International: All stories
Fairtrade launches new map to spot labour and climate exploitation
27 Jan 2023
Fairtrade has launched a new tool to help retailers and suppliers identify potential human rights violations and environmental harm across their global supply chains.
Calls for action as Brazil Yanomami indigenous people face crisis
27 Jan 2023
Brazilian officials have said that the Yanomami indigenous people are living in dire conditions, as illegal gold miners threaten them with violence and block the delivery of goods such as food and medicine to their embattled region.
Climate change may be increasing the use of pesticides
26 Jan 2023
A new report from the Pesticide Action Network finds pesticide use is expected to increase and become more hazardous as the climate warms.
From China to Japan, extreme cold is gripping East Asia. Experts say it’s the ‘new norm’
26 Jan 2023
Tens of millions of people across East Asia braved a severe cold snap Wednesday as subzero temperatures and heavy snow brought travel chaos during the Lunar New Year holiday, with climate experts warning that such extreme weather events had become the “new norm.”
Horn of Africa may see record sixth straight failed rainy season
26 Jan 2023
The eastern Horn of Africa just saw an unprecedented fifth straight failed rainy season on record, making it the longest and most severe drought in 70 years of precipitation data.
NATO hosts symposium on climate change and military capabilities
25 Jan 2023
NATO hosted its first Industry Symposium on Climate Change and Capabilities, which brought together over 150 representatives from NATO Allies and industry.
NGO sues German government for failing climate targets in transport and buildings sectors
25 Jan 2023
Environmental lobby group Friends of the Earth Germany is suing the German government for missing its emission reduction targets in the buildings and transport sectors.
The Federal Reserve is starting a climate experiment
25 Jan 2023
The US Federal Reserve is running its very first climate change experiment.
Australian councils told to cut emissions rather than spend millions on overseas carbon offsets
25 Jan 2023
Renewed questions are being asked about Australian councils’ use of international projects to offset local carbon emissions, off the back of a Guardian investigation that found 90% of rainforest credits issued by one leading company were likely worthless.
A few pieces of good news on climate change (and a reality check)
24 Jan 2023
Emissions of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change reached a new peak in 2022, according to early estimates. And climate disasters seem to be hitting at a breakneck pace. In 2022, the world experienced record heat waves in China and Europe, and devastating floods in Pakistan killed over 1,000 people and displaced millions.
German transport minister rejects autobahn speed
24 Jan 2023
German transport minister Volker Wissing has renewed his rejection of a general speed limit on the country’s autobahns after a report found that the measure could save almost three times more emissions than previously thought
Africa has a major new carbon market initiative - what you need to know
24 Jan 2023
The Conversation - Climate finance for the African continent got a boost at the 2022 United Nations Climate Conference (COP27), with the launch of the African Carbon Markets Initiative. This aims to make climate finance available for African countries, expand access to clean energy, and drive sustainable economic development.
‘World first’ carbon capture plant for smelters opens in Norway
24 Jan 2023
A carbon capture pilot for smelters – billed as a ‘world first’ – has been officially inaugurated in Rana, Norway.
Bill Gates invests in Aussie startup trying to stop cows burping methane
24 Jan 2023
Bill Gates joined a slew of billionaires investing in an Australian climate technology startup as Microsoft Corp's MSFT Breakthrough Energy Ventures LLC participated in a $12 million Phase 2 seed funding round for Rumin8 Pty.
Swiss Microlino reboots bubble car with electric model
23 Dec 2022
Two Swiss brothers are seeking to put their country back on the carmaking map by reviving a 1950s motoring classic with an electric twist.
Climate action, one recipe at a time
23 Dec 2022
Renowned chefs such as UN World Food Programme (WFP) Goodwill Ambassador Chef Manal Al Alem, and Chef José Andres, as well as indigenous home cooks and farmers from around the world, have contributed to a new cookbook that includes recipes that are delicious and climate friendly.
The simple story of civilisation
23 Dec 2022
An essay by Tom Murphy | The stories we fashion about ourselves are heavily influenced by our short life spans during an age of unprecedented complexity. We humans, it would seem, are unfathomably complicated creatures who defy simple “just-so” characterisations..
Why rebel farmers are pushing back on climate action
22 Dec 2022
It took an existential threat to turn a fifth-generation dairy farmer into an anti-government protester.
US again fails to deliver to climate aid for developing countries
22 Dec 2022
Congress just dealt a blow to President Joe Biden's pledge to quadruple climate financing for poorer nations to $11 billion a year.
Facing an energy crisis, Germans stock up on candles
22 Dec 2022
The candle boom began during the pandemic, after the government imposed lockdowns and Germans began spending a lot more time at home. The industry expected the boom to end once the nation opened back up, Thomann says. "But then the war (in Ukraine) started."
Climate change is transforming the Arctic
22 Dec 2022
A typhoon, smoke from wildfires and increasing rain are not what most imagine when thinking of the Arctic. Yet these are some of the climate-driven events included in a detailed annual update on the transformation of the once reliably frozen, snow-covered region which is heating up faster than any other part of the world.
Russia’s invasion & Pakistan’s floods defined 2022 in climate
22 Dec 2022
In 2021, governments and corporations got drunk on net zero hype. 2022 was the year when the hangover kicked in and they started to grapple with what their promises meant and whether they were actually prepared to follow through.
Pakistan’s climate migrants face tough odds
22 Dec 2022
When floodwaters submerged their farm in 2011, Kashif Abro and his family sought refuge in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, around 250 miles away.
UN chief promises ‘no-nonsense’ climate summit in 2023
21 Dec 2022
The UN will host a “no-nonsense” climate summit in 2023 to spur action on the climate crisis, as the goal of avoiding global warming of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius begins to slip out of reach.
New York adopts cap and trade as a pillar of climate action
21 Dec 2022
Sales of gasoline powered cars would be banned in 2035, natural gas hookups in new homes would be prohibited starting in 2025 and a statewide cap and trade program would be implemented by the end of the decade under the recommendations approved by a New York climate committee Monday.
Indonesia’s renewed climate targets still critically insufficient: research group
21 Dec 2022
Indonesia’s climate targets are “critically insufficient,” a global climate research consortium has said, despite the country’s renewed emission target.
Niger urges rich nations to make 'climate loss fund' operational
21 Dec 2022
The "loss and damage" fund agreed to last month at the COP27 climate conference aims for rich nations to help those that have borne the brunt of their global warming emissions. In Niger, climate change has fueled desertification and conflict as communities compete for dwindling resources.
Minnesota's solar boom 10 years later
21 Dec 2022
It sounded absurd, the idea of spending a large sum of money to install solar panels in a Minnesota farm field that is covered in snow for much of the year.
Aussie Sunswift 7 solar car claims EV world record
21 Dec 2022
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sunswift Racing Team is the new provisional Guinness World Record holder for ‘Fastest Electric Vehicle over 1000km on a single charge’.
South Australia’s incredible week: 104.1% wind and solar over seven days
20 Dec 2022
South Australia aims to reach 100% “net renewables” within a few years – over a full year – but in the past week it has already done better than that.
Climate action delivers air quality & health gains in India
20 Dec 2022
New research shows how city actions to address climate change in India can deliver health benefits from cleaner air.
Big oil hit with new climate activist campaign
20 Dec 2022
A prominent activist group has filed shareholder resolutions calling on four of the biggest Western energy companies to cut emissions more aggressively this decade in an effort to revive investor pressure on big oil over climate goals.
Most EU countries sceptical about 45% renewable energy goal: document
20 Dec 2022
France, the Netherlands, Ireland, and several other EU countries are reluctant to back a European Commission proposal to boost the EU’s renewable energy objective for 2030 in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine, EURACTIV can confirm.
Facing headwinds at home, Europe and Japan are pushing waste-to-energy technology across South East Asia
20 Dec 2022
For decades, waste-to-energy has been a key waste management tool in developed countries. Now, they are looking to developing markets. There are dozens of waste-to-energy incineration plants planned or under construction across South East Asia using Japanese and European technology and framed as clean or renewable.
EU reaches landmark deal to bolster carbon market
19 Dec 2022
The European Union reached an agreement to strengthen and expand its flagship carbon market, endorsing the centrepiece of the European Green Deal strategy that aims to make the EU’s economy climate-neutral by mid-century.
As the climate changes, climate fiction is changing with it
19 Dec 2022
In his third autobiography, the famed abolitionist and author Frederick Douglass lingered on the impact of a novel that he deemed “a work of marvelous depth and power.” When “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was published in 1852, Douglass wrote, “nothing could have better suited the moral and humane requirements of the hour. Its effect was amazing, instantaneous and universal.”
"The world needs cement": concrete industry decarbonisation chief
19 Dec 2022
Concrete will remain the world's dominant construction material over biomaterialssuch as timber as the world transitions to net-zero, claims GCCA chief executive Thomas Guillot.
Goodbye, concrete and steel? Why timber towers could be the future
19 Dec 2022
A Melbourne development has joined a push to grow the Australian timber tower movement and reduce the construction industry’s massive environmental footprint, but higher costs and fears of fire risks continue to pose obstacles.
Tokyo's solar panel mandate a major shift in a country where fossil fuels reign
19 Dec 2022
Chisan chishō — meaning locally grown, locally consumed — is a phrase traditionally associated with agricultural products. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government, however, is now trying to do the same for the city’s energy sources.
Americans increasingly sceptical of airline offsets
19 Dec 2022
Recent polling shows one-third of Americans would be willing to pay for carbon offsets when buying a plane ticket to reduce their carbon footprint, but claims of airline “greenwashing” with carbon credits are one of the reasons more companies are moving away from reliance on this climate approach.
Climate justice needs more than a fund. It needs accountability
16 Dec 2022
After innumerable fits and starts, COP27 witnessed a win for climate diplomacy in November, when the United Nations climate conference agreed to set up a fund for loss and damage caused by global warming — a key demand of many developing nations.
If Europe's carbon tariff works, consumers might not even notice it
16 Dec 2022
Climate policy is redrawing the blueprint of global trade, putting up new walls between the markets for high-carbon and low-carbon manufactured goods.
How Bhutan could provide the blueprint for climate-smart forest economies
16 Dec 2022
Sandwiched between Tibet and India in Southern Asia, the Kingdom of Bhutan is a rapidly developing country with a fast-growing population that is creating an increasing demand for urban housing.
Forest equity: what indigenous people want from carbon credits
16 Dec 2022
In a world where carbon credit markets are taking advantage of Indigenous people and their forests, the United Nation is losing its leadership on combating climate change, says Indigenous leader Levi Sucre Romero.
Climate change will fuel humanitarian crises in 2023: study
15 Dec 2022
Climate change will accelerate humanitarian crises around the world in 2023, adding to the issues created by armed conflict and economic downturns, according to a study by the NGO International Rescue Committee (IRC).
Renewables reach 84% share of world’s biggest isolated grid
15 Dec 2022
The renewable records continue to fall in Western Australia’s South-West Interconnected System – the world’s biggest isolated grid – with the share reaching a new high of 84% on Monday.
Tiny cars, big opportunity
15 Dec 2022
Do you know your autocycles from your quadricycles? Your golf carts from your LSVs?
The unbearable lightness of hydrogen
15 Dec 2022
COMMENT: Two years ago, BloombergNEF published my two-part primer on hydrogen, Separating Hype from Hydrogen. If my intention at the time was to inject some reality into discussions about hydrogen, I clearly failed. Rhetoric around hydrogen has become ever more overblown.
G7 sets out terms for global ‘climate club’
14 Dec 2022
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz presented the long-awaited terms for his ‘climate club’, a platform for countries wishing to protect the climate. However, it may be overshadowed by similar initiatives recently announced.
EU agrees on ‘carbon mechanism’ for industrial imports
14 Dec 2022
EU member states announced Tuesday the adoption of a mechanism that would bring the bloc’s industrial imports under environmental standards by charging for the carbon emissions linked to their production.
‘Off like a rocket’: Battery rebate prompts massive rooftop power surge
Today 11:00am
The federal government’s home battery rebate has proved so popular it is adding the equivalent to South Australia’s big battery to the grid every 8.7 days.
Ørsted shares at all-time low after Trump halts work on US windfarm
Wed 27 Aug 2025
Shares drop by 17% after stop-work order on $1.5bn project off Rhode Island, which was 80% complete.
China's carbon market to introduce absolute emissions caps from 2027
Wed 27 Aug 2025
China will tighten its carbon trading market by introducing absolute emissions caps in some industries for the first time starting by 2027.
Apple Watch not a 'CO2-neutral product,' German court finds
Today 11:00am
Apple can no longer advertise its Apple Watch as a "CO2-neutral product" in Germany, following a court ruling on Tuesday that upheld a complaint from environmentalists, finding that the U.S. tech company had misled consumers.
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.
Singapore seals carbon credit deal with Thailand, its first South-east Asian partner
Today 11:00am
The agreement, the eighth for Singapore, helps both nations meet climate targets under the Paris Agreement, directing finance to Thai projects.
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.
Is Africa about to see the solar energy boom it needs?
Today 11:00am
African countries imported a record number of solar panels in the past year, which could be the beginning of a green energy boom on the continent.
Lessons from the Incas: How llamas, terraces and trees could help the Andes survive climate change
Today 11:00am
New research suggests solutions may lie in environmental knowledge that the Incas and their predecessors developed centuries ago.
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.
