International: United States
Sanders unveils $16 trillion Green New Deal
23 Aug 2019
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has unveiled a $16.3 trillion plan for a Green New Deal, giving shape to a massive programme to overhaul the nation's economy and eliminate fossil fuel use by mid-century.
Clean-energy jobs lead the way in California
22 Aug 2019
Clean energy jobs in California now outnumber jobs in the fossil fuel industry five to one, a new study has found.
Scientists get a rough ride in Trump's America
22 Aug 2019
When the news is bad, punish the messenger, as in today’s United States it’s increasingly the case that politics tops science.
Green groups challenge US ban on scientists
19 Aug 2019
US Environmental groups have appealed a court decision in their attempt to end the Environmental Protection Agency’s policy of excluding certain scientists from serving on its advisory boards.
Biden vows net-zero farming emissions
23 Jul 2019
Joe Biden, frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for US president, has one of the more ambitious rural climate-related goals ... but could his plan actually achieve net-zero emissions?
US on path to extreme heat, warn scientists
22 Jul 2019
Widespread increases in extreme heat due to climate change could bring unprecedented risks to the US in coming decades, a new study has warned.
Alaska swelters in record temperatures
11 Jul 2019
Alaska, part of which lies inside the Arctic Circle, is sweltering under a heatwave, with record temperatures recorded.
US mayors pressure Congress on carbon pricing,
4 Jul 2019
The mayors of hundreds of US cities have called on Congress to pass legislation to put a price on carbon emissions.
Behind the Oregon walkout lies a sordid story
3 Jul 2019
For a brief moment, the standoff in Oregon over climate change legislation seemed like an amusing bit of Wild West political theatre.
US makes renewable energy breakthrough
28 Jun 2019
The US in April generated more electricity from renewable sources than coal for the first time,, new federal government data has shown.
Your coverage unacceptable, climate protesters tell media
26 Jun 2019
More than 70 protesters have been arrested outside the New York Times building as they called for more effective media coverage of the dangers of climate change.
Trump buries studies showing dangers to food supply
25 Jun 2019
The Trump administration has stopped promoting US government-funded research into how higher temperatures can damage crops and pose health risks.
Gas-guzzling US military one of the world's biggest emitters
24 Jun 2019
Scientists have identified the US military as one of the world’s great emitters of greenhouse gases, an agency which buys as much fuel as Portugal or Peru and emits more carbon dioxide than all of Romania.
US seawalls come with $416 billion price tag
21 Jun 2019
Defending against rising seas could cost US communities $416 billion in the next 20 years, according to a new report.
New York approves ambitious climate plan
20 Jun 2019
New York politicians have reached a deal to create one of the most ambitious climate bills in the US, putting the progressive state on the front lines of fight over the environment.
Floridians set record for underwater cleanup
20 Jun 2019
The Florida city of Deerfield has put 633 divers into the water in what it claims is the world’s largest underwater clean-up.
Bloomberg mission is to close all US coal plants
11 Jun 2019
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has a new $500 million mission - to close every coal plant in the US by 2030.
Trump disses climate change after meeting Charles
10 Jun 2019
US President Donald Trump dismissed climate change as “a change in weather” just hours after holding talks on the issue with Prince Charles.
Lawmakers want to pay homeowners for bee gardens
6 Jun 2019
Minnesota aims to offer financial support to homeowners who want to transform their yards into bee-friendly gardens.
Florida creates office to take on climate crisis
31 May 2019
To say Dr Tom Frazer faces a daunting workload as he begins his new job as Florida’s first chief science officer would be an underestimation.
Amazon staff demand Bezos act on climate crisis
28 May 2019
Amazon chief Jeff Bezos has refused to address employees demanding the company take action on the climate crisis.
Louisiana readies for resilience ... and retreat
22 May 2019
Louisiana has issued a blueprint for coping with the impacts of a warming planet, including a human migration that has already begun.
New York aims to create green union jobs
20 May 2019
Efforts to build offshore wind turbines to power up to sx million homes will create more than 10,000 jobs under Climate Jobs New York's plan.
California bans pesticide linked to brain damage
20 May 2019
California has banned a pesticide that has been proven to cause brain damage in children.
Clean up or pay up, New York warns Trump over buildings
16 May 2019
US President Donald Trump faces fines of more than $2 million a year unless he reduces carbon emissions from his New York buildings.
States fight rollback of Obama lightbulb rules
16 May 2019
US States are preparing to fight back as the Trump administration moves to erase Obama-era standards for lightbulbs.
Washington commits to 100% clean energy
13 May 2019
Washington has committed 100 per cent clean energy sources by 2045 - and six other US states are expected to follow suit.
Renewables pass coal in US for first time
8 May 2019
Renewable energy in April surpassed coal generation in the United States for the first time since records began.
Los Angeles reveals its own Green New Deal
1 May 2019
Mayor Eric Garcetti has unveiled a sweeping plan for a more sustainable Los Angeles, calling for dramatic changes to the car culture, buildings and air quality of America’s second-largest city.
New York sets ambitious climate rules
23 Apr 2019
New York City has set an ambitious new standard for combating greenhouse gas emissions, approving a package of climate policies designed to slash energy use in big buildings.
Worried property dealers size up climate threat
12 Apr 2019
Big real estate firms are pouring resources into calculating climate risk and its likely effect on property portfolios — everything from increasingly extreme weather to sea-level rise.
DC dawdles, so powerco chiefs go for green
10 Apr 2019
Patti Poppe used to drive around with an "I Love Coal" bumper sticker, but now the CEO of Michigan-based CMS Energy Corp. is eager to talk about phasing out the fossil fuel.
New York to make drivers pay for pollution
5 Apr 2019
New York is set to become the first US city to charge drivers a fee for releasing planet-warming pollution from their cars.
Judge blocks Trump's Arctic drilling plans
2 Apr 2019
A judge's ruling restores former president Barack Obama’s orders putting large parts of the Arctic off-limits to offshore drilling and throws Donald Trump’s oil and gas lease sale plans into question.
Corporate giants join green-energy alliance
1 Apr 2019
Hundreds of US corporate companies have joined together for a renewable-energy alliance.
Senate defeats Green New Deal proposal
28 Mar 2019
The US Senate has defeated a motion to take up the Green New Deal, the non-binding proposal spearheaded by progressive Democratic lawmakers.
Fossil fuel now costs more, says study
28 Mar 2019
Around three-quarters of US coal production is now more expensive than solar and wind energy in providing electricity to American households, according to a new study.
US judge halts hundreds of drilling projects
22 Mar 2019
In the first significant check on the Trump administration’s “energy-first” agenda, a US judge has temporarily halted hundreds of drilling projects for failing to take climate change into account.
Most US produce has pesticide residues - even after washing
22 Mar 2019
About 70 per cent of fresh produce sold in the US has pesticide residues on it even after it is washed, according to a health advocacy group.
America cares about climate change again
20 Mar 2019
For the first time in years, a broad spectrum of US climate advocates is going on the offensive.
We'll just make Manhattan bigger, says New York
19 Mar 2019
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio wants to protect Manhattan from climate change by expanding the island’s southern shore to keep rising seas at bay.
Trump budget slashes clean energy spending - again
13 Mar 2019
The Trump administration's latest budget proposal would radically reduce new spending on federal programs for advancing clean energy.
How America’s food giants swallowed the family farms
11 Mar 2019
Across the US midwest, the rise of factory farming is destroying rural communities. And the massive corporations behind this devastation are now eyeing a post-Brexit UK market.
How Trump rollbacks hurt health and emissions
7 Mar 2019
The Trump administration's efforts to undo rules aimed at reducing greenhouse gases would lead to a rise in annual emissions and to thousands more American deaths, says a new report.
Ex-coal industry lobbyist new EPA chief
7 Mar 2019
Former US coal industry lobbyist Andrew Wheeler is taking over the reigns as the new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Carbon tax v Green New Deal battle has begun
5 Mar 2019
For the first time, US lawmakers face competing approaches to reviving climate action. And despite hostility from the White House, each approach has significant support and the potential to shape the 2020 elections.
Green New Deal is already changing the climate debate
4 Mar 2019
What a splendid irony it would be if the enduring legacy of Donald Trump’s presidency was the Green New Deal – a radical, government-directed plan to transition the US to a socially just society with a zero-carbon economy.
Coastal flooding erasing billions in property values
1 Mar 2019
Rising seas have eroded coastal property values from Maine to Mississippi by billions of dollars as buyers pay less for homes in neighborhoods where high-tide flooding is creeping in.
Plastics the new coal in Appalachia
27 Feb 2019
Thousands of workers are assembling an ethane cracker plant in the Ohio River Valley - conspicuous symbol of a petrochemical and plastics future looming across the Appalachian region.
US cities will see their climate heading south
22 Feb 2019
Climate change means a big shift for city dwellers worldwide. Americans can look ahead to very different cities as the US climate heads south.
“Dirty and expensive:” City of Sydney bans gas as it votes to electrify all new big buildings
Thu 6 Nov 2025
The City of Sydney has followed the example of the ACT and Victoria governments and voted unanimously to require all newly built residential buildings, medium to large commercial buildings, hotels, and serviced apartment buildings, to be all-electric.
Why climate change now threatens China’s future
Tue 4 Nov 2025
Extreme weather is hurting its economy and worrying its leaders.
EU ministers agree to 90% emissions reduction target
Today 11:45am
European environment ministers have reached an agreement on a contentious plan to cut the bloc's greenhouse gas emissions but with caveats.
How climate change worsens heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and floods
Thu 6 Nov 2025
Many extreme weather events are becoming more common and more intense around the world, fuelled by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels.
Canada could eliminate oil and gas emissions cap, budget plan says
Thu 6 Nov 2025
Canada could scrap a cap on oil and gas emissions in favor of other measures like strengthened industrial carbon pricing and the deployment of carbon capture and storage technology, the government said in a budget plan unveiled on Tuesday.
From mapping high-risk areas to building ‘sponge cities’: How Vietnam is adapting to climate extremes
Thu 6 Nov 2025
Vietnam is rethinking how it copes with floods after a year of relentless storms has collapsed hillsides and turned streets into rivers.
Mystery heatwave warms Pacific Ocean to new record
21 Oct 2025
The waters of the north Pacific have had their warmest summer on record, according to BBC analysis of a mysterious marine heatwave that has confounded climate scientists.
Scientists discovered something alarming seeping out from beneath the ocean around Antarctica
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".
Nigerian billionaire plans expansion of Africa’s biggest oil refinery
31 Oct 2025
The billionaire owner of Africa’s largest refinery plans to expand its capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day to meet growing fuel needs in the continent and beyond.
Brazil’s Lula puts forward new vision for protecting the Amazon rainforest
Today 11:45am
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva put forward his vision for how the Amazon rainforest should be protected, a future that didn’t depend on donations from wealthy nations and large philanthropies but instead included a major fund that paid countries to keep forests standing.
UN chief scolds nations for failing climate goals ahead of COP30 summit
Today 11:45am
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres tore into nations for their failure to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as Brazil hosted world leaders for a summit ahead of the COP30 climate conference in the rainforest city of Belem.
