International: Australia
Good news on climate change? Australia's Great Barrier Reef has healthiest coral in 36 years
8 Aug 2022
Australian Institute of Marine Science says results in north and central regions are a sign the reef could still recover, but loss elsewhere highlights risks
New 2030 climate target has Australian scientists excited
27 Jul 2022
Australia’s Chief Scientist has challenged the science and business community to figure out how to reach Australia’s new climate target.
Australia’s three richest men are spending their billions on green energy transition
26 Jul 2022
The surprise bid for renewables and storage developer Genex Power announced on Monday morning by billionaire Scott Farquhar and his wife Kim Jackson tells two interesting stories about Australia’s green energy transition.
Australia leads world in green hydrogen hype and hope, but not in actual projects
22 Jul 2022
Australia, you will read almost anywhere, aims to be a global renewable energy superpower, even a renewable hydrogen superpower – in much the same way it does in fossil fuels, where it is one of the world’s three biggest exporters.
Octopus launches $10 billion renewables platform, buys Australia’s biggest solar farm
21 Jul 2022
Octopus Investment Australia has officially launched its new $10 billion renewables “platform”, that will seek to finance big solar, wind and battery storage projects and has already bought the biggest operating solar farm in Australia.
Australia's environment in 'shocking' decline, report finds
21 Jul 2022
Australia's environment is in a shocking state and faces further decline from amplifying threats, according to an anticipated report.
How Canberra avoided the global energy crisis
20 Jul 2022
The “Canberra bubble” is something of a derisive term in Australia, referring to the niche interests of politicians, lobbyists and media insiders in the country’s capital — the equivalent of being entrenched “inside the Beltway” of Washington D.C.
Chevron to lay out millions for more credits to cover another Gorgon carbon capture shortfall
18 Jul 2022
Chevron faces a renewed multimillion-dollar buy-up of carbon credits to cover another shortfall by the world’s biggest carbon capture and storage scheme at the Gorgon LNG project off northern WA.
Integrated wind and solar still cheapest, and green hydrogen costs falling fast: CSIRO
12 Jul 2022
Australia’s main scientific body and the country’s energy market operator have again underlined the fact that “integrated” wind and solar – including the cost of storage and transmission – is still by far the cheapest source of new electricity generation in Australia.
Industry calls on Aussie government to support household batteries
6 Jul 2022
Another emerging player in Australia’s energy market has called on energy regulators to ditch plans for a capacity mechanism, arguing that installing more energy storage capacity would be a better way to solve the current crisis facing electricity markets.
Review of Australia’s carbon credit units announced
5 Jul 2022
The Australian government has announced the appointment of an independent panel (Panel) to review the integrity of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs).
Sydney is flooded, again, as climate crisis becomes new normal for Australia's most populous state
5 Jul 2022
On a fine day, locals arrive on boats that motor up the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales to dine on the back deck of the Paradise Café.
Australia prioritizes reducing emissions and cheaper EVs
4 Jul 2022
Australia’s new government is putting climate change at the top of its legislative agenda when Parliament sits next month for the first time since the May 21 election, with bills to enshrine a cut in greenhouse gas emissions and make electric cars cheaper
Rooftop solar and household batteries to take centre stage in Australia's rapid energy transition
1 Jul 2022
The solar and storage resources of Australian households and businesses will have the capacity to meet nearly one-fifth of national electricity market demand by 2050, and rooftop solar alone could provide twice as much generation as coal in a decade.
Australia reconsiders methane emissions cut pledge
30 Jun 2022
The Labor-led Australian federal government, which was elected last month, said it was looking at joining the global methane pledge that seeks a collective 30% cut in methane emissions by 2030 relative to 2020 levels. The previous conservative coalition government rejected the pledge when it was unveiled last year.
Sun Cable clears new hurdle for world’s biggest solar and battery project
27 Jun 2022
Sun Cable’s Australia-Asia PowerLink, the massive solar and battery project backed by Australia’s two richest men, Andrew Forrest and Mike Cannon-Brookes, has cleared another important hurdle with a ringing endorsement of its economic merits from Infrastructure Australia
Methane-spewing coal mines are climate test for Australia's new leader: report
21 Jun 2022
Australia's coal mines cause more planetary warming in a typical year than emissions from all of the country's cars.
Heavy industries in Australia’s regions could cut emissions by 80% and create a jobs bonanza: report
20 Jun 2022
The regional powerhouses of Australia’s industrial economy could slash their greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80% and become centres for multibillion-dollar investments in renewable energy, according to a report backed by some of the country’s biggest companies.
Albanese locks in Australia’s higher 2030 emissions reduction target
17 Jun 2022
Prime minister Anthony Albanese has formally committed Australia to a stronger 2030 emissions reduction target, to cut emissions by 43 per cent by the end of the decade.
BP takes major position in one of world’s biggest green hydrogen hubs in Pilbara
16 Jun 2022
Oil giant BP has taken a 40.5% stake in the $30 billion Australian Renewable Energy Hub in the Pilbara, one of the biggest renewable and green hydrogen projects in the world.
Tasmania's native forest logging sector the state's highest carbon emitting industry: report
15 Jun 2022
Based in Tasmania's Derwent Valley, Fiona Weaver's adventure tourism business trades on the reputation of Tasmania's pristine wilderness.
Gas industry regulator sued by Tiwi Islands traditional owners over Barossa gas project approvals
9 Jun 2022
First Nations traditional owners have launched a Federal Court challenge to Santos’ plans to drill for gas off the coast of the Northern Territory, arguing approvals granted to the Barossa project are invalid because the oil and gas giant never consulted with the group.
Using Indigenous knowledge and Western science to address climate change impacts
9 Jun 2022
Traditional Owners in Australia are the creators of millennia worth of traditional ecological knowledge—an understanding of how to live amid changing environmental conditions. Seasonal calendars are one of the forms of this knowledge best known by non-Indigenous Australians. But as the climate changes, these calendars are being disrupted.
Researchers push for carbon credit payments for Australian farmers who fence their dams
8 Jun 2022
Scientists are lobbying for farmers to be financially rewarded in the form of carbon credits for cleaning up their dams.
$1m community battery unveiled in Melbourne in move towards more renewable energy
7 Jun 2022
A battery the size of four fridges installed in Melbourne's inner north is expected to provide solar power to about 200 homes in a push to get more renewable energy into the network.
“Golden age of renewables” hailed at official launch of Australia’s biggest wind project
3 Jun 2022
Spanish energy giant Acciona Energía has hailed a “golden age of renewables” at the official launch event for the start of construction at Australia’s biggest wind farm to date – the 1.026GW MacIntyre project in Queensland.
Anthony Albanese to create climate super-department in bureaucratic shake-up
2 Jun 2022
Anthony Albanese will create a new mega-department of climate change, energy, environment and water to drive the new Labor government’s policy agenda.
Watchdogs tackle the murky world of greenwash
31 May 2022
From dubious claims about bamboo-based products to climate funds that are not quite what they seem, regulators have been increasing their scrutiny of corporate claims to be green.
Climate change was the defining issue of Australian election. So what will more ambitious action look like?
27 May 2022
Despite Labor and the Coalition being conspicuously quiet about climate change during the campaign, it was in many ways the defining issue of this historic change of government.
“Under-prepared on all fronts:” Australian renewables exposed to supply and cost crunch
25 May 2022
Despite a federal election result that promises a new era of political support for the Australian renewable energy industry, a major report warns of a tough road ahead for a market still feeling the effects of supply-chain “long Covid.”
Fossil fuel industry loses its grip over Australia’s climate and energy policies
24 May 2022
Australia has a new Labor government and a significant climate-focused cross bench, and it might just mark the beginning of the end of an almost decade-long grip the fossil fuel industry has held over national climate change and energy policy.
Australian climate election leaves Liberal Party demolished in the capital cities
23 May 2022
Australians have voted overwhelmingly for stronger action on climate change, with stunning results across the country for both teal independents and the Greens delivering a harsh rebuke to the Morrison government’s years of foot-dragging on emissions reduction.
Trees are dying much faster in northern Australia
20 May 2022
The rate of trees dying in the old-growth tropical forests of northern Australia each year has doubled since the 1980s, and researchers say climate change is probably to blame.
German giant targets Australian green hydrogen market with new base in Perth
18 May 2022
A German green hydrogen technology company behind 10GW of electrolyser capacity installed globally is setting up shop in Perth, to catch the wave of Australia’s emerging renewable hydrogen industry.
Australian carbon market splits as buyers pay more for “high integrity” units
17 May 2022
Australia’s carbon offset market is showing signs of splitting in two, analysts say, as buyers show they are willing to pay a premium for “higher integrity” offsets.
Australian election 2022: What the manifestos say on energy and climate change
17 May 2022
As Australians head to the polls on 21 May, voters face a decision that could have significant consequences for the nation’s efforts to cut emissions and transition its energy system.
Scientists rate Aussie political parties' climate policies
11 May 2022
You'd think the government and opposition would be keen to focus on the number-one issue for voters this election campaign. Yet if 2019 was the climate change election, 2022 is shaping up to be the don't-talk-about-climate-change election.
Winner of Australian election must fix carbon market: report
5 May 2022
The next federal government has been urged to review the carbon market as experts question the integrity of credits used by companies to balance their books on emissions.
One in 25 Australian homes could become uninsurable
4 May 2022
About one in 25 Australian homes are at high risk of becoming effectively uninsurable by 2030, according to a new Climate Council report based on analysis by a climate risk assessment group.
Tasmania goes net carbon negative by reducing logging
4 May 2022
Tasmania has become one of the first jurisdictions in the world to reduce their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and increase removals to become net carbon negative, according to new research from The Australian National University (ANU) and Griffith University.
Aussie climate change war erupts as MP declares net zero ‘dead’
27 Apr 2022
Australian prime minister Scott Morrison is facing divisions over climate change with Queensland senator Matt Canavan declaring net zero by 2050 is “dead”.
Now we know the flaws of carbon offsets, it’s time to get real about climate change
26 Apr 2022
Last month former Australian carbon market watchdog Andrew MacIntosh blew the whistle on Australia’s carbon offset market. He described the scheme as a “rort” with up to 80% of carbon offsets “markedly low in integrity”.
Transport emissions rose 12% in three months in Australia
22 Apr 2022
Transport emissions rose more than 12 per cent in the last three months of 2021 as lockdown restrictions eased across the country, while Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions decreased as renewable electricity generation continued to grow.
Climate wars enter Aussie election campaign
20 Apr 2022
If you thought Australia's infamous "climate wars" were staying out of the election campaign, think again.
This is Australia's climate change election
12 Apr 2022
It is not just the Pacific region angered by Prime Minister Morrison’s unchanged coal-loving stance. Next month, he will have to answer to the Australian electorate on this critical issue.
Australia plans to be a big green hydrogen exporter
5 Apr 2022
In its latest budget, the federal government has promised hundreds of millions of dollars to expand Australia’s green hydrogen capabilities.
Torres Strait First Nations' Waratah Coal fight to be heard by Queensland Land Court
4 Apr 2022
Thousands of kilometres away from the pomp and formality of Queensland's major court precinct, an historic hearing is set to take place on a tiny, remote island in the Torres Strait.
Aussie native tree planting projects can be stopped if 'adverse' to communities"
1 Apr 2022
Australia's Agriculture Minister will have the power to stop new carbon farming projects from next week.
Greens promise to re-introduce a carbon price in Australia
31 Mar 2022
The Australian Greens will push to bring back a price on carbon.
Australian carbon traders defend troubled offset market against whistleblower claims
29 Mar 2022
Australia’s biggest carbon traders have sought to defend Australia’s troubled carbon offset regime, following weeks of policy upheaval and claims from one of the scheme’s architects that most of Australia’s government-issued carbon offsets did not represent genuine emissions reductions.
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.
