International: Australia
POWER TO THE PEOPLE: Suburbs take to solar
18 Nov 2019
Australians are embracing the ‘virtual power plant’, which advocates say can protect the grid, save money and combat the climate crisis.
Australia (briefly) hits 50% renewables
8 Nov 2019
Australia’s main electricity grid was briefly powered by 50% renewable energy this week in a new milestone that experts say will become increasingly normal.
Australia looks to Aboriginals' land knowledge
5 Nov 2019
Australia’s indigenous academics are calling for a fresh look at the governance and practices of mainstream environmental management institutions.
Coastal homeowners don’t want to rock the boat
1 Nov 2019
Many coastal homeowners appear to be denying the need to act on rising sea levels for fear their property values will fall.
Engineers turn backs on new fossil fuel projects
22 Oct 2019
Engineering firms in Australia are under increased pressure from their own employees to abandon controversial fossil fuel projects, as the sector turns its attention to the climate crisis.
BARE FACTS: Australia's hidden climate crisis
17 Oct 2019
Farming communities in Australia are bitterly divided over an epidemic of land clearing they say is sabotaging efforts to address climate change.
Queensland wants to jail XR protesters
16 Oct 2019
Queensland has proposed two-year jail sentences for Extinction Rebellion protesters caught with a locking device used to fix people in public places.
It’s only October, so what’s with all these bushfires?
15 Oct 2019
Summer might be more than six weeks away, but out-of-control bushfires have already torn across parts of eastern Australia in recent days, destroying homes and threatening lives.
Jail climate protesters, says Australian minister
7 Oct 2019
Protesters who disrupt traffic should have their welfare payments cut and be subject to mandatory jail sentences, Australia's home affairs minister Peter Dutton has declared.
NSW considers laws to stop courts blocking coalmines
3 Oct 2019
The New South Wales government is considering legislation that could limit the ability for planning authorities to rule out coalmines projects based on the climate change impact of emissions from the coal once it is burned.
Towns prepare for 'unimaginable' water crisis
1 Oct 2019
Livelihoods in Australia are now at risk from drought worsened by climate change, a predicament more familiar to developing countries.
Queensland plans huge hydrogen projects
1 Oct 2019
Two huge renewable hydrogen projects have been planned for the heart of Queensland’s major coal and gas regions.
'It's heartbreaking': A town watches its beach wash away
30 Sep 2019
Stockton beach in New South Wales is being washed away by dramatic coastal erosion which has already claimed a childcare centre.
Mining magnate puts millions into war on plastics waste
26 Sep 2019
An Australian mining billionaire has launched a business-driven initiative to try to tackle the hundreds of millions of tonnes of plastic waste produced every year.
Canberra switching to 100% renewable energy
23 Sep 2019
Canberra will become the first city outside Europe to shift from fossil fuel to 100% renewable energy.
Protest-rubbish photo is just that ... rubbish
23 Sep 2019
A hoax photo that claims to show rubbish left behind by Australian climate strike protesters is circulating on Facebook, despite being revealed as fake months ago.
Mine protesters tackle All Blacks on eve of World Cup
18 Sep 2019
A petition launched just days before the World Cup opens in Japan calls on the All Blacks to dump their principal sponsor AIG over ties to a controversial Australian coal mine development.
More Australians drown as summers heat up
17 Sep 2019
More Australians are drowning as the country faces record high temperatures, lifesavers have warned.
Australia launches emergency relocation of fish
12 Sep 2019
Faced with a ferocious summer with little rain forecast, the New South Wales government has embarked on a Noah’s Ark type operation to move native fish to safe havens.
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.
Depleted Tennessee farmland is now teeming with wildlife
Tue 9 Dec 2025
Middle Fork Bottoms State Park demonstrates the benefits that flow when ecology is left to do what it does naturally.
China’s BEV trucks and the end of diesel’s dominance
Thu 4 Dec 2025
Cheap Chinese battery electric heavy trucks are no longer a rumor. They are real machines with real price tags that are so low that they force a reassessment of what the global freight industry is willing to pay for electrification.
Seven EU countries pressure European Commission to rethink 2035 diesel and petrol car ban
Tue 9 Dec 2025
Pressure from EU countries, lawmakers and the automotive industry is likely pushing the European Commission to delay the revision of the bloc's ban on diesel and petrol cars by 2035.
UK farmers lose £800m after heat and drought cause one of worst harvests on record
Fri 5 Dec 2025
Many now concerned about ability to make living in fast-changing climate after one of worst grain harvests recorded.
Canada rolls back climate rules in energy deal with Alberta
1 Dec 2025
Under the agreement, the federal government will scrap a planned emissions cap on the oil and gas sector and drop rules on clean electricity.
Politicians in South-East Asia ignore climate change at their own political peril
Tue 9 Dec 2025
Anger and frustration are growing in devastated communities, as governments botch their response to the climate crisis.
Storms in the Southern Ocean are producing more rain – and the consequences could be global
Mon 8 Dec 2025
Storms in the Southern Ocean influence weather patterns across Australia, New Zealand and the globe.
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".
European Investment Bank pledges over 2 billion euros for African renewables projects
26 Nov 2025
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is pledging more than 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) of financing for renewable energy projects on the African continent over the next two years.
In blow to Lula, Brazil Congress revives controversial environmental bill
2 Dec 2025
Brazil's conservative-led Congress on Thursday reinstated much of a bill that makes it easier for companies to secure environmental permits, infuriating the leftist government and green groups.
Analysis: Why COP30’s ‘tripling adaptation finance’ target is less ambitious than it seems
Fri 5 Dec 2025
One of the headline outcomes to emerge from COP30 was a new target to “at least triple” finance for climate adaptation in developing countries by 2035.
