International: Australia
Half Australia’s oceans to be protected - more than any other country
11 Oct 2024
Little-known Australian islands that teem with emperor penguins and elephant seals, and have the country’s only two active volcanoes, will be protected with an additional 300,000 square kilometres of marine park.
Coalmines and gasfields may be emitting twice as much methane as declared, report warns
11 Oct 2024
Australia’s coalmines and gasfields may be emitting twice as much methane as they currently declare, underscoring the need to introduce independent reporting of the potent greenhouse gas, an energy thinktank has warned.
Australia suffers setback in green hydrogen race
10 Oct 2024
Australia’s bid to become a global hydrogen superpower has been dealt a blow, with the nation’s biggest energy utility pulling out of building a large-scale green hydrogen hub despite the project being shortlisted for a share of $2 billion of funding from the Albanese government.
Australian Security Leaders Climate Group calls on federal govt to overhaul climate threat preparedness
9 Oct 2024
The danger of climate change has led to calls for a radical overhaul of how the federal government is planning to manage climate threats.
Our leaders are collaborating with fossil fuel colonialists
4 Oct 2024
By Tim Winton | COMMENT: The lassitude that distinguishes our moment is born of sorrow and buried rage. We act like colonial subjects because, in effect, that’s what we are
Australia’s ‘immoral’ coalmine decision akin to drowning its Pacific neighbours, Tuvalu’s climate minister declares
1 Oct 2024
Tuvalu’s climate minister says Australia’s decision to approve three coalmine expansions calls into question its claim to be a “member of the Pacific family”, and undermines the Australian case to co-host the 2026 UN climate summit with island nations.
Define ‘tree’: The fight over Woolworths’ eco-beef pledge
27 Sep 2024
Woolworths’ ban on beef reared on deforested land has prompted Australian farmers to campaign for rules to define the practice that would allow them to chop down trees as part of their land management.
Not enough demand: Big batteries in Aus may be told to stand by on empty to avoid rooftop solar switch-off
26 Sep 2024
The Australian Energy Market Operator is poised to introduce a significant shift in operating protocols that would involve instructing big batteries to stand by on empty to help address periods of extremely low or even negative operating demand.
'Why are carbon offsets not dead yet?'
26 Sep 2024
Journalist and environmental activist George Monbiot discusses neoliberalism, nature, and negative consequences with the Australia Institute's Climate and Energy program director.
New book exposes just how long, and hard, the fossil fuel industry has worked to advance its interests
25 Sep 2024
As freelance journalist Royce Kurmelovs points out in his new book Slick: Australia’s Toxic Relationship with Big Oil, most people underestimate just how far in advance the fossil fuel industry plans not only its new projects, but its PR and lobbying efforts, as well.
Climate change threatens Australian tourism more than is widely believed. Here’s why
23 Sep 2024
Right now, Australia is one of the top five tourist destinations in the world, a distinction the World Economic Forum says it shares with only the United States, France, Spain and Japan.
Cop31 is a chance for Australia to go from climate laggard to global leader
20 Sep 2024
OPINION: Australia’s bid to co-host the UN’s climate conference is not just a diplomatic event; it is a pivotal opportunity to redefine the nation’s role in the global fight against climate change.
Almost 68% of Australia’s tourism sites at major risk if climate crisis continues, report says
13 Sep 2024
Uluru, the Daintree and Bondi beach among locations that could be impacted if planet hits even 2C of warming by 2050.
Australian city stands to receive $200m economic boost if bid to co-host UN climate talks succeeds
12 Sep 2024
Australia and Pacific countries are vying with Türkiye to host the annual United Nations climate change talks in 2026.
Australia may delay release of 2035 climate target as world awaits outcome of US election
6 Sep 2024
Experts urge Australia not to delay target too long as report by Climate Change Authority identifies six barriers to net zero.
How climate change accelerated Australia's spring winds
4 Sep 2024
Strong winds in eastern Australia this week are being driven by climate change interfering with jet streams, the powerful high-altitude winds that encircle the globe.
Australian homeowners struggling to afford insurance as climate risks grow, report says
28 Aug 2024
Home insurance is becoming unaffordable for a growing number of Australian households as increased climate threats drive up their premiums.
Australia passes landmark bill mandating climate risk disclosures for companies
26 Aug 2024
New reporting standards require climate resilience assessments under both 1.5°C and 2.5°C warming scenarios.
Summer heat arrives in August, threatening to break all-time Australian winter temperature records
26 Aug 2024
Extraordinary August heat is developing across Australia, causing temperatures to spike up to 16 degrees Celsius above average while threatening all-time seasonal records in multiple states.
Humans can work with nature to solve big environmental problems – but there’s no quick fix
21 Aug 2024
“Nature-based solutions” are gaining momentum in environmental policy, including in Australia.
‘Unacceptable’: Red flag for huge Australian gas project
6 Aug 2024
Australia's federal government could be forced into a potential choice between environmental protection and its commitment to long-term gas supply to Australia’s trading partners.
Tasmanian 'Eco-Milk' tests shoppers' thirst for climate-friendly dairy
26 Jul 2024
A small dairy in Tasmania is stocking supermarket shelves with what it says is the world's first branded milk produced by cows fed with a seaweed that makes them emit lower levels of environmentally damaging methane gas.
Climate activists have received months-long sentences. Are tougher laws eroding Australians’ right to protest?
23 Jul 2024
NSW enacts highest number of new laws among states, with climate protesters disproportionately affected, report finds.
Methane leaking out of old mining site in Dharawal National Park near Sydney that closed decades ago
23 Jul 2024
In the heart of what appears to be a pristine national park, a greenhouse gas is leaking out of an underground coal mine more than 30 years after it was last used.
Australian Super accused of greenwashing by investing funds from ethical option in coal, oil and gas industries
19 Jul 2024
Australia's largest super fund has invested money from its 'Socially Aware' option in the coal, oil and gas industries.
Gas giant Woodside buys grazing properties in southern NSW to offset carbon emissions
18 Jul 2024
Woodside has bought four sheep and cattle farms in NSW for $40 million to help offset emissions from oil and gas projects.
‘Knowledge keeps the fires burning’: how ancient Indigenous wisdom can transform our battle against climate change
15 Jul 2024
As climate change worsens, Indigenous peoples can offer valuable insights into sustainability and resilience, Australian researchers say.
Rising risks of climate disasters mean some Australian communities will need to move
9 Jul 2024
Many Australians live in areas increasingly exposed to climate change and associated extreme weather such as floods, fires, coastal erosion, cyclones and extreme heat.
Women 14 times more likely to die in natural disasters: Australian study
8 Jul 2024
Women faced increased rates of violence and homelessness after climate disasters in Australia, researchers say.
From 'carbon-based economies' to renewable energy hubs, regions face their future
5 Jul 2024
While a small coal mining town is facing thousands of job losses, a farming region is picturing renewable energy being generated on its fertile cropping land.
Australia’s ‘carbon budget’ may blow out by 40% under the coalition’s nuclear energy plan
3 Jul 2024
The Coalition’s pledge to build seven nuclear reactors, if elected, would represent a huge shift in energy policy for Australia.
Fossil fuel giant uses new tactic to fight climate change movement
2 Jul 2024
Santos is trying an unusual new tactic to fight the climate movement by pursuing environmental groups who championed the court case of traditional owners opposing the Barossa gas project
Renewables and storage to replace coal, as Australia urged to go faster
1 Jul 2024
The Australian Energy Market Operator has confirmed that a combination of renewables and storage, backed by significant investments in transmission upgrades, remains the cheapest and smartest course.
Former NSW treasurer appointed head of Australia's Climate Change Authority
25 Jun 2024
Former NSW treasurer and energy and environment minister Matt Kean has been appointed to lead the Climate Change Authority, less than a week after announcing his resignation from state politics.
Only 60% of Australians accept climate disruption is human-caused, global poll finds
25 Jun 2024
Exclusive: French survey of 26 countries finds fewer Australians than global average agree that climate change is the greatest health threat facing humanity.
Telstra ditches carbon credits to push harder on direct emissions
24 Jun 2024
Australia's telco giant is dumping its carbon credit offset scheme and claims its plans are “carbon neutral” or “carbon offset”, instead moving to a direct-investment model.
Australia’s foreign affairs minister warns dropping 2030 climate targets would abandon Pacific nations
18 Jun 2024
Foreign Affairs Minister labels the Coalition's decision to rule out setting a 2030 climate target as a move that will increase energy bills and risk further Chinese influence in the Pacific.
The anti-windfarm 'odd couple' joining forces to fight the renewable energy projects Australia's already failing to build
13 Jun 2024
Deep in coal country, a lifelong environmentalist and one-time Greens candidate is feeling the applause.
Australia’s leader says opposition will renege on greenhouse gas emissions target if elected
11 Jun 2024
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday said the opposition Liberal Party would renege on the nation’s ambitious target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 if it wins elections due within a year.
This week in Australia energy and climate collided; it’s a global story
28 May 2024
The announcement that the NSW government would extend the life of Australia’s biggest coal-fired power station was neither a surprise to energy observers in this country nor unique in a world struggling to at once battle climate change and keep pace with soaring energy demand.
More desalination is coming to Australia’s driest states – but super-salty outflows could trash ecosystems and fisheries
15 May 2024
From around 1996 to 2010, Australia was gripped by the millennium drought and as water shortages bit hard, most capital cities built large seawater desalination plants.
Australia’s PM faces internal revolt from inner-city Labor MPs over gas strategy
14 May 2024
Resources minister Madeleine King released party’s future gas strategy, which says new sources will be needed ‘to 2050 and beyond’.
Climate risks ignored in National Defence Strategy, Australian former defence chief says
6 May 2024
A former chief of Australia's defence force says the federal government has failed to understand the risk climate change poses to the nation's security.
Torres Strait Islanders in landmark Australian federal court case
1 May 2024
Uncle Paul Kabai and Pabai Pabai are suing the Australian government for "failing its duty of care" to protect their ancestral lands from the impacts of climate change.
Australia could reach an ‘ambitious’ emissions cut of up to 75% by 2035, advisers tell Labor
17 Apr 2024
Climate Change Authority says goal could be achievable if more action is taken by governments, business, investors and households.
Scientists warn Australians to prepare for megadroughts lasting more than 20 years
5 Apr 2024
New research shows megadroughts lasting up to 20 years or more have occurred in Australia in the past and could happen again.
Australia’s carbon credits system a failure on global scale, study finds
28 Mar 2024
Researchers find carbon offsets approach, which is supposed to regenerate scrubby outback forests, was not reducing emissions as promised.
Australia's New Vehicle Efficiency Standard weakened
27 Mar 2024
The Australian government will loosen fuel economy standards for utes and vans in its proposed climate laws for cars.
Climate-conscious investors put nuclear dead last on list of desirable Australian ventures
26 Mar 2024
Nuclear energy ranks last on the list of climate technologies that big institutional investors want exposure to, according to a survey of climate conscious investors with $37tn under management.
A role for nuclear in Australia’s climate response?
7 Mar 2024
In the facts-lite political debate, the opportunities and comparative advantages of solar are being sidelined.
Climate scientists and republican lawyers are taking aim at Big Tech’s emissions
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Technology companies have long been one of the biggest investors in clean energy, but new accounting rules could upend that.
In China, climate litigation starts with the state
Thu 16 Oct 2025
With thousands of dedicated courts and more than a million recent cases, environmental and climate litigation is booming in China, but it often looks different to the trend seen elsewhere.
'Not up for discussion': Brussels rejects Washington's pressure on climate rules
Mon 13 Oct 2025
In response to US demands to roll back the EU's environmental legislation, the European Commission defended its autonomous power to adopt laws.
Government told to prepare for 2C warming by 2050
Thu 16 Oct 2025
The UK should be prepared to cope with weather extremes as a result of at least 2C of global warming by 2050, independent climate advisers have said.
Renewables are a global economic engine, not a culture war threat
2 Oct 2025
Energy companies are learning this lesson faster than Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
Indonesia restarts international carbon trade after four years
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto has issued a new decree to restart international carbon emission trading after a four year hiatus.
Familiar tensions emerge at the Pacific Islands Forum
26 Sep 2025
With China-Taiwan rivalry, China-Western competition, and big carbon emitters at odds with the islands on climate policy, there is plenty of tension to go around.
Scientists discovered something alarming seeping out from beneath the ocean around Antarctica
Mon 13 Oct 2025
Planet-heating methane is escaping from cracks in the Antarctic seabed as the region warms, with new seeps being discovered at an “astonishing rate".
Angola lowers climate ambition in blow to spirit of Paris Agreement
Tue 14 Oct 2025
Angola has scaled back its targets for reducing emissions in its new national climate plan, saying it chose “realism and implementability” over the Paris Agreement's calls for governments to set progressively more ambitious goals.
Four Brazilians to watch at COP30
Wed 15 Oct 2025
Influential Brazilians, from government figures to Indigenous activists, will take center stage during UN climate talks in the Amazon next month.
UN agency says CO2 levels hit record high last year, causing more extreme weather
Fri 17 Oct 2025
Heat-trapping carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere jumped by the highest amount on record last year, soaring to a level not seen in human civilisation and “turbo-charging” the Earth’s climate and causing more extreme weather.
