International: Australia
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.
You've got it wrong, new report tells Australia
22 Jun 2017
As Australia's Senate launches an inquiry into the national security ramifications of climate change, a new report has warned global warming will cause increasingly regular and severe humanitarian crises across the Asia-Pacific area.
Australia's climate policies poisoned by pragmatism
20 Jun 2017
A history of failure has left Australia with virtually no genuinely independent advice on climate change.
Miners in bidding war for Rio Tinto's coalmines
13 Jun 2017
A multibillion-dollar bidding war for most of Rio Tinto’s Australian coalmines has broken out between China-backed Yancoal and Glencore after the Swiss commodities company made an unexpected offer.
Finkel’s emissions target breaks Paris commitment
12 Jun 2017
Less than two weeks ago, Australia's chief scietist Alan Finkel told the Senate his landmark report would help the country meet the commitments it made in Paris to reduce its economy-wide emissions by 28 per cet below 2005 levels by 2030.
Shorten offers to end climate wars
9 Jun 2017
Australian Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has written to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull offering bipartisan co-operation on climate change policy, after a "decade of toxic politics" in the area.
Australia's carbon emissions show rise
9 Jun 2017
Australia’s carbon emissions jumped at the start of 2017, the first time they have risen in the first few months of a year for more than a decade.
Sydney measures emissions from harbour
8 Jun 2017
Carbon dioxide emissions from Sydney Harbour have been measured for the first time.
Adani gives green light to Carmichael mine
7 Jun 2017
Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has given the green light to the Carmichael mine and rail project, but it will still hinge on its Australian arm, Adani Mining, gaining bank backing for the contentious venture.
End of land clearing would slash emissions
2 Jun 2017
Ending land clearing in Australia by 2030 would cut greenhouse gas emissions by about as much as completely shifting the entire electricity sector to renewable energy for a year.
Australia has record-breaking year for renewables
1 Jun 2017
Renewable energy sources provided a record share of Australia’s power mix last year, due to record rainfall and the completion of new wind and solar projects.
Canberra gets serious about electric vehicles
1 Jun 2017
Businesses and policymakers have come together to stimulate Australia’s electric vehicle market, including the launch of a new national body, research grants, and private sector investment.
Australia vows to support Paris climate deal
30 May 2017
The Australian government will support the Paris agreement on climate change regardless of whether or not US president Donald Trump pulls out.
Australian farmers are adapting to climate change
25 May 2017
It has been a great year for Australian farmers, with record production, exports and profits.
How Adani could damage climate, health, tourism
22 May 2017
The Climate Council is warning of serious risks to the environment, public health and North Queensland tourism, if plans for Australia’s largest coal mine go ahead.
Why 2deg warming is worse for Australia than 1.5deg
17 May 2017
How will extreme weather events change Australia with more warming in the future? Will they become more frequent? Will they become more severe?
Australia’s biggest emitters opt to wait and see
16 May 2017
Many of Australia’s most carbon-intensive companies are either not participating in the federal government’s flagship Emissions Reduction Fund, or are adopting a wait-and-see approach.
Solar keeps farmers' beer cold out in the boondocks
16 May 2017
Along the remote southern coastline of Western Australia, the locals have cottoned on to a new, surefire way to keep their beer cold.
California could inspire Australia's energy future
12 May 2017
Australia could emulate California on climate change policy by bringing in improved energy and fuel efficiency standards to drive large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, a new report says.
Canberra axes climate research unit funding
12 May 2017
The Australian government has axed funding for the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, an agency that provides information on how best to manage the risks of climate change and sea level rise.
Young women bring new look to life down on the farm
12 May 2017
Women have long played a silent role in agriculture in Australia – now a new generation of female farmers is stepping forward.
Australia doesn't need Adani mine, says Westpac
11 May 2017
The Adani Carmichael coalmine is not needed to support the economy, the Westpac chief executive has said in defence of his bank’s decision not to finance the mine.
COOL IDEA: Sydney to spend $8m on trees
11 May 2017
Sydney City is planting $8 million worth of trees to try to keep the city cool.
COFFEE TO GO: Would you like sustainability with that?
11 May 2017
Our daily brew is creating an environmental disaster, but social enterprises are coming up with new ideas for cups, pods and coffee grinds.
Canberra swimming against the tide on Westpac call
4 May 2017
The Australian government’s strident criticism of Westpac for not financing the Adani Carmichael coal mine is out of step with the economics.
Solar could provide 30% of Australia’s power needs by 2030
4 May 2017
Solar photovoltaics could provide 30 per cent of Australia’s electricity needs by 2030.
Big banks distance themselves from Adani mine
1 May 2017
Australia’s big four banks have ruled out funding or withdrawn from Adani’s Queensland coal project, after Westpac said it would not back opening up new coalmining regions.
Households key to Australia’s energy transition
1 May 2017
Australia’s households and small businesses will play a critical role in the switch to 100 per cent renewable energy.
Turnbull tells Adani native title won't stop mine
13 Apr 2017
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has assured the Indian billionaire hoping to build Australia’s largest coal mine in Queensland that native title issues will not stop the $16 billion project.
Barrier bleaching could set back Queensland by $1b
13 Apr 2017
Queensland's economy and tourism sector could suffer a billion-dollar hit, if extreme coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef continues, says a new report.
California, Connecticut preparing 'attack' against Trump's repeal of basis of US climate regulation
Fri 20 Feb 2026
California and Connecticut are working together on a multi-state "plan of attack" against President Donald Trump's repeal of the foundation of federal climate regulation of vehicles, the states' attorneys general told Reuters on Tuesday.
As Trump retreats from climate goals, China is becoming a green superpower
Thu 19 Feb 2026
How the world's biggest carbon emitter is now at the helm of a renewables revolution.
EU countries back stronger price curbs on new carbon market
Fri 20 Feb 2026
European Union countries on Wednesday backed plans to strengthen price curbs in the bloc's upcoming carbon market, EU diplomats told Reuters, in response to concerns from some governments that the policy could raise fuel bills.
Britain strengthens ties with California as new clean energy and climate agreement signed
Thu 19 Feb 2026
Britain has forged a deeper alliance with California on clean energy and climate action, as Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new agreement aimed at boosting transatlantic investment and environmental protection.
Mark Carney just picked his lane on climate change
Tue 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.
Modi's rooftop solar push slowed by reluctant lenders, states
Thu 19 Feb 2026
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push to accelerate the rollout of rooftop solar power is falling short of targets despite heavy subsidies due to loan delays and limited support from state utilities, vendors and analysts say.
Pacific fisheries summit gives a boost to albacore and seabirds
19 Dec 2025
Much of the world’s albacore tuna catch, which usually ends up in a can, comes from the southwestern Pacific Ocean, where fishery managers just passed a new set of conservation rules.
Warming climate threatens Greenland's ancestral way of life
12 Feb 2026
The Arctic region is on the frontline of global warming, heating up four times faster than the rest of the planet since 1979, according to a 2022 study in scientific journal Nature, causing the sea ice to retreat.
Africa leads growth in solar energy as demand spreads beyond traditional markets, report says
Mon 16 Feb 2026
A report shows that Africa has emerged as the world's fastest-growing solar market even as global growth slowed last year, driven by a 60% surge in imports of solar panels from China.
Argentina fires ravage pristine Patagonia forests, fueling criticism of Milei’s austerity
4 Feb 2026
The wildfires, among the worst to hit the drought-stricken Patagonia region in decades, have devastated more than 45,000 hectares (174 square miles) of Argentina’s forests in the last month and a half, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists.
Why Trump might be onboard with a UN carbon-offset programme for airlines
12 Feb 2026
The president’s team has backed the rollout of an initiative that calls for the use of sustainable aviation fuel and carbon credits, even as Trump has pulled back from other international emissions-reduction efforts.
