International: All stories
"Not silver bullets": COP30 CEO downplays impact of yearly climate summits
21 Mar 2025
Ana Toni stressed the importance of year-round action by business, subnational government and finance, energy, transport and agriculture ministries.
Time is not the driving influence of forest carbon storage, study finds
21 Mar 2025
It is commonly assumed that as forest ecosystems age, they accumulate and store (sequester) more carbon. A study based at the University of Michigan Biological Station has untangled carbon cycling over two centuries and found that it's more nuanced than that.
$800m pledge keeps Australia's green hydrogen dream alive
21 Mar 2025
The Albanese Labor government has pledged more than $800 million in production incentives to a green hydrogen development in remote Western Australia, defying mounting scepticism over the future of the country's green fuel industry.
Trump is tackling every 'emergency' except the important one: climate change
21 Mar 2025
To hear President Trump describe it, the U.S. is beset by emergencies. We allegedly have an energy emergency, a government waste emergency and a foreign trade emergency.
Why action on extreme heat in Indian cities is falling short
21 Mar 2025
Local governments face the difficult task of preparing communities and infrastructure for a warmer world - all while urbanisation accelerates and extreme weather becomes more frequent and intense.
Trump vows to immediately ramp up US production of 'beautiful, clean coal'
20 Mar 2025
President Trump this week continued to make his environmental priorities clear by vowing to open up hundreds of coal power plants in the United States in an effort to advance competition against China.
Factcheck: Why Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch is wrong about UK's net-zero goal
20 Mar 2025
The leader of the opposition Conservative party, Kemi Badenoch, has shattered the political consensus on climate change in a speech attacking the UK's net-zero by 2050 target.
UN hails rare climate success story as emissions from construction stop rising
20 Mar 2025
Emissions from the building and construction sector have stopped rising for the first time since 2020, a new United Nations report says.
Science-based targets for ocean stewardship unveiled
20 Mar 2025
Businesses can now set science-based targets covering ocean and maritime protection, under the latest guidance introduced by the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN).
'Fishing boat for energy' will make hydrogen as it sails
20 Mar 2025
Wind power has been rising significantly in recent years, and now accounts for about 8% of the world's energy production. By the end of the decade, it will be the second-largest renewable source after solar, having surpassed hydropower, according to the International Energy Agency.
Eat grass-fed beef, help the planet? Research says not so simple
20 Mar 2025
For cattle fattened in fields instead of feedlots, the grass may be greener, but the carbon emissions are not.
Some US scientists stick with the IPCC despite the administration pulling out of international climate work
19 Mar 2025
A handful of U.S. researchers joined a critical meeting on climate and cities this week in Japan. "For me, this process is so important that if I had to self-fund, I would," said one.
Conservative party to ditch commitment to net zero in UK by 2050
19 Mar 2025
Kemi Badenoch is dropping her party's commitment to reaching net zero by 2050, as she launches the Conservatives' widest policy review in a generation.
Peruvian farmer goes head to head with German energy giant in landmark climate case
19 Mar 2025
A landmark climate lawsuit opens in a German court Monday, as a Peruvian farmer sues a German energy giant over the threat to his home from a mountain lake overflowing with glacier meltwater.
A strong case for investing in climate mitigation and adaptation to avoid damage to the global economy
19 Mar 2025
Investment in climate-change mitigation and adaptation to limit global warming to 2C by 2100 would greatly reduce economic damage, and the cost of inaction is equivalent to 11% to 27% of cumulative GDP, a report says.
China's BYD launches EV charging system it says works nearly as fast as a fill up
19 Mar 2025
China's energy and auto giant BYD has announced an ultra fast EV charging system that it says is nearly as quick as a fill up at the pumps.
Danish investment firm raises record EU12 billion for energy transition infrastructure fund
19 Mar 2025
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners will invest primarily in large-scale renewable energy projects, including wind, solar PV, and battery storage in low-risk OECD markets across North America, Western Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
Trump administration accused of 'blatant foreign interference' in Australian universities
18 Mar 2025
Researchers told to respond within 48 hours to more than 30 questions, including on DEI, gender and climate.
What have we learned from 15 years of REDD+ policy research?
18 Mar 2025
For decades, efforts to halt deforestation in the Global South have gained much attention within the policy arena, most recently as a powerful and effective measure to mitigate climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The unexpected knock-on effect of Trump's minerals 'deal of the century'
18 Mar 2025
Donald Trump's return to the White House is a "major blow to global climate action". So said Christiana Figueres, the former UN climate chief, after he was elected in November.
German govt set to vote on financial package including EU$100 billion for climate protection
18 Mar 2025
Germany's prospective next coalition government has proposed a special fund worth 500 billion euros for infrastructure projects, in combination with a major defence package.
Canada: Carney kills consumer carbon tax in first move as prime minister
18 Mar 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney wasted little time in removing a potent point of attack for the Conservatives in recent years: the consumer carbon tax.
Brazil state hosting COP30 denies new road linked to climate summit
18 Mar 2025
The Brazilian state hosting a United Nations climate summit this year has denied any connection between a new road cutting through a protected area of Brazilian rainforest and the COP30 summit that will gather world leaders in November.
UK energy secretary flies to China with climate co-operation on the agenda
17 Mar 2025
Ed Miliband is hoping to shore up support for multilateral climate action, especially after the US withdrawal from the Paris agreement.
Mining head calls 'net' in net zero a 'weasel word'
17 Mar 2025
Fortescue chair wants companies to focus on 'real zero' as he explains $6.2bn plan to transform business.
German emissions fell 3.4% in 2024, on track for 2030 climate goals
17 Mar 2025
Germany's Federal Environment Agency on Friday said greenhouse gas emissions in Europe's biggest economy fell by around 3.4% year-on-year in 2024, putting the country on track to meet its 2030 climate targets.
Global sea level rose faster than expected last year alarming scientists
17 Mar 2025
Rising sea levels bring potentially deadly storm surges farther inland and impact urban infrastructure.
World's richest countries fuelling deforestation beyond their borders
17 Mar 2025
The world's wealthiest nations collectively caused 15 times more biodiversity loss internationally than domestically, driving deforestation to satisfy agricultural and forestry demand.
The true cost of Trump's cuts to NOAA and NASA
17 Mar 2025
EDITORIAL: Not only will the cuts hinder the agencies' abilities to track and warn about upcoming severe weather events, they also hamper basic research into climate change, carried out to help humanity better prepare for the sweeping environmental upheaval already evident in a steadily warming world.
Trump officials decimate climate protections and consider axeing key greenhouse gas finding
14 Mar 2025
EPA takes aim at almost every major pollution rule in what environmentalists call act of 'malice toward the planet.'
UK carbon prices surge as minister talks about EU market linkage
14 Mar 2025
UK carbon futures jumped on Wednesday after a Treasury minister said the government would consider linking the country's emissions market to the European Union's system.
Indonesia hands over confiscated palm oil plantations to state firm
14 Mar 2025
Indonesian prosecutors on Monday handed over more than 221,000 hectares (546,000 acres) of illegal palm oil plantations seized as part of an on-going corruption probe to a new state-owned company that will manage them.
Tech giants are complicit in an anti-climate agenda. Employees should be speaking up
14 Mar 2025
OPINION: As Big Tech bows to Donald Trump, employees should use their influence to engage coworkers and press their leaders for action.
Argentina declares three-day mourning as flood death toll rises to at least 16
14 Mar 2025
Argentina declared three days of national mourning following flash floods that claimed 16 lives in Bahia Blanca, where a year's rain fell within hours, inundating neighbourhoods.
Despite everything, US EV sales are up 28% this year
14 Mar 2025
In the US, customers are buying while there are still incentives and no extra tariffs.
US government terminates $20B in climate grants
13 Mar 2025
The move comes just one day before a federal judge will hold a hearing in a lawsuit brought by one of the grant recipients seeking access to the funds the Trump administration had frozen while it probed the program.
Bankers climate alliance prepares to vote on ditching 1.5C goal
13 Mar 2025
The world's biggest climate alliance for banks is about to vote on whether it's time to abandon a once hallowed goal.
'A new phase': why climate activists are turning to sabotage instead of protest
13 Mar 2025
Tougher laws said to be inspiring clandestine attacks on the 'property and machinery' of the fossil fuel economy.
Climate crisis threatens Earth's major crops, study finds
13 Mar 2025
With global average temperatures expected to continue to rise in the coming decades, scientists have projected that warming will significantly harm global agriculture as it weakens crop yields and disrupts food production. Now, new research finds that warming will disrupt many of Earth's major crops and harm global crop diversity.
Amazon forest felled to build road for climate summit
13 Mar 2025
A new four-lane highway cutting through tens of thousands of acres of protected Amazon rainforest is being built for the COP30 climate summit in the Brazilian city of Belém.
Climate change, already causing problems on Earth, could soon create a mess for orbiting satellites
13 Mar 2025
Climate change is already causing all sorts of problems on Earth, but soon it will be making a mess in orbit around the planet too, a new study finds.
Singapore tender signals high demand for Article 6-aligned carbon credits
12 Mar 2025
Singapore's request for proposal, or RFP, to procure high-quality, Article 6-aligned, nature-based carbon credits, received offers from 17 suppliers with prices in the $19-$41/mtCO2e range, according to multiple market participants.
Nearly a tenth of global climate finance threatened by Trump aid cuts
12 Mar 2025
Nearly a tenth of global climate finance could be under threat as US president Donald Trump's aid cuts risk wiping out huge swathes of spending overseas.
What Canada's next Prime Minister means for climate change
12 Mar 2025
After winning the race to replace Justin Trudeau as the leader of the country's Liberal Party, former central bank governor Mark Carney will be tasked with leading Canada through a number of pivotal moments - including a trade war with the United States, a cost of living crisis, and a critical moment in the country's fight against climate change.
US Supreme Court rejects Republican-led effort to halt climate lawsuits against oil firms
12 Mar 2025
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a lawsuit from Republican attorneys general in 19 states aimed at blocking climate change suits against the oil and gas industry from Democratic-led states.
I spent 3 days at Jordan Peterson's anti-climate ARC conference. Here's what I saw.
12 Mar 2025
It's easy to dismiss Jordan Peterson, the Canadian bad boy ex-academic, as a sideshow. But Peterson's influence has gotten too big to ignore, and his message is a danger to all of us.
Japan releases inaugural sustainability reporting standards
12 Mar 2025
The Sustainability Standards Board of Japan (SSBJ) announced the release of its finalized sustainability disclosure standards, based on the standards developed by the IFRS Foundation's International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), and anticipated to form the basis of mandatory reporting for listed Japanese companies of sustainability and climate-related information.
Half of world's CO2 emissions come from 36 fossil fuel firms, study shows
11 Mar 2025
Researchers say data strengthens case for holding firms to account for their contribution to climate crisis.
US withdraws from UN climate damage fund
11 Mar 2025
The Trump administration has withdrawn the United States from the United Nations climate damage fund that was established in 2023 to help developing countries most vulnerable to climate change when natural disasters strike.
Ex-Cyclone Alfred sends 'phenomenal' levels of rainfall to Brisbane and Gold Coast
11 Mar 2025
About 240,000 homes and businesses are without power in Queensland in the wake of Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred, according to the state's premier.
How bad can climate damage get? Worse than you imagine
Thu 26 Jun 2025
How bad can climate damage get? Worse than you imagine, if Australians’ recent experience of more extreme weather and natural disasters — driven by a hotter climate — are an indication, because the past is no longer a reliable guide to the future.
US government cuts key data used in hurricane forecasting
Today 10:30am
Weather experts are warning that hurricane forecasts will be severely hampered by the upcoming cutoff of key data from U.S. Department of Defense satellites, the latest Trump administration move with potential consequences for the quality of forecasting.
Floods swamp cities in Southwest China with more storms due
Thu 26 Jun 2025
Citizens in Guizhou and other parts of southern China have been swamped by days of record-breaking rainfall as the East Asia monsoon kicked into high gear over the past week.
Next EU climate target to allow carbon offsets from 2036, draft shows
Today 10:30am
The European Commission will permit countries to outsource a portion of their climate efforts to poorer countries from 2036, according to a draft proposal.
UK can reach net zero by 2050, climate report finds
Thu 26 Jun 2025
Climate Change Committee says current targets could be met provided country takes ‘steps forward’ to achieve them.
Is Mark Carney turning his back on climate action?
23 Jun 2025
The G7 summit in Alberta, hosted by Prime Minister Mark Carney, has ended with only passing mention of fighting climate change, including a statement on wildfires that is silent on the pressing need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Pakistan slams climate ‘injustice’ as deadly floods hit country again
Today 10:30am
Pakistan’s climate minister says country facing ‘crisis of injustice’ as more deadly flooding and extreme weather events hit the country.
Nearly a third of Tuvaluans have applied for climate migration visa
Fri 27 Jun 2025
With their country threatened by sea level rise, the people of Tuvalu have been offered an escape route through an agreement with Australia, and many are contemplating leaving their home.
I just returned from Antarctica: climate change isn’t some far-off problem – it’s here and hitting hard
13 May 2025
Antarctica is often viewed as the last truly remote place on Earth – frozen, wild and untouched. But is it really as untouched as it seems?
Congo death toll hits 77 after extreme weather brings floods and sinks boats, 107 remain missing
18 Jun 2025
Authorities in Congo said the death toll following devastating floods and separate boat accidents has reached 77, with more than 100 people missing.
‘We are perilously close to the point of no return’: climate scientist on Amazon rainforest’s future
Today 10:30am
Carlos Nobre, who has fought for decades to save the rainforest, says up to 70% of it could be lost if a tipping point is reached.
How UN climate negotiations can end fossil fuel-industry influence
Today 10:30am
COMMENT: Climate COPs remain alarmingly exposed to lobbyists, unlike most global health and anti-corruption bodies that have safeguards to limit interference.
