International: Australia
Canberra attacks Europe's carbon plans
16 Jul 2021
Australia's ruling Coalition lashed out yesterday at the European Union's proposed carbon border tariff as a new climate plan from Brussels added to growing international pressure on Canberra to do more to tackle climate change.
US urges Australia to act on climate change
5 Jul 2021
The top US diplomat in Australia has declared both countries need to set “more ambitious climate goals” and tackle the climate crisis “head on”, as international pressure mounts on the Morrison government to act.
Australia bottom of the climate change pack
2 Jul 2021
Australia has been ranked dead last for climate action in the latest Sustainable Development Report, which assesses the progress of countries towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Peatlands critical for climate
29 Jun 2021
GLOBAL peatlands store more carbon than is naturally present in the atmosphere but are under pressure from drainage-based agriculture.
Unesco: Great Barrier Reef 'in danger'
23 Jun 2021
Australia's government has lashed out after a United Nations report claimed it had not done enough to protect the Great Barrier Reef from climate change.
Top Aussie economists support EV subsidies
22 Jun 2021
THE CONVERSATION | Australia’s top economists overwhelmingly back government measures to speed the transition to electric cars in order to meet emission reduction targets.
Australian resource minister urges fossil industry to fight back
16 Jun 2021
Australia’s resources minister, Keith Pitt, is urging oil and gas producers to turn the “spotlight” on environmental groups campaigning against an expansion of the fossil fuel industry on climate change grounds.
Australia increasingly isolated on coal
15 Jun 2021
Australia has become even more isolated on climate change after the heads of the world's largest economies agreed to end government support for coal-fired power stations by the end of the year.
Australia backs carbon capture
9 Jun 2021
The Australian government picked six carbon capture, use and storage projects to receive a total of A$50 million ($39 million) in funds as it looks to accelerate development of the technology to cut emissions.
Tasmania has reached net-zero emissions
9 Jun 2021
Getting to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and 100% renewable energy might seem the end game for climate action. But what if, like Tasmania, you’ve already ticked both those goals off your list?
Climate change's $250k price tag for the young
2 Jun 2021
Climate change will cost a young Australian up to $245,000 over their lifetime, a landmark court case revealed.
Court finds Australian Government has responsibility to protect young from climate change
28 May 2021
The Federal Court of Australia has found the environment minister, Sussan Ley, has a duty of care to protect young people from the climate crisis in a judgment hailed by lawyers and teenagers who brought the case as a world first.
Most Australians want a ban on new coal mines
26 May 2021
More than six in ten Australians – 63% – support a ban on new coal mines opening in Australia, according to the Lowy Institute’s Climate Poll 2021.
Aussie scientists call for zero pollution target
18 May 2021
MEDIA RELEASE - A group of eminent scientists has urged Australian governments, Federal and State, to adopt a zero pollution target for air, water and land.
Cooking with gas bad for the planet and our health
18 May 2021
We've long known that cooking with gas is bad for the environment but a new Australian study has shown it could be as bad for child health as smoking in the home.
Boris tells Scott to step up his climate change game
17 May 2021
Boris Johnson urged Scott Morrison to sign up to net zero emissions by 2050 during a phone call held on the same day the British Prime Minister’s climate chief said it was time to “consign coal power to history”.
How climate change skepticism held a government captive
13 May 2021
In her new book, reporter Marian Wilkinson uncovers the network of politicians, business leaders and others who have wielded huge influence over Australia’s climate policy for more than two decades.
Investor Group on Climate Change outgoing CEO optimistic about the future
10 May 2021
The outgoing CEO of the Investor Group on Climate Change, Emma Herd, says she’s never felt more optimistic about the likelihood of the world successfully dealing with climate change.
A call to climate arms from two former Aussie PMs
21 Apr 2021
Two former prime ministers, Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull, write the world shouldn’t give up hope on Australia just yet
Time for Australia to stop bluffing on climate change
19 Apr 2021
Australia is like a firefighter holding a hose with one hand and a box of matches in another when it comes to climate change. And according to two Aussie academic, it's only going to get worse.
Outback doctors fleeing heat
14 Apr 2021
THE Northern Territory could lose one-third of its doctors because of the ever-increasing heat, according to a new study ringing alarm bells for all regional areas.
Aboriginals fight new coal mine
13 Apr 2021
With support from the Australian government, the Adani corporation is pushing ahead with an environmentally destructive coal mine in Queensland. But the traditional Aboriginal owners of the land, the Wangan and Jagalingou nation, are waging a determined fight to stop them.
NSW's big ugly coal problem
9 Apr 2021
On Wednesday this week, the New South Wales Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW, Industry and Trade John Barilaro stood next to a train packed with coal, hurtling past metres away as he espoused the benefits of coal mining (sadly, he failed to literally salute it, as he had promised in the tweet).
Carbon price is coming, one way or another
1 Apr 2021
Australia is about to get a carbon price, one way or another. Unfortunately, the process is shaping up to be much more economically damaging than it could have been, says Sydney Morning Herald senior economics writer Jessica Irvine.
Gigawatt-scale solar manufacturing plan
1 Apr 2021
The $26 billion, gigawatt-scale solar export plans of the Sun Cable consortium made important progress this week, with the lodgement of a development application for the first phase of a solar manufacturing and assembly facility in Darwin.
Australia can replace oil & gas with renewables - report
29 Mar 2021
Renewable energy and batteries can secure Australia’s electricity grid as effectively as coal and gas, new research suggests.
Gas-led recovery? Probably not, says AEMO
29 Mar 2021
The Australian Energy Market Operator says gas could disappear from that country's grid because it can't compete with renewables and green hydrogen.
Heavy rains in Australia's east bring worst floods in 50 years
22 Mar 2021
Heavy rains along Australia's east coast over the weekend have brought the worst flooding in half a century in some areas, authorities said on Sunday, forcing thousands to evacuate and damaging hundreds of houses.
Australia tells US it's moving to a 'new energy' economy
18 Mar 2021
Scott Morrison has reiterated his intention to reach net-zero emissions “as soon as possible and preferably by 2050”, and transition Australia to a “new energy economy”, in a conversation with Joe Biden’s special presidential envoy for climate, John Kerry.
Early shut for coal-fired power station
11 Mar 2021
Australia's third-largest power retailer EnergyAustralia will shut its ageing Yallourn coal-fired power station in 2028, four years earlier than previously flagged, stoking concern about electricity supply and price increases.
Aussie says as OECD boss he would be climate ambitious
10 Mar 2021
The former Australian finance minister vying to become the new head of the OECD said he would pursue an "ambitious" and "global" approach to help nations become carbon-neutral by 2050.
Climate change could put insurance out of reach
4 Mar 2021
Millions of Australians could be left uninsured as the effects of climate change put increasing pressure on the financial system, the industry’s regulatory body has warned.
Teens take their climate crisis plea to court
2 Mar 2021
Eight teenagers and an octogenarian nun are in Australian court today to launch what they hope will prove to be a landmark case – one that establishes the federal government’s duty of care in protecting future generations from a worsening climate crisis.
OPINION: Carbon tariffs are not about Australia
24 Feb 2021
Reports that Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, is considering calling for carbon border levies at the G7 summit to be held in London in June have produced a predictable reaction from the Australian government.
Gas networks eyeing hydrogen
23 Feb 2021
Australia's' natural gas pipeline owners are working to future-proof their $A75 billion in assets amid a global push towards clean energy, running tests to blend hydrogen with gas and produce green methane to replace the fossil fuel.
How can soil carbon cut Australia's emissions?
22 Feb 2021
The Australian Government is backing soil carbon – drawing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in the land – as a major part of its response to the climate crisis.
Sinking coal profits prompts rething at AGL
15 Feb 2021
Listed Australian energy company AGL says it will urgently rewrite its business strategy after rapid market change forced it to announce a massive loss in the December half, and as demand for home batteries, remote storage and electric vehicles is starting to “take off.”
Bank to stop lending to port over fossil fuels
10 Feb 2021
ANZ will stop lending money to Australia’s biggest coal port, the Port of Newcastle, after adopting new policies last year that prohibit it entering new finance deals for customers with significant exposure to the fossil fuel.
'Dangerous' push to leave farmers out of Aussie target
9 Feb 2021
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison might be warming to the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, but federal Nationals leader Michael McCormack has thrown a spanner in the works by suggesting agriculture be excluded from the target.
Australian carbon offset prices jump on surging corporate demand
5 Feb 2021
Prices for Australian carbon offset permits have pushed above $17, a new 12-month high, boosted by demand from corporate emitters looking to take advantage of lower prices as the push for stricter long-term emissions targets gains momentum.
EXPERTS: Australia must halve emissions by 2030
29 Jan 2021
Australia will effectively be abandoning the Paris agreement unless it makes at least a 50 per cent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and reaches net zero well before 2050, according to an analysis by policymakers and scientists.
Fuel industry leaders join Aussie emissions reduction panel
26 Jan 2021
Fossil-fuel industry leaders and a controversial economist have joined a committee responsible for ensuring the integrity of projects that get climate funding in Australia.
One-in-500,000 spring heat in Australia
10 Dec 2020
Australia’s hottest spring on record, which saw temperatures more than 2deg above average, would have been “virtually impossible” without human-caused climate change, new analysis has found.
Morrison yet to be granted speaking slot at weekend climate summit
8 Dec 2020
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison does not yet have a speaker’s spot at a global climate ambition summit this weekend, despite telling his parliament last week he intended to use an appearance at the event to “correct mistruths” about the government’s heavily criticised record on emissions reduction.
Australia endures hottest spring ever
2 Dec 2020
Australia has sweltered through its hottest spring and November on record, with both the season and the month more than 2deg warmer than the long-term average.
Severe fire danger for Australia as temperatures smash records
30 Nov 2020
Parts of Australia, including Sydney, have sweltered through the hottest November night on record with temperatures likely to stay high, prompting authorities to issue a total fire ban.
Big bosses join to beat climate change
27 Nov 2020
Australia’s top corporate leaders have met to discuss tackling climate change in line with the Paris Agreement as part of an environmental initiative backed by Richard Branson’s The B Team.
Blue Scope is going green
17 Nov 2020
Steel giant BlueScope has announced a $A20 million investment to expand Australian manufacturing of components used in wind and solar projects, as the company prepares to meet a surge in demand for wind and solar components.
NSW unveils $32bn renewable energy plan
10 Nov 2020
The New South Wales Government is promising a $32bn private investment boom in renewable energy in regional areas under a plan to transform the state’s electricity infrastructure.
Pension fund settles landmark climate lawsuit
3 Nov 2020
One of Australia's largest pension funds has agreed to settle a landmark climate risk litigation filed by a 25-year-old member who alleged it was failing to protect his retirement savings against climate change.
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.
