International: Australia
More Australians fear effects of changing climate ...
11 Sep 2019
Australians are increasingly concerned about droughts and floods, extinctions and water shortages associated with climate change, according to new research.
... but the disaster minister has his doubts
11 Sep 2019
Australia’s minister responsible for drought and natural disasters, David Littleproud, has said that he doesn’t “know if climate change is manmade”.
Queensland coal goes to war with solar
6 Sep 2019
In Queensland, it seems the legacy coal generators are deciding not to ramp down as the market might expect. Instead, some observers suspect they are trying to force the solar plants out of the market.
Doctors declare climate health emergency
4 Sep 2019
The Australian Medical Association has formally declared climate change a health emergency, pointing to “clear scientific evidence indicating severe impacts for patients and communities now and into the future”.
Australia hits seven-year high on emissions
2 Sep 2019
Australia’s greenhouse gas status has worsened again, showing a 0.6 per cent rise in the March quarter to a seven year high of 538.9 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Carbon criticism nonsense, says e-car council
29 Aug 2019
Australia’s Electric Vehicle Council is dismissing as nonsense claims that EVs emit more carbon dioxide than do fossil-fuel cars.
Global engineer cuts ties with Adani
22 Aug 2019
The global engineering and consultancy firm Aurecon has severed a longstanding business relationship with the Adani Group, amid ongoing efforts by anti-coal activists to target firms working for the Indian conglomerate’s Australian mining arm.
Australian power stations among most toxic
21 Aug 2019
Power stations in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley and New South Wales’s Lake Macquarie region have been named on a list of the world’s biggest hotspots for toxic air pollution.
Global fossil fuels trifecta: Russia 1, Saudi 2, Australia 3
20 Aug 2019
Australia’s role as a leader in the global fossil fuel trade is underscored by a report that finds it is the world’s third-biggest exporter and fifth-biggest miner of fossil-related emissions.
Can Morrison deliver on Pacific climate promises?
16 Aug 2019
This week’s Pacific Islands Forum comes at an important time in the overall trajectory of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s very personal commitment to an Australian “stepping up” in the Pacific.
Australia sets 50% e-car target by 2035
15 Aug 2019
Modelling by the Australian Government shows 50 per cent of new domestic vehicle sales will be electric by 2035.
BHP threatens to quit Minerals Council
6 Aug 2019
Big miner BHP is again reviewing its membership of the Minerals Council of Australia lobby group following disagreements over environmental policy.
Storms damage nearly half Australia's seaboard
30 Jul 2019
Extreme climate events such as heatwaves, floods and drought damaged 45 per cent of the marine ecosystems along Australia’s coast in a seven-year period.
Adani sets dangerous science precedent
18 Jul 2019
A freedom of information request has revealed Adani sought the names of Australian scientists involved in reviewing groundwater management plans related to its proposed Carmichael mine.
Greens founder speaks out against wind farm
16 Jul 2019
Plans to build a wind farm in Tasmania have come up against an unlikely opponent with Australian Greens founder Bob Brown adding his voice to protests that the project will damage views and ecology.
Australia hunts for more climate-hardy vines
16 Jul 2019
Climate change is prompting Australian wine researchers to trial drought-tolerant grape varieties from Cyprus.
Australia has $20b plan to power Singapore
15 Jul 2019
An ambitious export plan could generate billions of dollars and make Australia the centre of low-cost energy in a future zero-carbon world.
Australia’s emissions show another surge
10 Jul 2019
Australia is falling further behind its Paris emission reduction targets. New figures show a surge in the first quarter of 2019, increasing the gap between emissions and the trajectory that the government insists will be met “in a canter”.
Coal waste 'ticking time bomb' across Australia
2 Jul 2019
A report by Environmental Justice Australia has found problems at coal ash dumps in every mainland state.
Australia's north has a powerhouse vision
21 Jun 2019
Australia's Northern Territory has a multi-billion dollar opportunity to invest massively in renewables, create a new hydrogen export industry, and create thousands of jobs, says a new report.
Can Australia avoid drifting into a slow, painful decline?
20 Jun 2019
Australia has been warned it risks "drifting into the future" if it fails to respond to challenges in a fast-changing world.
Australia gives go-ahead to Adani mine
14 Jun 2019
Australia has given the final approval for construction to begin on a controversial coal mine to be built by Indian company Adani.
Australia's rising emissions spark row
7 Jun 2019
Data showing the latest increase in Australia's greenhouse emissions was released late, in defiance of a Senate order, but leaked to a major newspaper.
Meet the coastal dwellers who don't fear rising seas
7 Jun 2019
Half of the people living in New South Wales’ coastal communities think rising sea levels will not affect them, and a quarter of accommodation businesses on the coast are unsure if sea-level rise is even occurring, new data shows.
Australian musicians band together to run solar farms
7 Jun 2019
Midnight Oil, Cloud Control, Vance Joy and Regurgitator have signed up to FEAT, a new platform encouraging their industry to back sustainability.
What happens now with Adani?
4 Jun 2019
By mid-June, if everything goes as expected, Adani Australia will receive the final environmental approvals for its proposed Carmichael coal mine and rail line development.
Rising seas threaten Australia’s major airports
30 May 2019
Most major airports in Australia are located on reclaimed swamps, sitting only a few metres above the present sea level.
Industry urges Morrison to build coal plants
24 May 2019
The Australian coal industry has begun lobbying the re-elected Morrison government to support hardline positions, including building new coal-fired power stations and weakening approvals processes for new mines.
Bob Hawke and a climate change 'what if'
20 May 2019
Since the news broke of his passing last week, former Australian leader Bob Hawke has been feted as the “environmental prime minister”.
Islanders sue Australia over climate inaction
15 May 2019
Torres Strait islanders are about to file an unprecedented legal complaint against Australia, accusing the government of breaching their human rights by falling short on its Paris Agreement pledges.
What Australian parties say about climate change
14 May 2019
Most Australians see climate change as the number one threat to national interests. But in 2018, Australia was ranked 55th out of 60 countries in climate change performance.
OPINION: Canberra wants business to sit tight
8 May 2019
By ERWIN JACKSON | With Australia’s current policy, the government is saying to business to sit on their hands and do little for another decade
Wesfarmers dumps coal and turns to e-cars
7 May 2019
Just months after selling the last of its thermal coal assets, Wesfarmers – one of Australia’s leading business conglomerates – has made a $776 million play to enter the lithium market and tap into the opportunities of the global switch to electric vehicles.
FUR WARS: Australia to cull over two million feral cats
2 May 2019
Australia will cull more than two million untamed cats over the next year, cutting their numbers to about four million.
How Australia can be 100% renewables by 2030s
1 May 2019
Australia could be powered 100 per cent by “intermittent” renewables by the early 2030s, says climate change policy expert Professor Ross Garnaut.
Rio Tinto ready to quit Minerals Council
15 Apr 2019
Rio Tinto has signalled it is prepared to quit its membership of industry associations, including the Minerals Council, if the council makes public statements inconsistent with Australia’s Paris climate agreement commitment.
Australia not ready, say expert firefighters
15 Apr 2019
More than 20 former fire and emergency chiefs from multiple states and territories say Australia is unprepared for worsening natural disasters from climate change and governments are putting lives at risk.
Queensland upsets with new solar rules
12 Apr 2019
Queensland has confirmed plans to put in place controversial new regulations for solar farm construction that will restrict the installation or removal of PV panels to licensed electricians.
Australia sitting pretty on hydrogen
11 Apr 2019
With demand set to rise across the world, Australia is set to become a global primary producer of hydrogen.
Tasmania's bushfires raise mercury scare
11 Apr 2019
Tasmania’s bushfires might have resulted in the release of significant amounts of mercury from burnt trees into the atmosphere.
Australia's fire forests might be changed forever
9 Apr 2019
Parts of Australia’s climate change-impacted forests might never be the same again, scientists say.
Coalition tailors budget for climate denial
4 Apr 2019
The Australian government has delivered its last budget before May elections with long-term climate and clean energy policies and technologies being ignored.
Labor climate policy is to hit big polluters
3 Apr 2019
A Bill Shorten Labor government in Australia would add about 100 high polluters to those subject to an emissions cap, and drastically slash the present cap’s level.
Japan to oppose new coal-fired power plants
2 Apr 2019
Japan’s environment minister has announced he will “in principle” oppose any new plans to build or expand coal-fired power stations, as further signs emerge of a dramatic energy pivot by Australia’s top export market for thermal coal.
Canberra gets blame for failure to cut vehicle emissions
1 Apr 2019
Cuts to carbon emissions from vehicle efficiency standards have been left out of government projections for meeting Australia’s Paris climate commitments, indicating the policy has been shelved.
Top companies accused of undermining Paris deal
26 Mar 2019
New analysis shows 22 of Australia’s largest companies are actively working to undermine the Paris Agreement targets, betting shareholders’ money on strategies that assume global climate change action fails.
More gas mining threatens climate, water and health
22 Mar 2019
Australia, like its competitors Qatar, Canada and the US, aspires to become the world’s largest exporter of gas, arguing this helps importing nations reduce their greenhouse emissions by replacing coal.
Toyota's Melbourne plant to make hydrogen
22 Mar 2019
Toyota and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency will kick in $7.4m to transform part of the carmaker’s decommissioned Melbourne car manufacturing site into a commercial-grade hydrogen production and refuelling site.
Scientists call for stronger land-clearing laws
14 Mar 2019
Australia’s high rates of forest loss and weakening land clearing laws are increasing bushfire risk, and undermining the country's ability to meet national targets aimed at curbing climate change.
Western Australia watchdog gets tough
12 Mar 2019
Western Australia’s environmental protection authority has announced tough new measures aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions from large projects.
Climate scientists and republican lawyers are taking aim at Big Tech’s emissions
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Technology companies have long been one of the biggest investors in clean energy, but new accounting rules could upend that.
In China, climate litigation starts with the state
Thu 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.
'Not up for discussion': Brussels rejects Washington's pressure on climate rules
Mon 13 Oct 2025
In response to US demands to roll back the EU's environmental legislation, the European Commission defended its autonomous power to adopt laws.
Government told to prepare for 2C warming by 2050
Thu 16 Oct 2025
The UK should be prepared to cope with weather extremes as a result of at least 2C of global warming by 2050, independent climate advisers have said.
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.
Indonesia restarts international carbon trade after four years
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto has issued a new decree to restart international carbon emission trading after a four year hiatus.
Familiar tensions emerge at the Pacific Islands Forum
26 Sep 2025
With China-Taiwan rivalry, China-Western competition, and big carbon emitters at odds with the islands on climate policy, there is plenty of tension to go around.
Scientists discovered something alarming seeping out from beneath the ocean around Antarctica
Mon 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
Tue 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.
Four Brazilians to watch at COP30
Wed 15 Oct 2025
Influential Brazilians, from government figures to Indigenous activists, will take center stage during UN climate talks in the Amazon next month.
UN agency says CO2 levels hit record high last year, causing more extreme weather
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Heat-trapping carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere jumped by the highest amount on record last year, soaring to a level not seen in human civilisation and “turbo-charging” the Earth’s climate and causing more extreme weather.
