International: Australia
Australian climate woes sank a raft of PMs
22 Aug 2018
Australia's inability to come to terms with climate change policy has cost a raft of political leaders their jobs.
Labor offers Victoria half-priced solar panels
21 Aug 2018
Owner-occupiers of homes in Victoria will get half-priced solar panels with no upfront cost under a $1.24 billion election promise by the state Labor government.
Turnbull goes for regulation to set carbon cuts
20 Aug 2018
The Turnbull government is preparing to set the Australian emissions reduction target for the national energy guarantee by regulation rather than legislation.
Huge grant to reef outfit a scandal, Greens say
9 Aug 2018
The awarding of $444 million in taxpayers’ money by the Australian prime minister to the small Great Barrier Reef Foundation without consultation “stinks” and the money should be handed back, the Greens say.
Most Australians want more renewables
7 Aug 2018
More than 70 per cent of Australians want the government to set a high renewable energy target to put downward pressure on power prices, according to a new poll.
Smart cities can also cost the environment
2 Aug 2018
The Australian government has allocated $50 million for the Smarter Cities and Suburbs Program to encourage projects that “improve the livability, productivity and sustainability of cities and towns”.
Australia energy plan might breach Paris Agreement
27 Jul 2018
An Australian government plan to lock in electricity emissions targets might breach a key commitment to the Paris Agreement.
Waste crisis could become a design opportunity
26 Jul 2018
Researchers are looking for ways to re-purpose expanded polystyrene, taking advantage of this very useful material and keeping it out of landfills.
Officals block Sydney waste-power incinerator
23 Jul 2018
A plan for a massive waste-to-energy incinerator in western Sydney has been blocked, after the New South Wales Independent Planning Commission ruled there was “uncertainty” over human health and environmental impacts.
Australian ecosystems face collapse
6 Jul 2018
The Great Barrier Reef has become a notorious victim of climate change, but it is not the only Australian ecosystem on the brink of collapse.
Why electricity sector won't bear brunt of Paris cuts
5 Jul 2018
A leading energy market analyst has warned that parts of the economy other than electricity will bear the brunt of Australia’s emissions reduction effort under the Paris agreement.
Stores pull plastic bags ... and Aussie shoppers don't get it
4 Jul 2018
A call has gone out for Australians to be educated about plastic pollution after a shop assistant was assaulted and retail workers were abused by shoppers when major stores pulled plastic bags.
Australia will need coal 'possibly forever', says Turnbull
28 Jun 2018
Coal will have an important role in Australia “possibly forever”, according to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Australia records worst-ever emissions
27 Jun 2018
Australia’s emissions over the past year were again the highest on record when unreliable data from land use and forestry sectors are excluded, according to new data.
Australia passes 3m small solar installs
26 Jun 2018
Rooftop solar and solar hot water installs in Australia have passed the three million-mark, as homes and businesses continue to take the power back against rising energy costs.
Farmers' federation lines up against Tony Abbott
25 Jun 2018
Australia's National Farmers’ Federation has added its voice to a chorus of Liberals and some Nationals warning Tony Abbott and other conservatives not to scuttle the government’s national energy guarantee.
Macquarie offers £500m for sustainable projects
21 Jun 2018
Australian investment group Macquarie has offered £500 million to finance green projects.
Australian firms told to catch up on climate risk
19 Jun 2018
Australian companies are not doing enough work to model the risks of climate change and how it will affect their profitability, a new report says.
Gas-guzzler Australia on road to becoming the next Cuba
15 Jun 2018
Australia's reluctance to recognise electric vehicles could mean that eventually it will join Cuba as the globe's Jurassic Park for cars.
Worsening drought pushes farmers to the brink
13 Jun 2018
On NSW's Liverpool plains, cows are being slaughtered because there is no way of feeding them after years of extreme weather.
Green steel king vows cheap power for Aussies
12 Jun 2018
UK “green steel” billionaire Sanjeev Gupta has unveiled a landmark agreement to provide cheap solar power to five major South Australian companies, promising to slash their electricity costs by up to 50 per cent.
Sweet turns sour as sugar takes on solar
12 Jun 2018
As solar farms spread across the central agricultural regions of Queensland, opponents are becoming increasingly vocal.
Australian beats Elon Musk to $820,000 Global Energy Prize
11 Jun 2018
Australia’s “father of PV”, Professor Martin Green, has been awarded the 2018 Global Energy Prize, beating out a shortlist that included Tesla’s Elon Musk.
Climate change a clear and present danger to Australia
25 May 2018
The changing climate means Australia is facing a range of important domestic and international security implications, a Senate report has found.
Australian businesses back renewables
16 May 2018
Australian businesses are jumping on board the renewables boom with almost half of the nation's major companies making the switch to clean, affordable and reliable renewable energy.
How will drought-hit farmers feed Australia?
15 May 2018
Australia has just experienced the eighth-driest April on record with rainfall across grain, sheep and cattle heartlands well below normal. So how do farmers plan to keep the country fed?
No money in Aussie budget to fight climate change
14 May 2018
Australia's response to intensifying extreme weather events remains at the bottom of the national agenda, after the Federal Budget failed to deliver funding for measures to tackle climate change.
Energy service finds best deal for customers
11 May 2018
An Australian consumer group Choice has launched a $99 service to compare prices from electricity retailers, monitor them for 12 months and automatically switch subscribers to the best deal.
Droughts could be worst in 800 years
7 May 2018
Droughts, floods, heatwaves, and fires have battered Australia for millennia. Are recent extreme events really worse than those in the past?
Rio Tinto climate resolution marks big shift
7 May 2018
What does the advocacy group the Australian Centre for Corporate Responsibility have in common with the Local Government Super fund, the Church of England Pensions Board, and the Seventh Swedish National Pension Fund?
Climate 'culture war' will doom Australia
3 May 2018
Australia will not achieve its emissions reductions targets until it ends the “culture war” on climate policy, Labor frontbencher Mark Butler has said.
Labor states won't compromise on renewables
20 Apr 2018
Australia's Labor states will seek a watertight undertaking that their renewable energy schemes and targets will remain undisturbed by the Turnbull government’s proposed national energy guarantee at a critical meeting today.
Turnbull might allow power firms to buy offsets
19 Apr 2018
The Turnbull government is hedging its bets on whether to allow Australian energy companies to buy offsets to comply with their new 26 per cent emissions reduction target.
Australia's gas boom is getting out of whack
18 Apr 2018
The massive growth of Australia’s natural gas industry is inconsistent with the country's Paris commitments.
ACT takes lead on electric vehicles
17 Apr 2018
The Australian Capital Territory government has announced the country’s most ambitious transition plan to electric vehicles.
KOALA CRISIS: Don't blame urban sprawl for the deaths
11 Apr 2018
Tree clearing, not urban sprawl, is to blame for the deaths of thousands of koalas in Queensland, say environmentalists.
Most Australians want rid of coal power
3 Apr 2018
A majority of Australians would support phasing out coal power by 2030, including half the people in a sample identifying as Coalition voters, according to a new survey.
US and China behave as global emissions increase
26 Mar 2018
While global carbon emissions crept upward in 2017 the trends were not entirely bad news - the world's two biggest emitters, China and the United States, made progress in their own ways.
Thousands rally against coal in Sydney
26 Mar 2018
Thousands of people have marched through Sydney calling for an end to coal seam gas and coal mining and a renewed focus on renewables.
Ocean heatwave caused massive gas release
23 Mar 2018
A severe heatwave off Western Australia eight years ago hammered the world's largest region of seagrass, triggering the release of as much as nine million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Climate champion Weatherill chucks it in
20 Mar 2018
The Turnbull government is one step closer to being able to implement its proposed national energy guarantee, courtesy of Jay Weatherill’s departure as the South Australian premier after Saturday’s state election.
Greens want to end sale of fossil fuel cars by 2030
14 Mar 2018
The Ausralian Greens have proposed introducing mandatory fuel efficiency standards, ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, and imposing a four-year 17 per cent tax on luxury vehicles.
Landmark case challenges NT land clearing
13 Mar 2018
A landmark court case in the Northern Territory is set to consider a challenge to a massive land-clearing approval based on its impacts on climate change.
Canberra politicians ride the golden escalator
12 Mar 2018
More than 180 individuals have moved between senior public service roles and the fossil fuel industry in Australia over the past decade - providing a golden escalator for former senior politicians.
Record means Australia's solar future looks bright
8 Mar 2018
The future of Australia’s solar industry is looking bright after a record 3.5m panels were installed on rooftops last year, giving the equivalent output of a medium-sized coal-fired power station.
Rio Tinto faces $84 billion shareholder revolt
5 Mar 2018
Australia’s second-biggest miner, Rio Tinto, faces a shareholder revolt over the role it plays in the country’s climate and energy debate.
Take your brolly to Broome ... it's had 1.5m of rain this year
26 Feb 2018
It has been a soggy start to the year in the Western Australian town of Broome. In the two months of 2018, 1.5 metres of rain has fallen,
Australia has a role for coal, says Shorten
21 Feb 2018
Labor Party leader Bill Shorten has declared there is a role for coal in Australia, and characterised the controversial Adani coalmine as just “another project”.
Canberra gives carbon emitters the go-ahead
20 Feb 2018
Nearly 60 Australian industrial sites have been given the green light to increase crbon emissions, cancelling out cuts paid for by the Coalition governmet using public money.
Battery boom keeping Australia’s grid fully charged
16 Feb 2018
Australia’s love affair with clean energy and battery storage is only just beginning, with the nation on the verge of an energy storage boom.
Trump’s budget would cut billions from climate programs while boosting military spending
Wed 8 Apr 2026
Trump’s 2027 budget proposal targets what the administration calls the “Green New Scam” through budget cuts to energy and environment programs.
China's Xi urges faster development of new energy system as Middle East war continues
Wed 8 Apr 2026
Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for accelerated planning and construction of a new energy system to safeguard the country's energy security, weeks into the Iran war that has triggered global energy shocks.
The European Commission has published the first quarterly price for CBAM certificates
Thu 9 Apr 2026
The European Commission has officially set the reference price for the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism certificate for the first quarter of 2026 at €75.36 per ton of CO2.
Britain hits renewable power record in 2025, but fossil fuel use also up
Wed 8 Apr 2026
Renewable power such as wind and solar provided a record 52.5% of Britain’s electricity generation in 2025, government data showed on Thursday, but fossil fuel use also rose.
Mark Carney just picked his lane on climate change
17 Feb 2026
COMMENT: Mark Carney's time as prime minister has been defined in part by his decision to roll back Trudeau-era climate policies.
How Pakistan’s solar boom is shielding it from worst of Iran war crisis
Thu 9 Apr 2026
A quarter of Pakistani households are now using solar panels. This insulates millions of families from the energy supply crunch prompted by the US-Israel war on Iran.
Vanuatu Indigenous leaders raise concerns over plans to build resort for cruise tourists
1 Apr 2026
Indigenous community leaders in Vanuatu have raised concerns over plans by the cruise operator Royal Caribbean to build a private beach club on the island of Lelepa, arguing environmental impact assessments by the company are “incomplete” and “misleading”.
China's huge push to reduce air pollution had an unexpected consequence in the Arctic
2 Apr 2026
China's cuts to aerosol emissions reduced sea ice loss, but it may have revealed a bigger story about climate change.
Rationing power and diluting petrol – how African countries are coping with effects of Iran war
30 Mar 2026
Countries across Africa have taken measures such as diluting petrol and restricting electricity consumption to cope with the fuel crisis triggered by the US and Israel's war in Iran.
Beef production drives 40% of agriculture-linked forest destruction, Brazil leads
26 Mar 2026
Beef production is the leading driver of agriculture-linked deforestation, accounting for 40% of all forest clearing done to open space for food production, according to details of a study released on Tuesday.
Iran war should trigger faster exit from fossil fuel dependence, UN climate chief says
18 Mar 2026
The disruption to energy markets caused by the Iran war is a lesson on the risks of relying on fossil fuels which should drive governments to wean their economies off oil and gas faster, the U.N. climate secretary told Reuters on Monday.
