International: Australia
Turnbull convinces party to unite on energy policy
19 Oct 2017
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has secured party-room backing to impose new reliability and emissions reduction guarantees on energy retailers and large energy users from 2020.
Qantas eyes transpacific biofuel flights by 2020
18 Oct 2017
Qantas has announced that its Los Angeles to Melbourne flights will be powered by biofuel from 2020.
Chevron dumps plan to drill in Australian Bight
17 Oct 2017
Chevron has become the second big oil company to abandon plans to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight, almost exactly a year after BP ditched its more advanced plans for the untapped basin.
Abbott reckons climate change is 'probably doing good'
11 Oct 2017
Former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott has suggested climate change is “probably doing good” in a speech in London in which he likened policies to combat it to “primitive people once killing goats to appease the volcano gods”.
Cities must face the reality of living with 50deg heat
9 Oct 2017
The predictions of extreme heat in Australian cities is worrying, but not particularly surprising given the fact that the country is setting hot weather records at 12 times the pace of cold ones. But it does call for an urgent response.
Brisbane aims to be centre for aviation biofuel
6 Oct 2017
Brisbane is set to become a hub for sustainable aviation fuel under an agreement between Virgin Australia and United States-based biofuel producer Gevo.
Sweltering September sets Australian records
6 Oct 2017
Australian temperature records tumbled again in September, with the country experiencing the hottest day since records began, and New South Wales breaking that record twice within a few days.
Australian cities head for 50deg summer days
5 Oct 2017
Even if the Paris Agreement to limit the global temperature rise to below 2deg is met, summer heatwaves in major Australian cities are likely to reach highs of 50deg by 2040.
David Suzuki: Australia's marine threat is sickening
28 Sep 2017
Growing global momentum to protect the world’s oceans from overfishing could be undermined by Australia, warns renowned conservationist David Suzuki and nearly 1500 other scientists.
Australia failing to meet Paris targets, report says
26 Sep 2017
With the Coalition still hamstrung by internal divide over a clean energy target, a new report shows Australia is in danger of not meeting its Paris agreement commitments unless it acts soon.
We need coal power, Joyce tells Australians
15 Sep 2017
Australia's deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, says any new investment mechanism for the energy sector, be it a clean energy target or an alternative, will need to keep coal-fired power stations open.
Coal plant closes but emissions still on the rise
14 Sep 2017
Australia’s overall greenhouse gas emissions last financial year were the highest since 2011, despite the closure of the Hazelwood coal-fired power plant.
South Australia commits $150m to new-energy fund
13 Sep 2017
The government of South Australia has just announced it will invest $A150 million in renewable energy projects as part of its Renewable Technology Fund.
Australian business gets the tech message
6 Sep 2017
Australian businesses are now starting to grasp the fact they need to cut greenhouse gas emissions, says a company that had to take its carbon dioxide-capture technology to Europe because there was no interest at home.
Australia’s record winter linked to climate change
5 Sep 2017
Australia’s winter had the highest average daytime temperatures on record. It was also the driest in 15 years.
Abbott to be keynote speaker at climate sceptics' meeting
4 Sep 2017
Former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott next month will give the annual lecture to a London-based climate sceptic group.
More states powering ahead on climate targets
1 Sep 2017
Australian states and territories are powering ahead, developing policies that will meet the federal government’s internationally agreed greenhouse gas emission targets, with South Australia, the ACT and Tasmania leading the race.
Renewable energy boom could turn to bust
31 Aug 2017
Australia produced enough renewable energy to power 70 per cent of households last financial year, but advocates warn the booming industry will flounder unless the Turnbull government commits to a clean energy target.
Australian firm converts carbon emissions into 'green' concrete
28 Aug 2017
An Australian pilot project capturing carbon emissions and storing them in building materials aims to have a full-scale production plant by 2020.
Victoria moves to enshrine renewables targets in law
25 Aug 2017
The Victorian government has introduced legislation to enshrine its renewable energy targets in law and establish a reverse auction mechanism to build 650 megawatts worth of new projects.
Solar towers and storage plants will reshape energy markets
23 Aug 2017
The 150MW solar tower and molten salt storage plant to be built in South Australia could help to reshape Australian power markets, including the end of “baseload” power.
Premier renews warning states could go it alone
23 Aug 2017
South Australian premier Jay Weatherill has renewed his warning that Labor-led state governments could go it alone on energy policy if the Turnbull government can’t resolve its internal battle over the clean energy target.
Dry winter primes NSW for 'horrific' fire season
22 Aug 2017
After a dry winter, NSW is preparing for an early start to bushfires with fire fighters forecasting an “horrific” season.
South Australia to build solar thermal plant
18 Aug 2017
South Australia will build a 150MW solar thermal plant to bring clean, reliable power to the state.
Miner Adani faces claims of financial fraud
17 Aug 2017
Indian mining giant Adani, seeking public funds to develop one of the world’s largest coal mines in Australia, has been accused of fraudulently siphoning hundreds of millions of dollars of borrowed money into overseas tax havens.
Carmichael matters to Australia – and the world
17 Aug 2017
Proposals for Adani's Carmichael coal mine in Queensland threatens not only the Great Barrier Reef, but also global efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
UK wrapping up $3b Green Bank sale to Australia
17 Aug 2017
The UK government this week is preparing to complete the $3 billion sale of its Green Investment Bank to a group led by Australia's Macquarie Group.
THE MADHOUSE EFFECT: How Australia and the US compare
16 Aug 2017
Climate policy in both Australia and the United States is being built upon alternative facts, fake news, outright lies, PR spin and industry-written talking points.
Climate change could spell disaster for Australia
15 Aug 2017
Military and climate experts, including a former chief of the defence force, have warned that Australia faces potential “disastrous consequences” from climate change.
Queensland gives nod to Wandoan coal mine
10 Aug 2017
A multibillion-dollar coalmine proposal in Queensland has been granted mining leases years after it was shelved amid falling commodity prices and a ramped-up global response to climate change.
Shareholder action 'sign of things to come'
9 Aug 2017
Shareholder moves to sue an Australian bank for failing to adequately disclose its financial exposure to climate change are a sign of things to come, a lawyer says.
Shareholders sue Commonwealth Bank
9 Aug 2017
The embattled Commonwealth Bank is being sued by shareholders for what they say is a failure to properly disclose the risks to the business posed by climate change.
Shortage of climate scientists puts Australia at serious risk
4 Aug 2017
Australia has a critical shortage of climate scientists, leaving it at serious risk of not delivering essential climate and weather services.
Australia records hottest July
2 Aug 2017
Australia has had its warmest July on record, the Bureau of Meteorology says.
Australia left in the slow lane for electric cars
1 Aug 2017
News that deliveries to Australia of the Tesla Model 3 – the company’s first sub $60,000 electric vehicle – will not begin until 2019, nearly 3 years after enthusiasts put down a refundable deposit, shows just how far Australia has slipped in the race to vehicle electrification.
Poor power users hurt by climate policy uncertainty
1 Aug 2017
Low-income and disadvantaged Australians are bearing the brunt of energy price rises caused by climate policy uncertainty, a new report says.
Queensland to build one of longest e-vehicle highways
28 Jul 2017
Within six months, Queensland will have a 2000km network of electric vehicle charging stations that make up one of the world’s longest electric vehicle highways.
Aboriginals take carbon farming to Canada
27 Jul 2017
Australia’s world-leading indigenous land management and carbon farming programmes are spreading internationally, with a formal agreement signed to help to build a similar programme in Canada.
Get together and slash emissions, Australians told
20 Jul 2017
Australians collectively could slash greenhouse gas emissions by a staggering 70 per cent if they joined forces to become energy and climate trailblazers in their own backyards.
Australian powerco head supports Paris targets
19 Jul 2017
The head of Australia’s biggest energy utility – and its biggest coal generator – says that if any Clean Energy Target is to be effective it has to take into account global climate targets.
AA fights plan to cut car greenhouse gas emissions
17 Jul 2017
The Australian Automobile Association has tried to kill any government move to cut greenhouse gas emissions from cars, arguing it would increase the cost to consumers and contradicting comprehensive government modelling.
States threaten to go it alone on clean energy
14 Jul 2017
Australian state energy ministers are threatening to go it alone with a clean energy target as they ramp up pressure on the Coalition government.
Believe it or not, Queensland plans to cut emissions
13 Jul 2017
Coal-hungry Queensland is preparing to slash its pollution to net-zero by 2050, under new plans just released by the State Government.
Coal price will decline, experts tell Australia
13 Jul 2017
As Australia mulls the building of its biggest-ever export thermal coal mine, its biggest foreign buyers look set to reduce their consumption, driving down the price of Australian coal, and the profitability of its mines.
Musk's big battery is a real game-changer
11 Jul 2017
Elon Musk’s agreement to build the world’s largest battery for South Australia isn’t just an extraordinary technological breakthrough that signs coal’s death warrant.
Tesla to build giant battery for South Australia
10 Jul 2017
US-based Tesla and French company Neoen will build the world’s largest lithium ion battery in South Australia with plans to complete construction before summer.
Climate Change Authority loses last climate scientist
6 Jul 2017
The Australian government's Climate Change Authority has just lost its last climate scientist.
How Australia bungled climate policy
5 Jul 2017
Australia has never had climate consensus – and it has been costly, argues Labor frontbencher Mark Butler in an extract from his book Climate Wars.
UN urges Australia to rethink Adani coal mine
4 Jul 2017
A UN committee has urged Australia to review its support for expanded coal production.
Censorship cry as Canberra hides emissions data
26 Jun 2017
Australia's Climate Council is calling for the backlog of the nation’s emissions data to be urgently released, with the Federal Government failing to provide the nation’s quarterly data for more than six months.
What’s at risk for Arctic wildlife if Trump expands oil drilling in fragile northern Alaska
Today 10:30am
The area is vital for the health of the planet. However, its future is at risk.
Floods swamp cities in Southwest China with more storms due
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.
EU Commission proposes allowing carbon offsets to help meet 2040 climate goal
Today 10:30am
Campaigners accuse the European Commission of adding “loopholes” and “distractions” to the 90% emissions reduction target.
Activists protest at London headquarters of global ad giant promoting fossil fuels
Thu 3 Jul 2025
The agency’s work for the fossil fuel industry has made it “complicit in causing existential harm to people and planet”, say campaigners, who are calling on WPP to drop those clients.
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.
Central Chinese cities fight floods unleashed by record rain
Today 10:30am
A record summer downpour in China's central province of Hubei dumped more than a month's worth of rain in just 12 hours on the city of Xianfeng, prompting authorities to move 18,000 people to safety, shut schools, and suspend bus services.
Nearly a third of Tuvaluans have applied for climate migration visa
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
Tue 1 Jul 2025
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.
UN expert urges criminalising fossil fuel disinformation, banning lobbying
Today 10:30am
Rapporteur calls for defossilisation of economies and urgent reparations to avert ‘catastrophic’ rights and climate harms.
