International: All stories
Want to sequester carbon? Save wild animals
28 Mar 2023
Gray wolves, elephants, wildebeests and sea otters are a few of the species that can help keep global warming below 1.5 degrees C.
Berlin’s referendum on climate neutrality by 2030 fails
28 Mar 2023
A referendum in Berlin on making the German capital climate neutral by 2030 failed to garner sufficient support.
Taiwan diary: fast trains, slow bikes and silent scooters
27 Mar 2023
By Jeremy Rose | The fastest I’ve ever travelled in a car is 200km/h - hitch-hiking in Germany; my top speed on a bicycle is about 90km - hurtling down the Ngauranga Gorge; this weekend I smashed those records on Taiwan ’s High Speed Rail reaching nearly 300km/h travelling between Taipei and Taichung,
Berlin vote could turbocharge German capital’s climate plans
27 Mar 2023
A referendum on Sunday, which has attracted considerable financial support from U.S.-based philanthropists, calls for Berlin to become climate neutral by 2030.
Some UK lawyers vow to not prosecute climate activists
27 Mar 2023
Leading UK lawyers say they will refuse to prosecute climate protesters or represent new fossil fuel projects.
EU governments sued for violating human rights through climate inaction
27 Mar 2023
Citizens affected by climate change are suing the governments of more than 30 European countries in three separate cases before the European Court of Human Rights, alleging that state inaction has violated their human rights.
How China, the U.S. and others watered down a key U.N. climate document
27 Mar 2023
China, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are among countries that significantly altered a United Nations document that will shape global climate policy for years to come, according to an account of international negotiations preceding its release.
The temptation of high oil prices is shaking Norway’s climate commitments
27 Mar 2023
Offshore oil is booming. According to the research firm, Rystad, spending on offshore oil investments exceeded $100 billion in 2022 for the first time in a decade, and will do so again in 2023 and 2024.
China ahead in carbon capture race with 73% of patents, while UK filed just 1%
27 Mar 2023
Chinese scientists filed 73% of all carbon capture and storage (CCS) patents last year, new research shared exclusively with City A.M. by law firm Mathys and Squire shows.
Taiwan diary: Bicycle Kingdom
24 Mar 2023
Jeremy Rose | Just as the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan - formally known as the Republic of China - once competed for the title of Middle Kingdom the phrase Bicycle Kingdom has been liberally applied to both.
Climate freeloaders are destroying the planet
24 Mar 2023
Alaska isn't supposed to be an inferno—but its summers are now so warm that apocalyptic wildfires are almost inevitable.
ECB starts disclosing climate impact of portfolios on road to Paris-alignment
24 Mar 2023
The European Central Bank (ECB) has published its first climate-related financial disclosures, which provide information on its portfolios’ carbon footprint and exposure to climate risks, as well as on climate-related governance, strategy and risk management.
A climate deal that could become a model for others
24 Mar 2023
Cape Verde is just one of many countries that are struggling under the effects of global warming. But a new approach could provide relief: Debt forgiveness in exchange for a climate fund.
Nations fight to be called climate vulnerable in IPCC report
24 Mar 2023
Government negotiators fought bitterly last week over which groups and regions are defined as particularly vulnerable to climate change in the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
US bill could save buyers of bikes $1,500
24 Mar 2023
US lawmakers have reintroduced a bill that would provide a tax break for those buying ebikes.
Slave to energy
23 Mar 2023
Carbon News editor Jeremy Rose wrote his first climate story close to to quarter of a century ago. Many of the issues remain the same today. Today we republish the story to accompany Jeremy's piece on the dilemmas of whether to travel as a climate journalist.
We know the damage, but who will foot the bill?
23 Mar 2023
Media outlets are hailing the IPCC’s synthesis report as yet another final warning, as a desperate call to act now before it’s too late. It is fundamental to recognize, however, that this will only be achieved if those causing the climate crisis are held to account.
‘Exceptional’ surge in methane emissions from wetlands worries scientists
23 Mar 2023
Methane emissions from wetlands have risen faster this century than in even the most pessimistic climate scenarios, new research finds.
Planting this could feed millions and lock away tons of carbon
23 Mar 2023
The world hungers for more food while wildlife yearns for untouched habitats. So goes the conflict between our seemingly insatiable need for agricultural land, razing forests to make way for cattle and crops.
Britain's Drax pauses $2.5 billion biomass carbon capture plans
23 Mar 2023
British power generator Drax will pause its planned 2 billion pound ($2.45 billion) UK investment in bioenergy with carbon capture and storage until it receives more clarity on government support, it said on Tuesday.
The Aukus deal is a crime against the world’s climate future. It didn’t have to be like this
23 Mar 2023
By the time Australia gets its first nuclear-powered submarines, ecological collapse will already have reshaped world politics.
Veterinary antibiotics reduce soil carbon sequestration capacity
23 Mar 2023
A recent study has found that veterinary antibiotics, used extensively in livestock, are limiting soil’s ability to sequester carbon.
Can we really take CO2 back out of the air?
22 Mar 2023
Tackling climate change could require sucking carbon back out of the atmosphere, according to the IPCC. Jocelyn Timperley looks at how these 'negative emissions' might work.
A new report shows huge issues with carbon credits project in Kenya
22 Mar 2023
Expected to generate anywhere between $300 and $500 million and possibly even more, the Northern Kenya Grassland Carbon Project already has huge corporate customers, such as Netflix and Meta.
Booming airline traffic could force carriers to buy carbon offsets as early as 2024
22 Mar 2023
Rising airline traffic is expected to trigger global emissions-related requirements for some carriers as early as next year, according to a top airline trade group, even as debate broadens on the effectiveness of that approach.
Low-carbon design can reduce cement emissions by 40% - here’s how to deploy it at scale
22 Mar 2023
Cement emissions from construction projects can fall by up to 40% by 2030 with low-carbon materials and design techniques.
Climate models aren’t dusty enough
22 Mar 2023
Rising mineral dust levels in the atmosphere are counteracting global warming to some extent, according to a study published in Nature Reviews Earth and Environment.
The Incredible Disappearing Doomsday - how the climate catastrophists learned to stop worrying and love the calm
22 Mar 2023
The first signs that the mood was brightening among the corps of reporters called to cover one of the gravest threats humanity has ever faced appeared in the summer of 2021. “Climate change is not a pass/fail course,” Sarah Kaplan wrote in the Washington Post.
New IPCC report shows the ‘climate time bomb is ticking,’ says UN Secretary General António Guterres
21 Mar 2023
The latest climate science assessment warns—once again—that global warming of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius would be devastating for Earth’s people and ecosystems.
Aussie rooftop solar payback periods are back down to near record-lows
21 Mar 2023
Rising Australian power prices are bringing rooftop solar payback periods back down towards the record low seen in 2020, almost completely wiping out the impact of higher component costs.
Airlines downplayed science on climate impact to block new regulations
21 Mar 2023
Airlines have been accused of using a "typical climate denialist" strategy after downplaying decades of scientific research on aviation emissions to block tougher regulations.
Biden administration pours millions into new effort to reduce methane emissions
21 Mar 2023
The Biden administration is pumping federal dollars into a new climate effort aimed at reducing methane emissions. However, they’re also facing criticism this week from environmental advocates because of a different decision.
Fossil fuel ad campaign misled Canadians, claims Competition Board complaint
21 Mar 2023
The environmental group Greenpeace has filed a complaint with Canada’s Competition Bureau against a coalition of the country’s six largest oil sands producers for running what they allege is a “misleading” and “anti-competitive” advertising campaign.
Pacific leaders call for a global end to coal, oil and gas
20 Mar 2023
Leaders of six Pacific nations are calling for a global phaseout of fossil fuels that is “fair, fast, and financed” and are making an ambitious plan for a fossil fuel free Pacific.
US Navy secretary cites climate change as top priority as Biden proposes shrinking the fleet
20 Mar 2023
US navy secretrary Carlos Del Toro said he sees fighting climate change as a top priority for the Navy as the Biden administration proposes shrinking the fleet by two ships and worries grow about how the US Navy stacks up to China’s.
Weathering the storm: How Japan is factoring climate change into defence policy
20 Mar 2023
Storm surges, flooding, more powerful typhoons and scorching temperatures — climate change will bring more of all to Japan, endangering military sites, personnel and gear, but also putting Tokyo and the Indo-Pacific at greater risk of geopolitical shocks.
Plan to reduce emissions will have unintended consequences on Australian agriculture, farmers say
20 Mar 2023
A debate is raging over what role carbon offsets and agriculture will play as Australia deals with the complicated task of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Why countries shouldn’t rely on forests and soils to reach net zero
20 Mar 2023
Countries are betting on forests and soils to mop up their remaining “difficult-to-decarbonize” emissions to achieve their climate targets. More forests and better soils are good for nature and for adapting to climate change, but this strategy may prove a risk to the global goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions.
How solar and storage developers got their market forecasts completely wrong
20 Mar 2023
The biggest solar farm in Australia is now officially open – and partially complete – but it offers a fascinating insight into some of the challenges facing developers as they seek to deliver on the country’s ambitious renewable energy targets.
Fossil fuel executives see a ‘golden age’ for gas, if they can brand it as ‘clean’
20 Mar 2023
Natural gas has long been subject to a war of words. Once it was a “bridge fuel” that would straddle the gap from fossil energy to renewable sources. More recently, climate activists have sought to highlight that gas pollutes, too, by stripping “natural” from its name and calling it fossil- or methane gas.
New report reveals major flaws with flagship carbon credits scheme on Indigenous land in Kenya
17 Mar 2023
A new report released today by Survival International exposes major flaws in a flagship carbon credits scheme whose customers have included Meta and Netflix.
As climate woes worsen, Africa's ecconomies suffer: UN
17 Mar 2023
From devastating cyclones and floods to an unrelenting drought, African countries are spending between 2% and 9% of their budgets to respond to extreme weather events, according to a United Nations report.
Only 3% are aware of meat’s impact on the climate
17 Mar 2023
Despite accounting for the same quantity of emissions as transport globally, only 3 per cent of people in the UK, US, France and Brazil think livestock farming is a leading cause of global warming, according to exclusive polling shared with Spotlight.
A warmer, wetter climate challenges a Chinese eco-farm
17 Mar 2023
In recent years, a new narrative has appeared on Chinese social media: that a warmer and wetter climate in Northwest China will herald a return to the “golden age” of the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD).
Greece must make up for lost time in climate adaptation
17 Mar 2023
A string of devastating wildfires and floods has forced Greece to step up its lagging climate adaptation efforts.
How to promote green industry beyond subsidies
17 Mar 2023
The leaked draft of the Net Zero Industry Act rightly highlights a need to plan better the necessary industrial transformation of the EU. It considers a host of measures aimed at promoting specific industries, including streamlined permits, access to public and private finance and priority for public procurement.
Lawyers and activists build pressure on Korean court to rule on climate
16 Mar 2023
Kim Seo-kyung was a teenager in March 2020, when she and 18 other members of campaign group Youth4ClimateAction filed the first climate lawsuit in Korea’s constitutional court, arguing that their government’s efforts to curb emissions fell far short of what was required.
Older Swiss women take government to court over climate
16 Mar 2023
Elisabeth Stern was born in rural northeastern Switzerland in the 1940s in the shadow of huge glaciers.
Crunch time for South Australia’s bold green hydrogen play as bids close
16 Mar 2023
Bids for South Australia’s bold plan to build a state-funded green hydrogen electrolyser and power plant at the steel city of Whyalla have closed, with Andrew Forrest’s new green energy play likely leading a hungry pack of local and international suppliers.
DRC dilemma: Generate oil wealth or combat climate change?
16 Mar 2023
The Democratic Republic of Congo wants more money for climate projects. Otherwise, oil drilling could replace fishermen in the world's largest peat bog. And that could spell devastation for the environment.
Companies could have profits from breaking environment laws stripped under Australian reforms
Thu 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.
ExxonMobil sues California over climate disclosure laws
Tue 28 Oct 2025
Exxon Mobil Corporation is suing the state of California over a pair of 2023 climate disclosure laws that the company says infringe upon its free speech rights, namely by forcing it to embrace the message that large companies are uniquely to blame for climate change.
In China, climate litigation starts with the state
16 Oct 2025
With thousands of dedicated courts and more than a million recent cases, environmental and climate litigation is booming in China, but it often looks different to the trend seen elsewhere.
Norway faces European Court climate ruling over oil licences
Today 11:00am
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.
Most Cambodia and Laos tree cover loss in 2024 happened inside protected areas
Today 11:00am
In Cambodia, 56% of the nation’s tree cover loss was recorded within its protected area network last year. In Laos, the figure was 64%.
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".
Angola lowers climate ambition in blow to spirit of Paris Agreement
14 Oct 2025
Angola has scaled back its targets for reducing emissions in its new national climate plan, saying it chose “realism and implementability” over the Paris Agreement's calls for governments to set progressively more ambitious goals.
Brazil's Indigenous battle with a dry Amazon rainforest
Thu 23 Oct 2025
As pastures and thirsty crops dry up the Amazon, Indigenous people try to adapt traditional farming methods.
Most countries fail to submit new climate pledges ahead of summit
Today 11:00am
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.
