International: All stories
Is climate change killing the haiku?
2 Mar 2023
Even amid relentless modernisation and urbannisation, Japan offers many daily moments that remind us of the seasons. Pop songs celebrate love and, with the advent of spring, sakura (cherry blossoms); restaurants advertise seasonal delicacies, and formal letters open with references to the golden beauty of trees under the autumn sun or snow flurrying in the winter air.
The conservative battle against ‘woke’ banks is backfiring
1 Mar 2023
Conservatives have long held that the government should avoid interfering with private business decisions. But over the last two years, Republican state treasurers and attorneys general in Texas, Florida and other states have sought to blacklist banks that factor climate risks and social concerns into their investment decisions.
Climate-resistant grapes? Spanish winemakers revive ancient varieties
1 Mar 2023
The ads – tucked in the corners of local newspapers and directed at winemakers – began turning up across Catalonia in the 1980s. “If you know where to find any uncommon grape varieties, please get in touch,” they read.
Less roast pork, more lentils needed to reach Denmark's climate targets - govt adviser
1 Mar 2023
Danes should replace two-thirds of their meat intake with vegetables and other plants as part of efforts to reach the country's ambitious climate targets by the end of the decade, the government's independent adviser said on Tuesday.
The climate emergency at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
28 Feb 2023
It is becoming an increasingly prevalent tactic for human rights advocates to turn to courts as part of their repertoire of efforts to respond to the existential threat that global warming poses.
By adding timber to old buildings, Stockholm is expanding sustainably
28 Feb 2023
A three-storey red brick building has stood in Stockholm’s southern neighborhood of Hammarby Sjöstad since 1928. Once a hosiery factory, the Trikåfabriken building is the oldest remnant of the area’s industrial past.
Can a new university breathe life into Britain’s climate education
28 Feb 2023
Even before the United States entered the Second World War, American schools were preparing students for conflict.
Farmers for Climate Action rally in Washington
28 Feb 2023
Farmers and farm organisations from across the country will rally in Washington, D.C., March 6-8 to advocate for a 2023 Farm Bill that addresses and supports climate solutions.
Paying ourselves to decarbonise
27 Feb 2023
As we transition to a green economy, we must compensate petro-states for their lost income. Otherwise, the world economy will collapse like a house of cards. Author Kim Stanley Robinson makes the case for a carbon coin.
German court rejects farmer's climate suit vs Volkswagen
27 Feb 2023
A German court on Friday rejected a farmer's bid to force automaker Volkswagen to end the sale of vehicles with combustion engines by 2030.
African climate activists fight online surveillance
27 Feb 2023
When Tanzanian climate activists posed as delivery couriers to get into energy firm TotalEnergies’ Dar es Salaam office and hand over a placard against a new oil pipeline, they were so fearful of reprisals they had a getaway car waiting.
Pacific countries urged to collaborate for climate-resilient future
27 Feb 2023
Fiji President Ratu Wiliame Katonivere has called on Pacific countries to work together and hold each other accountable to agreements made at the 2023 Early Childhood Development Forum.
Japan researchers working to reduce climate impact of cow burps
27 Feb 2023
The project led by Yasuo Kobayashi, a specially appointed professor in the Graduate School of Agriculture at Hokkaido University, aims to reduce cows' methane emissions by 80 percent by 2050.
40% of Australasians among world's top 10% of carbon gluttons
24 Feb 2023
The International Energy Association estimates that 40% of Aussies and Kiwis are among the world’s top 10% of emitters, with an average energy-related CO2 footprint of 20 tCO2 per capita per year.
Steel giants are stoking double standards on decarbonisation
24 Feb 2023
India is expected to see significant demand growth in the steel sector going forward. The country needs to double its capacity by the end of this decade to meet National Steel Policy targets and steel producers have aligned their growth strategy with this policy.
Reversing pubic transport declines with institutional pass schemes
24 Feb 2023
As transit agencies grapple with significant ridership losses during the COVID-19 pandemic, many are looking to bring back riders by selling fare passes in bulk to employers, schools, and other large institutions.
Carbon-absorbing underwater meadows planted
24 Feb 2023
Five million seagrass seeds will be planted off Wales' coast to create climate change-fighting underwater meadows.
It would take less than 3% of Big Oil’s profits to clean up methane emissions
24 Feb 2023
Oil companies and governments have pledged to slash methane emissions in recent years, but so far have little to show for it. Emissions of this potent greenhouse gas by the fossil fuel industry continued to climb in 2022, the International Energy Agency says.
China urged to place ‘wellbeing’ above GDP amid climate threat
24 Feb 2023
A team of influential economists has urged China to adopt a new development model based on “wellbeing” rather than gross domestic product (GDP) growth to fulfil its 2060 net-zero emissions goals and head off the mounting threats of climate change.
Tesla: US beats EU in looming subsidy race
24 Feb 2023
Amid growing concerns over a subsidy race between the US and Europe, Tesla has announced it will be backtracking on its investments in Germany due to higher subsidies in the US.
Drought in Horn of Africa worse than in 2011 famine
23 Feb 2023
Drought trends in the Horn of Africa are now worse than they were during the 2011 famine in which hundreds of thousands of people died.
Nigeria's election: Candidates ignore climate change
23 Feb 2023
Nigeria has been badly hit by climate change, resulting in desertification, a shrinking Lake Chad in the north, flooding in the center and coastal erosion in the south. Yet the issue hasn't played a role in campaigning.
Mosquito-borne diseases become climate reality in warming Pacific
23 Feb 2023
Climate change forecasters have warned for years that the warmer and wetter world created by the climate crisis will drive a surge in mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue fever.
Austrian children take Government to court over climate change
23 Feb 2023
A dozen minors filed a lawsuit with Austria’s top court Tuesday seeking to force the government to ensure their constitutional rights are protected by taking tougher action against climate change.
Preparing for climate disclosure in the largest capital market
23 Feb 2023
For corporate sustainability professionals, questions as to what to expect, when and how to prepare for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed climate disclosure rule are numerous, and understandably top of mind.
EU carbon hits record 100 euros as cost of polluting soars
22 Feb 2023
The price of permits on the European Union’s carbon market hit 100 euros (NZ$171) per tonne for the first time on Tuesday, a milestone that reflects the increased costs that factories and power plants must pay when they pollute.
Brazil hit by deadly floods and landslides
22 Feb 2023
Hundreds of rescuers searched on Monday for survivors of landslides and flooding that killed at least 40 people along the coast of Brazil’s southern state of Sao Paulo following a huge weekend downpour.
South Australia: Grid with the most wind and solar has the smallest reliability gap
22 Feb 2023
South Australia is leading Australia – and the world – with the amount of wind and solar within its state grid. And not only is it defying the skeptics that insisted wind and solar can’t power a modern economy, it’s also the grid facing the smallest reliability gaps over the coming decade.
Heat from an Amazon data center is warming Dublin’s buildings
22 Feb 2023
Cities are capturing heat emitted by computer servers and using it to warm everything from government buildings to college dorms.
More than half of Finns ready to adjust standard of living for climate
22 Feb 2023
More than half of Finns are ready to compromise on their standard of living to tackle the climate crisis, reveals a survey conducted for Helsingin Sanomat by Kantar Public.
The climate benefits of a four-day workweek
22 Feb 2023
There's growing interest in the benefits of a four-day workweek for productivity and employee wellbeing, but the picture is more complicated when it comes to climate change.
Taxing farming vital for Denmark's climate target: govt adviser
21 Feb 2023
Denmark should aim to reduce beef and dairy production by levying an emissions tax on farming of 750 Danish crowns (NZ$172) per tonne in order to reach its ambitious climate targets, the government's independent adviser says.
“Clean energy arms race:” NSW Labor promises state-owned body modelled on CEFC
21 Feb 2023
The New South Wales Coalition government and the state Labor opposition have upped the ante on their election campaign promises to accelerate the transition of the country’s biggest and most coal dependent grid to a global leader on wind, solar and storage.
China: What the world’s largest food system means for climate change
21 Feb 2023
In 2019, China’s giant food system produced 1.9bn tonnes of CO2 equivalent – around the same as the total annual emissions of Russia, the world’s fourth largest polluter.
Why the world needs a deal to protect its oceans
21 Feb 2023
Delegates from up to 193 UN member states will start talks in New York on Monday to try to wrap up negotiations on a long-awaited treaty to protect the world’s oceans from overfishing, pollution and other threats.
Sea level rise could drive 1 in 10 people from their homes, with dangerous implications for international peace, UN Secretary General warns
20 Feb 2023
António Guterres says rising seas are a serious threat requiring a coordinated global response at the highest levels. With 900 million people at risk, sea level rise could drive “a mass exodus of entire populations on a biblical scale.”
Australia will rely on carbon credits & offsets to meet climate goals
20 Feb 2023
Climate advocates were overjoyed when voters in Australia threw the despicable Scott Morrison and his gang of fossil fuel sycophants overboard last year.
Climate change is redrawing the coffee growing map
20 Feb 2023
Harvesting coffee is a delicate process that occurs just once per year in the plant’s 20 year lifetime, and only after reaching around four years old.
Will this new carbon capture technology help solve the climate crisis?
20 Feb 2023
Researchers in the United States say they have developed a new system for capturing carbon dioxide that is the least expensive ever created. The process requires less energy and water than any technology produced before it.
Revised carbon bill advances in Washington; timber group leery
20 Feb 2023
The US House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on Friday endorsed allowing the state to sell carbon offsets, but not at the expense of logging or farming on public lands.
Australian carbon market confusion as offsets take another hit
17 Feb 2023
The Australian Climate Council has called for the federal government to push to pause on new coal and gas projects as debate intensifies over Labor’s proposed safeguard mechanism reforms and as the credibility of carbon offset schemes is once again cast into doubt.
Why are BP, Shell, and Exxon suddenly backing off their climate promises?
17 Feb 2023
It wasn’t long ago that oil giants were trying to outdo one another with promises to cut carbon emissions and take on climate change. In 2020, the price for a barrel of oil briefly plunged below zero, and the world’s largest oil and gas companies portrayed themselves as getting serious about renewables.
Why African EV startups are struggling
17 Feb 2023
In 2021, Nigerian mobility startup Metro Africa Xpress (MAX) became Africa’s most-funded startup in the electric vehicle (EV) space when it raised $31 million in a series B round to expand into Ghana and Egypt.
Do people yet to be born have climate change rights?
17 Feb 2023
There are some who believe we should be taking future generations more into account in how we act on climate today.
World Bank chief to step down early after climate controversy
17 Feb 2023
World Bank president David Malpass will step down from his post in June, nearly a year before his term is due to expire.
World Bank links carbon credits to $50M bond for water purifiers
17 Feb 2023
After the success of its Rhino bond, the World Bank revamped it with a $50 million Emission Reduction-Linked Bond that will channel up-front financing to low-carbon development projects generating carbon credits like the water purification project in Vietnam.
All major road building projects in Wales are scrapped
16 Feb 2023
All major road building projects in Wales have been scrapped over environmental concerns.
US announces $27 billion effort to curb emissions and stem environmental injustices
16 Feb 2023
Environmentalists and climate justice advocates cautiously welcomed $27 billion in federal clean energy investment grants announced by the Biden administration, stressing the need to ensure that the public funds reach deserving communities and also address systemic injustices baked into energy and financial systems
UK politician attacks 15-minute city concept in parliament
16 Feb 2023
UK member of parliament Nick Fletcher has ignited a debate about 15-minute cities after stating that they "will take away personal freedoms".
World’s largest onshore wind turbine, and the first to reach 10MW, debuts in China
15 Feb 2023
Chinese wind energy company Envision Energy has reportedly debuted a new 10MW onshore wind turbine, the largest of its kind and boasting the world’s largest rotor diameter.
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.
