International: Australia
Climate impact on Australia might be irreversible
8 Mar 2017
An independent review of the state of Australia’s environment has found the impacts of climate change are increasing and some of the changes could be irreversible.
Australian banks back fossil fuels over renewables
7 Mar 2017
Australia’s big four banks invested three times as much in global fossil fuels as they did in clean energy in 2016, despite pledging to help Australia transition to a low carbon economy.
TRICKY TURNBULL: Trumpian disregard for energy facts
3 Mar 2017
Australian Prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has is own solar array and battery storage installation at his own home, and apparently likes to admire how much power is being produced, how much is being stored, and how much it is saving him on electricity bills.
Sydney not ready for super-heat, say scientists
3 Mar 2017
Scientists say Sydney is unprepared for the knock-on effects of a significant increase in average summer temperatures.
Australia's emissions jump as coal power ramps up
1 Mar 2017
Australia's greenhouse gas pollution jumped in 2015-16 as coal use continued to rise after the scrapping of the carbon price, making it harder to meet its emissions targets.
Gardening in the face of a changing climate
28 Feb 2017
Since 1880, the average global temperature has increased by 0.8deg with large changes in rainfall redistribution. With these changing conditions upon us, and set to continue, gardeners will have to alter the way they do things.
Wind, solar and hydro grid cheapest for Australia
28 Feb 2017
A new study by energy experts from the Australian National University suggests that a 100 per cent renewable energy electricity grid – with 90 per cent of power coming from wind and solar – will be significantly cheaper future option than a coal or gas-fired network in Australia.
Australia launches energy marketplace for rooftop solar
24 Feb 2017
Australian homeowners with solar panels and batteries could soon trade their electricity in a digital marketplace developed by a consortium of electricity providers, energy tech startups, energy retailers and energy agencies.
Solar power plants now cheaper than coal
24 Feb 2017
Solar power in Australia is more affordable than new fossil fuel and nuclear power, with costs plummeting by almost 60 per cent over the past five years, a new report released by the Climate Council has found.
Climate scepticism far-right badge of honour – even in sweltering Australia
22 Feb 2017
It hits you in the face and clings to you. It makes tall buildings whine as their air conditioning plants struggle to cope. It makes the streets deserted and the ice-cold salons of corner pubs get crowded with people who don’t like beer. It is the Aussie heatwave: and it is no joke.
Coalition might change rules to fund coal plants
21 Feb 2017
Australia's coalition government is considering changing Clean Energy Finance Corporation rules to fund new coal-powered plants.
Regulator says companies must factor in climate risks
20 Feb 2017
Australia’s financial regulator has warned that climate change poses a material risk to the entire financial system, and has urged companies to start adapting.
Labor will not back 2030 renewable energy target
20 Feb 2017
Australia’s Labor opposition has said it will not legislate for a 2030 renewable energy target.
Australia set for ‘huge year’ in renewables
14 Feb 2017
Investment confidence has rebounded in Australia's utility-scale renewables with more than 20 projects under or about to start construction this year.
Australia’s energy grid can't handle extreme heat
13 Feb 2017
Australia’s energy system must be overhauled to ensure reliable power in the face of severe heatwaves and other extreme climate change-driven weather, says the Climate Council.
Extreme wildfires set to increase by up to 50%
10 Feb 2017
The conditions for extreme and catastrophic wildfires could increase by 20 per cent to 50 per cent as the world warms and the climate changes, according to new research.
Report explains Australia's worsening weather
9 Feb 2017
Climate change is now influencing all extreme weather events with some of the most severe climate impacts the world has experienced occurring in 2016, a new Climate Council report has found.
January hottest ever in Sydney and Brisbane
2 Feb 2017
January was hottest month on record in Sydney and Brisbane, says weather bureau.
Australian coal move carries $62b bill
1 Feb 2017
Replacing Australia’s current coal fleet with new ultra-supercritical coal-fired power stations in order to reduce carbon emissions would come at a cost of approximately $62 billion.
Australia might have to make deeper emissions cuts
1 Feb 2017
Australia can meet its 2030 emissions target without an emissions intensity scheme, but it means deeper emissions cuts will be needed from industrial facilities, new research shows.
Melbourne trams to be powered by solar energy
31 Jan 2017
Melbourne’s tram network will become entirely powered by solar energy under a new proposal by the state government to build large-scale solar farms in northern Victoria.
'Clean coal’ power is not the answer in Australia
31 Jan 2017
So-called “clean coal” being pushed by Australia's Coalition government would be expensive and would not meet long term emission reduction goals.
This threat to animals should provoke shame in our hearts
26 Jan 2017
By TIM FLANNERY | While Australia bakes through another hot, angry summer, its precious wildlife is increasingly under threat, not just from the extreme weather of fires and floods but by the growing reality of a changing climate.
Queensland plugs in largest solar farm
15 Dec 2016
Queensland’s largest operating solar farm has plugged into the national electricity grid and is set to generate enough power for almost 10,000 households by the end of 2016.
Addiction to big houses is blowing the energy budget
15 Dec 2016
Australia’s houses are getting bigger, but usually not more sustainable.
South Australia says states could go it alone
9 Dec 2016
States could go it alone on a carbon scheme for the electricity sector after the federal government ruled one out, South Australia’s premier says.
Chief scientist criticises climate policy chaos
9 Dec 2016
Australia's chief scientist Alan Finkel says investment in the electricity sector has stalled because of “policy instability and uncertainty”. And he has warned that current federal climate policy settings will not allow Australia to meet its emissions reduction targets under the Paris agreement.
Anxious states await extreme bushfire season
8 Dec 2016
New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory are bracing for another severe bushfire season, as climate change continues to drive extreme conditions, a new report says.
Frydenberg backtracks on emissions trading
7 Dec 2016
Australia's energy and environment minister, Josh Frydenberg, has folded in the face of internal pressure, declaring the Turnbull government will not pursue emissions trading as part of adjusting its climate policy.
Anxious investors plead for clear climate policy
6 Dec 2016
Australian investors want clear climate policy that delivers certainty – and access to international carbon markets, says the Investor Group on Climate Change.
Australian lines companies call for carbon trading
6 Dec 2016
Australia’s electricity and gas transmission industry is calling on the Turnbull government to implement a form of carbon trading in the national electricity market by 2022 and review the scope for economy-wide carbon pricing by 2027.
Canberra climate review to focus on emissions target
5 Dec 2016
The Turnbull government will maintain its blanket ban on the introduction of an emissions trading scheme and has ruled out an increase to the renewable energy target ahead of its long-awaited review of its climate change policy next year.
Sydney finds a use for billions of takeaway coffee cups
28 Nov 2016
Standalone bins for takeaway coffee cups could soon be a common sight in offices across Sydney as cups are collected and made into useful items.
How seasonal weather can affect human health
25 Nov 2016
Melbourne has suffered what appears to be the most lethal episode of thunderstorm asthma on record.
Australia welcomes Trump's fossil fuels vow
24 Nov 2016
Australia’s environment and energy minister Josh Frydenberg has welcomed Donald Trump’s commitment to lift Obama administration’s restrictions on fossil fuel exploration within his first 100 days in the White House, saying the move will be a boon for consumers.
Emissions to jump under NSW land-clearing laws
22 Nov 2016
Australia’s rising carbon emissions are expected to rise even further after the NSW government successfully passed controversial land-clearing legislation in state parliament.
Australia ranked among worst for climate action
18 Nov 2016
Australia has been singled out as a climate laggard, being ranked fifth-worst for emissions and policies among developed countries and among the six worst countries in the G20 when it comes to climate action.
Sydney solar power project seeks public money
16 Nov 2016
The company responsible for Australia’s biggest CBD solar installation has invited public investment, making it the first community renewables project in Australia with a public share offering.
Australia ratifies, under a large Trump-shaped shadow
11 Nov 2016
Australia has announced that it is to ratify the Paris climate agreement, which entered into force last Friday.
Aust industry finally sees potential in wind and solar
9 Nov 2016
It has taken years of fierce resistance and catastrophising about the supposed cost and economic impacts from the shift from fossil fuels, but it seems that Australian industry is finally waking up to the possibilities of wind and solar.
Australian unions call for 'just transition' from coal
8 Nov 2016
Australian unions have thrown their weight behind a transition away from coal-generated electricity, calling for a new statutory authority to manage a “just transition”, supporting workers and communities that rely on fossil fuel-related jobs.
PHEW! Australia is getting hotter and dryer
28 Oct 2016
Australia is heating up and drying out as the country experiences more extreme and prolonged heat events, according to a new report.
Coal seam gas emissions Australia’s new carbon bomb
27 Oct 2016
Australia could be underestimating its annual greenhouse gas emissions by an amount equivalent to the output of the nation’s entire transport sector, a new report says.
Coal won’t solve poverty, but it might save PM's career
27 Oct 2016
As the world’s carbon emissions passed a critical threshold, and Australia’s Coalition government re-boots plans to limit the activities of environmental activists, another new study has been released that demolishes claims by fossil fuel proponents that coal will end poverty.
Divestment not the best approach, says AMP
19 Oct 2016
One of Australia's biggest investment companies, AMP Capital, says dumping fossil fuel assets is not the answer to climate change, despite acknowledging the significant financial risks associated with rising global temperatures.
Why poorer suburbs are more at risk in warming cities
18 Oct 2016
Australian cities are getting hotter. But some areas and some residents of cities are more exposed to heat than others.
Australian to head Green Climate Fund
14 Oct 2016
The job of steering the world’s major climate finance fund through its troubled toddler phase has been given to an Australian.
The best idea is not to put up new buildings
14 Oct 2016
Making heritage buildings sustainable is just as important as preserving their history – and they can offer energy-efficiency lessons of their own.
What do you think you're doing, UN asks Australia
13 Oct 2016
Australia is facing renewed international pressure to explain what it is doing to tackle climate change, with a UN review finding its emissions continue to soar and several countries calling for clarity about what it will do after 2020.
State lays out cost-neutral path to renewables
13 Oct 2016
The panel appointed by the Queensland government to canvass options for its renewable energy target has outlined three cost-neutral pathways for the state to achieve 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030.
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.
