest oil and gas companies in the world, alleging that they engaged in a “decades-long campaign of deception” about climate change.
Antarctic sea-ice at 'mind-blowing' low alarms experts
19 Sep 2023
The sea-ice surrounding Antarctica is well below any previous recorded winter level, satellite data shows, a worrying new benchmark for a region that once seemed resistant to global warming.
The terrible paradox of air pollution and climate change
19 Sep 2023
Some types of air pollution slow global warming — but at the cost of millions of deaths a year.
Digital technology helps farmers affected by climate change
19 Sep 2023
A Nigerian professor is advocating for the use of digital technology to help the nation’s struggling farmers cope with global warming.
Rainforest carbon credit schemes misleading and ineffective, finds report
18 Sep 2023
System not fit for carbon offsetting, puts Indigenous communities at risk and should be replaced with new approach, say researchers.
Thousands march in New York to demand end to fossil fuels
18 Sep 2023
Helen Mancini remembers the last major climate march in New York City, when then-teenage activist Greta Thunberg spoke to a crowd of thousands, demanding world leaders take action on global warming.
Deathtoll continues to climb from devastating Libya flood
18 Sep 2023
Rescuers in Libya's Derna have told the BBC that bodies are continuing to wash up in the sea, a week on from the devastating floods which swept through the eastern city.
Why does Norway want to mine the seabed?
18 Sep 2023
Norway may become the first country to start commercial deep sea mining, despite international calls for a global moratorium.
Scientists eye offshore wind’s effects on the Atlantic’s crucial cold pool
18 Sep 2023
Scientists are rushing to understand how New Jersey’s planned offshore wind farms might alter the mid-Atlantic cold pool, home to some of the most valuable shellfish fisheries in the US.
How rising water vapour in the atmosphere is amplifying warming and making extreme weather worse
18 Sep 2023
This year’s string of record-breaking disasters seems like an acceleration of human-induced climate change.
World is failing on sustainable development goals, say scientists
15 Sep 2023
An independent group of scientists, write that scientists and policymakers must urgently join forces to overcome obstacles to achieving sustainable development goals.
Humans have crossed 6 of 9 ‘Planetary Boundaries’
15 Sep 2023
Scientists analysed nine so-called planetary boundaries and found humans are currently transgressing six.
Court ruling spares Papua forest from further clearing for palm oil
15 Sep 2023
An Indonesian court has upheld a government decision to curb the expansion of a multibillion-dollar oil palm plantation project in the country’s easternmost region of Papua.
Paris is undergoing a water revolution
15 Sep 2023
From urban swimming to fixing leaks to public fountains, France’s capital is getting smart about its most precious resource.
Al Gore: "Mistake" to think big oil, gas are part of a climate solution
15 Sep 2023
Al Gore has a mix of optimism and hope at the pace of decarbonisation but seethes with frustration over the players he thinks are blocking faster progress.
Why did this climate scientist chain herself to a pipeline?
15 Sep 2023
Rose Abramoff is determined to stop fossil fuels from destroying a livable climate, no matter the personal cost.
Small islands take ocean protection case to UN court
14 Sep 2023
Leaders of nine small island states turned to the UN maritime court to seek protection of the world's oceans from catastrophic climate change that threatens the very existence of entire countries.
Apple’s first ‘carbon neutral’ products are a red herring
14 Sep 2023
Apple announced that its Watch Series 9 marks its first carbon-neutral product. But focusing on the watch distracts from the bigger picture of the company’s climate impact.
A look inside the plan to store carbon at the bottom of the Black Sea
14 Sep 2023
The Black Sea is almost devoid of oxygen. That could make it a great place to stash carbon.
Why climate mitigation starts with life-saving vaccines
14 Sep 2023
Floods and other disasters have the ability to reverse decades of health and development progress, especially for the world’s poorest.
Food sector could achieve net negative emissions by 2050
14 Sep 2023
The advent of new agricultural technologies could help the food sector cut out billions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year.
US sets new record for billion-dollar climate disasters in single year
14 Sep 2023
The US has experienced 23 extreme weather events costing $1bn or more already this year, passing the previous record of 22 in 2020.
Global push for commitment to phase out fossil fuels gathers pace ahead of COP28
13 Sep 2023
A global push to commit to phasing out fossil fuels is gathering new momentum before a crucial UN climate conference this autumn, despite stiff opposition from oil-producing countries.
5000 presumed dead in Libya floods
13 Sep 2023
More than 5000 people are presumed dead and 10,000 missing after heavy rains in northeastern Libya caused two dams to collapse, surging more water into already inundated areas.
Australia braces for bushfire season
13 Sep 2023
Smoke sweeps through the treetops as a fire consumes the dense undergrowth of the Australian winter bush.
Landmark research could open the door to climate protections
13 Sep 2023
Lawyers said it was impossible to tie a specific dose of greenhouse gases to polar bear survival. They were wrong.
Fiji’s first Indigenous-owned carbon credit project
13 Sep 2023
Fiji’s first verified forest carbon credit project is based in the Drawa rainforest on the country’s largest island, and has been earning income for its Indigenous landowners for five years.
Trees could become a source of carbon emissions
13 Sep 2023
In the face of climate change, we’ve been told forests are our salvation. But scientists believe this summer’s wildfires are a sign of a tipping point — with trees a major source of carbon emissions.
China car sales grow in August, Tesla nearly doubles EV share
12 Sep 2023
China's passenger vehicle sales returned to growth in August year-on-year, as deeper discounts and tax breaks for environmentally friendly and electric vehicles boosted consumer sentiment even as economic growth remains weak.
G20 countries agree to increase clean energy but no deal on phasing out fossil fuels
12 Sep 2023
Group of 20 leaders have agreed to triple renewable energy and try to increase the funds for climate change-related disasters but maintained the status quo with regards to phasing out carbon spewing coal.
India launches global biofuel alliance at G20
12 Sep 2023
India has announced the launch of a global biofuel alliance at a G20 summit in New Delhi to boost the use of cleaner fuels.
Netherlands police use water cannon, detain 2,400 climate activists
12 Sep 2023
Police deployed water cannons to disperse thousands of climate activists protesting on a highway in the Netherlands to demand an end to government subsidies for the fossil fuel industry.
The world’s largest low-carbon steel plant moves closer to completion
12 Sep 2023
A new $1.6 billion investment puts a hydrogen-fueled plant on track to open in Sweden in 2025, in what would be a first for the hard-to-decarbonise industry.
Warmer oceans are driving more frequent seabird die-offs
12 Sep 2023
A new study used long-term volunteer data to show that marine heatwaves are linked to mass avian mortality at sea.
Landmark UN study warns of widespread failure to meet climate goals
11 Sep 2023
A landmark United Nations assessment of global progress on cutting emissions shows countries are largely failing to meet their commitments, putting the planet on course for catastrophic global warming.
Experts warn of ‘denialism comeback’ ahead of November’s global climate talks
11 Sep 2023
Even amid a disaster-filled summer marked by record heat, climate misinformation continues to spread online at alarming rates. Some experts fear it could slow progress at COP28.
EU commission chief asks G20 to join global carbon pricing
11 Sep 2023
The European Commission president asked G20 leaders on Saturday to join a proposal to set up global carbon pricing.
School strikes led a third of Swiss citizens to change their habits
11 Sep 2023
Almost a third of Swiss people changed their daily habits as a result of Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future climate strikes, new research has found.
Security group warns Australia’s democracy is being threatened by ‘anti-climate-action propaganda’
Today 11:00am
Australia’s democracy and sovereignty is being threatened by a propaganda machine aiding climate change deniers, a security group has warned.
California sues Trump energy department over revival of controversial oil pipeline
Today 11:00am
California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, said he has sued the US energy department to stop it from using a cold-war-era law to restart the long-disputed Sable Offshore pipeline system linking the Santa Ynez offshore platform to California refineries.
China tells oil refiners to suspend exports
Fri 20 Mar 2026
China has told its largest oil refiners to suspend exports of diesel and gasoline, Bloomberg News reported Thursday, citing unidentified sources, as the war in the Middle East risks an energy supply crunch.
Spain’s Sánchez attacks other EU leaders for exploiting energy prices to gut climate policies
Mon 23 Mar 2026
Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez said his country was on “the right side of history” when it comes to how it has handled the economic and social costs of previous energy crises.
Heat pumps for all new homes and plug-in solar in England green tech drive
Today 11:00am
Developers will be required to install solar panels and heat pumps in all new homes in England as part of updated planning requirements published by the government.
Mark Carney just picked his lane on climate change
17 Feb 2026
COMMENT: Mark Carney's time as prime minister has been defined in part by his decision to roll back Trudeau-era climate policies.
Philippines declares national emergency over high fuel prices
Today 11:00am
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. of the Philippines declared a national energy emergency on Tuesday, saying that high oil prices caused by the war in the Middle East were threatening the country’s energy security.
Pacific Nations fear fuel shortages as Middle East war sends oil prices soaring
Fri 20 Mar 2026
Leaders of Samoa and Tonga appealed for help this week as the import-reliant Pacific nations raised fears over possible fuel shortages and escalating costs caused by war in the Middle East.
Limiting warming to 2C is ‘crucial’ to protect pristine Antarctic Peninsula
24 Feb 2026
Keeping global warming to less than 2C above pre-industrial temperatures is “crucial” for limiting damage to the Antarctic Peninsula’s unique ecosystems, according to a new study.
'Blackwater' lakes and rivers in the Congo Basin are now emitting ancient carbon into the atmosphere
16 Mar 2026
Carbon that has been buried in the Congo Basin's peatlands for millennia is seeping into lakes and rivers. Why this is happening remains unclear, but researchers warn that tropical peatlands could be nearing a tipping point.
Surfing’s big break: how climate crisis insurance may save El Salvador’s waves
Thu 19 Mar 2026
Fearing that extreme weather threatened its epic breaks, Oriente Salvaje is piloting the first surf insurance policy to protect livelihoods and ecosystems.
Iran war should trigger faster exit from fossil fuel dependence, UN climate chief says
18 Mar 2026
The disruption to energy markets caused by the Iran war is a lesson on the risks of relying on fossil fuels which should drive governments to wean their economies off oil and gas faster, the U.N. climate secretary told Reuters on Monday.
