International: Australia
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Australia’s big four banks have ruled out funding or withdrawn from Adani’s Queensland coal project, after Westpac said it would not back opening up new coalmining regions.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.
Beating the heat for apartment dwellers
11 Apr 2017
Heatwaves could be deadly for many Australian apartment dwellers if the grid fails, so architects are coming up with ways to manage temperatures passively.
Three Australian banks review exposure to fossil fuels
10 Apr 2017
Three of Australia’s big four banks are reviewing their exposure to fossil fuels, including their lending practices to households and farmers, in response to climate change.
Debbie shows up dangers of concentrated cropping
7 Apr 2017
The damage wrought by cyclone Debbie raises broader questions about the resilience of Australia’s fresh vegetable supply, much of which comes from a relatively small number of areas that are under pressure from climate and land use change.
Open letter urges Turnbull to deliver energy reforms
7 Apr 2017
Former Australian Liberal party leader John Hewson and sustainable energy entrepreneur Simon Holmes à Court are among the signatories to a new open letter urging Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to implement three urgent reforms to the energy market.
Memo Australia: There'll be many more Debbies
6 Apr 2017
Climate change will continue to amplify extreme weather events in Australia, including intense heavy rainfall and flooding, like that triggered by cyclone Debbie.
Australia in ‘disaster alley’ for climate refugees
5 Apr 2017
Australia could be on the frontline of a new wave of climate refugees displaced by extreme weather events, droughts and rising seas.
Australia looks at benefits of social impact investing
4 Apr 2017
Governments, communities and industries are grappling with issues such as climate change, inequality and social justice – and how to mobilise more funding to tackle these issues. One possible solution is impact investing.
South Australia gets billion-dollar solar farm
3 Apr 2017
A huge $1bn solar farm and battery project will be built and ready to operate in South Australia’s Riverland region by the end of the year.
Exit Hazelwood ... and the myth of cheap fossil fuels
31 Mar 2017
Australia's giant Hazelwood brown coal generator shut down the last of its eight units at 4pm yesterday, the latest and the most powerful symbol of the vast and rapid change in the nation's energy system.
Sydney looks at 2050 to be carbon neutral
30 Mar 2017
Sydney has a plan to be carbon-neutral by 2050.
Debbie could teach us a thing or two
30 Mar 2017
Despite knowing, approximately, where cyclones tend to occur, we've never thought about adjusting our cities to their effects.
Wildlife changing to keep up with climate
30 Mar 2017
Climate change is one of the greatest threats facing Australia’s wildlife, plants and ecosystems, a point driven home by two consecutive years of mass coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef.
BILL McKIBBEN: Adani mine is the line in the sand
28 Mar 2017
There is nowhere else on the planet right now where the dichotomy between two potential futures is playing out in such a dramatic and explosive way as Australia.
Australia to shut big-polluting power station
24 Mar 2017
Australia's most polluting power station, Hazelwood, is set to become the ninth coal-fired power station to close its doors, as the nation’s transition from fossil fuels to clean renewable energy continues.
Pressure mounts on Finkel to consider pricing carbon
20 Mar 2017
The Liberal New South Wales government, major energy users, manufacturers and businesses have urged the Finkel review of the electricity market to consider a price on carbon or a market mechanism.
Turnbull plan strikes at heart of fossil fuel industry
17 Mar 2017
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull wants to spend $2 billion on a hydro scheme that will potentially drive a stake through the heart of the country's fossil fuel generation industry.
Dump all fossil fuels, says Climate Council
14 Mar 2017
Australia’s Climate Council has called for a rapid move away from all fossil-fuelled power sources to reduce the nation’s rising carbon emissions and to protect against worsening extreme weather.
Anxious investors want to see price on carbon
13 Mar 2017
Australia should put a price on carbon or risk investors moving their money out of the country, says a group representing more than $1 trillion worth of investment in New Zealand and Australia.
Climate Institute runs out of money
10 Mar 2017
Australia's Climate Institute will shut its doors after 12 years of providing independent advocacy and research towards climate change solutions, citing lack of funding.
Farmers call for market mechanism to lower emissions
8 Mar 2017
Australian farmers have called for a market-based mechanism to secure clean and affordable energy.
Australia's angry summer rewrites the record books
8 Mar 2017
Australians endured another intense summer, with more than 200 record-breaking extreme weather events driven by climate change, a new Climate Council report says.
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.
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.
