International: All stories

What happened when crypto companies entered the carbon market?
14 Sep 2022
In 2021, crypto companies were riding high. Last November, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, bitcoin, jumped to a record high of around $69,000 as investors piled into a bull run.

Energy crisis: the UK is still heading for widespread fuel poverty – despite the government’s price cap
14 Sep 2022
In October 2021, an estimated 4 million households in the UK were in fuel poverty. But the largest increase in gas and electricity prices ever in April 2022 has pushed a further 2.7 million UK households into fuel poverty, bringing the total number to 6.7 million.

50 million trapped in modern slavery due to pandemic, war, climate crisis, report finds
13 Sep 2022
From the pandemic to the climate crisis, disasters of the past five years have upended daily life, and a new report shows that in many countries the ensuing economic uncertainty has pushed millions into modern slavery.

Bhutan - 'carbon negative"
13 Sep 2022
As the world’s richest countries fail to meet emissions reductions targets year after year, the small kingdom of Bhutan, tucked away in the Himalayas with a population of less than one million people, became the first country to reach carbon neutrality.

How far has the talk walked? Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use
13 Sep 2022
When leaders from 141 countries signed the Glasgow Declaration on Forests and Land Use, a critical step had been made in recognizing forests as critical in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement. However, what will it take to achieve these commitments?

Floating solar farms are a game changer
13 Sep 2022
The sun’s power is virtually infinite — opportunities to collect and make use of it are not. As demand for renewable energy increases, so does the need for places to generate it.

What will King Charles's reign mean for climate action?
13 Sep 2022
As Britain's King Charles III begins his reign after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, environmental campaigners will be watching closely to see if he continues to advocate for climate action and is able to help drive change as monarch.

How climate change is tweaking the taste of wine
13 Sep 2022
Warming, wildfires and unpredictable weather threaten to disrupt the delicate processes that underlie treasured wines, putting the fine distinctions between grapes at risk.

Global drought saps hydropower, complicating clean-energy push
12 Sep 2022
Dry conditions in the U.S, Europe and China have raised questions about how hydropower fits into changing energy mix.

African nations demand climate change financing ahead of COP27
12 Sep 2022
The African continent emits only some 3% of global CO2 emissions, yet is among the most exposed to climate change.

New UN global carbon market must involve civil society to serve the climate and local communities
12 Sep 2022
The new body tasked with designing and supervising the global carbon market under the Paris Agreement must put in place environmental safeguards and protect the interests of local and indigenous communities.

Global pact sought to preserve 80% of Amazon forest
12 Sep 2022
Scientists warn that the Amazon is close to a tipping point

Forests make a comeback as African governments look to grow their carbon market
12 Sep 2022
In villages dotted across the African continent, locals living in once-heavily forested regions are starting to find their land in high demand.

Be an environmental jihadist to protect the planet
12 Sep 2022
Muslim eco-activists and scientists released an Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change at a symposium in Istanbul, Turkey, shortly before the Paris climate summit. Seven years on journalist Rohiman Haroon calls on Muslims to take up the cause of climate change.

Europe records hottest summer ever in 2022, says climate monitor
9 Sep 2022
The summer of 2022 was the hottest in Europe's recorded history, the European Commission's climate monitor said on Thursday. It is the second summer in a row of record-breaking temperatures in Europe.

Australia finally has new climate laws. Now, let’s properly consider the astounding social cost of carbon
9 Sep 2022
The Conversation | The federal government’s climate change bill passed the Senateon Thursday. Among the mandates in the new Climate Change Act are assessments of the social, employment and economic benefits of climate change policies.

'Climate neutral' products are counterproductive greenwashing bluff - NGO
9 Sep 2022
Products labelled as “climate neutral” deceive consumers and undermine progress in reducing emissions, argues Environmental Action Germany, an NGO specialising in fighting environmental cases in court.

How waves could power a clean energy future
9 Sep 2022
Waves off the coast of the U.S. could generate 2.64 trillion kilowatt hours of electricity per year — that’s about 64% of last year’s total utility-scale electricity generation in America.

Switching the world to renewable energy would cost $62 trillion, but the payback would take six years
8 Sep 2022
Researchers at Stanford University have published a new study which says that claims 145 of the world’s nations could switch to 100% renewable energy in a few years using renewable energy technologies available today.

Netherlands warns against EU carbon market fundraising plan
8 Sep 2022
The Netherlands has warned other European Union countries that an EU plan to use a carbon market reserve to finance their exit from Russian gas would undermine the bloc's climate change policy, and put forward alternative plans.

New Fed banking chief targeting crypto and climate change as top priorities
8 Sep 2022
The Federal Reserve’s new banking regulator outlined a broad agenda in a speech Wednesday that pushed for action on stablecoins, climate change preparations and both the safety and fairness of the finance industry.

When it comes to fighting climate change, California turns to beavers
8 Sep 2022
As California grapples with drought, a record heat wave and persistent wildfires, one state agency is turning to the beaver in its battle against climate change.

China droughts highlight energy challenge as climate heats up
8 Sep 2022
Hotter weather is expected to push China's enormous energy consumption even higher in the coming years.

Taxes out, subsidies in: Australia and the US are passing major climate bills – without taxing carbon
7 Sep 2022
The United States recently passed its largest climate bill ever and Australia is set to usher a 43% emissions target into law this week - but neither bills mention taxing carbon dioxide to discourage emissions.

"Meaningless" Aussie carbon credits increasing emissions
7 Sep 2022
Some of the biggest players profiting from Australia's carbon market are backing expert analysis saying the system is generating meaningless credits that actually result in Australia's emissions going up.

New U.K. Prime Minister brings worries about research funding and climate measures
7 Sep 2022
Liz Truss may not honour promises by outgoing leader Boris Johnson to make Britain a 'science superpower'

Pakistan is bearing the brunt of the climate crisis despite ‘small carbon footprint,’ minister says
7 Sep 2022
Pakistan is facing the worst consequences of the climate crisis thanks in part to the actions of the developed world, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said, as the country battles the worst floods in its history.

Residential green spaces protect growing cities against climate change
7 Sep 2022
The urban population of Canada is growing by more than 400,000 annually, and these new urban residents need housing.

Berlin freezes carbon price in the name of crisis relief
6 Sep 2022
The German government will suspend the price increase of its domestic carbon price for one year as part of a €65 billion relief package meant to alleviate the strain of record-breaking energy prices.

Costs associated with carbon emissions three times US govt estimate: study
6 Sep 2022
The social cost of carbon is significantly higher than the federal estimate, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Nature.

‘Gigantic missed opportunity’: Chile rejects green constitution
6 Sep 2022
Chile rejected a new constitution on Sunday which, if accepted, would have significantly expanded environmental rights and recognised the urgency of climate action.

Europe is bracing for a brutal, cold winter
6 Sep 2022
European governments are scrambling to avert a full-scale energy crisis after Russia’s last-minute decision to halt gas deliveries through the key Nord Stream pipeline indefinitely.

How Indian EV startups are mobilising mass adoption
6 Sep 2022
The Indian automobile industry is the fifth largest in the world, with a goal of becoming the third largest by 2030.

World’s largest wind farm begins full operation off the coast of Yorkshire
5 Sep 2022
The world’s largest completed wind farm, the 1.3GW Hornsea 2 project off the coast of Yorkshire, is now in full operation, according to its developer, the Danish energy giant Ørsted.

The botanic matchmakers that could save our food supply
5 Sep 2022
Undomesticated plants could help their farmed cousins adapt to climate stresses, but that requires tracking them down around the world while also 'decolonizing botany'.

Municipalities can overcome Europe’s fossil-fuel addiction
5 Sep 2022
Europe’s fossil-fuel addiction is painfully clear amid the global energy crisis and the unfolding horrors in Ukraine.

Nearly 150 Spanish cities rolling out low-emission zones in 2023
5 Sep 2022
Spain is getting serious about cleaning up its air, and that’s the case in cities across the country. Due to the Climate Change and Energy Transition Law, most Spanish cities will be implementing low-emission zones within their borders in 2023.

Indonesia’s push to reach net zero emissions can help power a new phase in its economic development
5 Sep 2022
Indonesia has a target to meet net zero emissions by 2060, and is reaching a new phase of economic development to do so.

Can carbon capture and storage help Australia achieve net zero by 2050?
5 Sep 2022
Across Australia, 10 new offshore areas were last week approved for oil and gas exploration, as were permits for two new offshore greenhouse gas storage facilities.

French fossil fuel ad ban: what it means and the opportunity for agencies
2 Sep 2022
France is the first European country to ban fossil fuel advertising. The ban, which comes into effect next year, could see companies fined up to €100,000 for breaching the rules.

Relying on carbon capture in fossil fuel sector will not work: IEEFA
2 Sep 2022
The number of failures and underperforming carbon capture projects has outnumbered the successful projects considerably. Ten of the 13 flagship projects reviewed, comprising 90% of the total capture capacity in the sample, have failed or are underperforming mostly by large margins, finds a new report titled The Carbon Capture Crux – Lessons Learned, produced by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

Electric batteries are fueling the shift from petrol-powered bikes in Kenya
2 Sep 2022
Thousands of e-motorcycles have been provided by startup Roam to riders in Kenya, to initiate the move from petrol to electric.

Mapping US coastlines may ‘drive more equality’ in climate adaptation policy
2 Sep 2022
A Canadian technology company is building aerial imagery of US shorelines which could be used to help coastal communities mitigate climate change.

Wooden cities ‘could save more than 100bn tonnes of CO2 by 2100’
2 Sep 2022
Housing a growing population in homes made out of wood instead of conventional steel and concrete could avoid more than 100 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions until 2100.

Inside the ‘energy villages’ powering Germany’s green transition
1 Sep 2022
Neighbours in the Black Forest region of Germany have come together to create a community power plant, in a quest to achieve energy sovereignty.

Zombie ice from Greenland will raise sea level 27 centimetres
1 Sep 2022
Greenland’s rapidly melting ice sheet will eventually raise global sea level by at least 27 centimeters -- more than twice as much as previously forecast — according to a recent study.

Lakes are disappearing across the Arctic as the climate crisis worsens: Study
1 Sep 2022
The Arctic has experienced loss before. As the area warms almost four times more quickly than the rest of the world, glaciers melt, wildlife dies, and habitat loss is accelerating at an unprecedented rate.

G20 climate talks in Indonesia end without joint communique
1 Sep 2022
Group of 20 climate talks in Bali ended without a joint communique Wednesday despite host Indonesia warning the world's leading economies they must act together to combat a warming planet or risk plunging into "uncharted territory".

The Inflation Reduction Act could change the world in at least five ways.
1 Sep 2022
Nearly seven years ago, a single mischosen word nearly killed the Paris Agreement.

The flooding in Pakistan is a climate catastrophe with political roots
31 Aug 2022
Flash floods over the weekend left one-third of Pakistan submerged from weeks of heavy rains, compounding an already difficult set of political and economic crises in the country.