International: United States
California's climate policies create economic boon
11 Aug 2017
California’s Inland Empire counties can thank the state's climate change programmes forma net benefit of $9.1 billion in direct economic activity and 41,000 jobs from 2010 through to 2016.
Court scuttles rule cutting potent greenhouse gas
11 Aug 2017
A federal appeals court in Washington has ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency has overstepped its authority in regulating HFCs under the Clean Air Act.
Scientists fear Trump will dismiss blunt climate report
10 Aug 2017
The average temperature in the United States has risen rapidly and drastically since 1980, and recent decades have been the warmest of the past 1500 years, according to a sweeping federal climate change report awaiting approval by the Trump administration.
Don't call it climate change, says US federal department
8 Aug 2017
Staff at the US Department of Agriculture have been told to avoid using the term climate change in their work.
Changing climate fuels Arizona’s monstrous monsoons
8 Aug 2017
Summer in Arizona and throughout the US southwest is monsoon season, which means a daily pattern of afternoon thunderstorms, flash floods, dramatic dust clouds and spectacular displays of lightning over the desert.
Hawaii wants hydrogen vehicles on road next year
7 Aug 2017
Hawaii has started the construction of its first public fuelling station for hydrogen vehicles, and aims to start selling hydrogen-fuelled cars next year.
Fears rise for future of US climate report
3 Aug 2017
A sweeping US government report on the state of climate-change science is nearing the finish line, but faces one big hurdle - final sign-off by top officials in President Donald Trump’s administration.
Meat industry gets blame for gulf 'dead zone'
3 Aug 2017
The global meat industry, already implicated in driving global warming and deforestation, has now been blamed for fueling what is expected to be the worst “dead zone” on record in the Gulf of Mexico.
Climate lab sits empty, waiting for its mighty machine
3 Aug 2017
Behind a locked door at a Colorado university, a laboratory sits dark and empty, like a dining room set for a guest who never arrived. In this case, the no-show is a $2 million, 12 tonne machine that is vital to addressing global warming.
Carbon-free city being built from scratch
31 Jul 2017
Can a city built from scratch be profitable to developers and enjoyable to residents as it tries to be carbon-free?
US powercos knew of climate threat decades ago
28 Jul 2017
The US electric industry knew as far back as 1968 that burning fossil fuels might cause global warming, but cast doubt on the science of climate change.
Climate science meets a stubborn obstacle: Students
28 Jul 2017
To Gwen Beatty, a junior at the high school in a proud, struggling, Trump-supporting town, the new science teacher’s lessons on climate change seemed explicitly designed to provoke her. So she provoked him back.
Exxon, Shell face action over US sea level rises
27 Jul 2017
As a trio of lawsuits in California claim compensation for sea rises resulting from fossil fuel emissions, campaigners say carbon majors must change their business models.
Rising seas spark tobacco-style lawsuits in California
21 Jul 2017
Several flood-prone municipalities in California filed first-of-their-kind lawsuits against fossil fuel companies this week as they attempt to recoup the cost of coping with rising seas.
California extends cap-and-trade to 2030
19 Jul 2017
California lawmakers have voted to extend the state's signature programme for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
GROW FOOD ON MARS: Los Angeles startups get inventive
19 Jul 2017
Geeks are inventing ways to keep Los Angeles cool with products and services that aim to avert environmental disaster – and make a profit.
Bloomberg and California launch climate action plan
18 Jul 2017
California Governor Jerry Brown and Michael Bloomberg have announced the launch of America’s Pledge, which will allow US states, cities and businesses to stay aligned with the Paris Agreement.
US approves oil drilling off Alaska
18 Jul 2017
An Italian multinational oil and gas company has received permission to move ahead with drilling plans in federal waters off Alaska.
California about to vote on emissions trading scheme
14 Jul 2017
California lawmakers are expected to vote next week on legislation to extend the state's landmark cap-and-trade programme, the country's most progressive, statewide attempt to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
DIZZY DAYS: What Trump has scrapped since January
5 Jul 2017
Since January, the White House, Congress and EPA have engineered a dizzying reversal of regulations designed to protect the environment and public health.
Climate change will worsen US poverty
5 Jul 2017
Yet another study has exposed the cruel cost of climate change as it increases US poverty. It could be worse than the Great Recession.
Giant hailstones set to become the norm across North America
30 Jun 2017
Golfball sized hail that can crack car windscreens, damage roofs and decimate crops are set to become the norm across parts of North America as a result of climate change.
Big Oil backs Republicans' carbon tax proposal
22 Jun 2017
Oil giants ExxonMobil, Shell, BP and Total are among a group of large corporations supporting a plan to tax carbon dioxide emissions.
Major businesses snap up renewable energy
22 Jun 2017
Major corporations such as Wal-Mart and General Motors have become some of America’s biggest buyers of renewable energy.
In Phoenix, it's so hot the planes can't take off
22 Jun 2017
A heat wave across the American West has sent the mercury above 120degF in places like Phoenix - so hot some airlines have had to cancel flights.
How solar power can save lives and money
21 Jun 2017
US scientists have just worked out how many lives, and at what price, solar power can deliver.
Whole Foodies ponder future under Amazon
21 Jun 2017
Shelf-stockers and purveyors of locally sourced organic produce give a wary welcome to Jeff Bezos’s buyout of the market that changed their town.
Marijuana industry a glutton for fossil fuels
21 Jun 2017
Producing a few pounds of weed can have the same environmental toll as driving across America seven times – harming cities’ and states’ plans to curb emissions.
San Francisco restoring nature's delicate balance
16 Jun 2017
As rising seas and demands for fresh water threaten San Francisco area shorelines, the focus is on building tidal marsh.
US passes renewable power generation mark
16 Jun 2017
Combined wind and solar energy accounted for more than 10 per cent of US power generation in March - the highest ever share of renewable energy in the nation’s power mix.
Fighting climate change can be lonely for a kid
14 Jun 2017
Jayden Foytlin, a 14-year-old hurricane survivor, is suing the US government over climate change in one of the most surprising environmental lawsuits of our time.
US opts out of G7 Paris Agreement pledge
13 Jun 2017
The US has refused to sign up to a G7 pledge that calls the Paris climate accord the “irreversible” global tool to address climate change.
Americans have found a new way of committing to Paris
12 Jun 2017
As the Trump administration abdicates its responsibility to address climate change, a groundswell of support has sprung up at the state, city and corporate levels.
Farmers can get tax break for donating food
9 Jun 2017
Farmers in Virginia can now take advantage of a 30 per cent tax credit for donating surplus crops.
California signs climate deal with China
7 Jun 2017
California Governor Jerry Brown has signed an agreement to work with China to lower greenhouse gas emissions.
Top US diplomat in China quits over Trump
7 Jun 2017
The most senior career diplomat at the US embassy in China has stepped down, amid reports that he opposes the Trump administration’s decision to quit the Paris agreement.
OVER TO YOU: Trump cedes global leadership to China
6 Jun 2017
By taking the United States out of the Paris agreement, President Trump has opened up space for China to increase its political and economic influence ... and China is likely to seize that opportunity.
Europe to bypass Trump administration
6 Jun 2017
The European Union has rejected Donald Trump’s offer to renegotiate the Paris climate agreement and pledged instead to bypass Washington to work with US business leaders and state governors to implement the historic accord’s commitments.
States and businesses stay with Paris
6 Jun 2017
More than 1200 US corporations, academic institutions and state and local governments have said they plan to stand behind the Paris climate agreement.
Exxon's figures a sham under Tillerson, says investigator
6 Jun 2017
NEW YORK's attorney-general has accused ExxonMobil of misleading investors by using two sets of numbers in its greenhouse gas accounting.
World grits teeth as Trump deserts Paris pact
2 Jun 2017
The United States has confirmed this morning that is it pulling out of the Paris Agreement on climate change – but says it will try to get back in under more favourable conditions.
Why the agreement will still be able to deliver
2 Jun 2017
The US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement will likely cause other countries to reaffirm their commitment to the full implementation of the climate deal.
America will be the biggest loser, not the climate
2 Jun 2017
The US abandoning the global climate deal brings risks, but the unity of the rest of the world and plummeting green energy costs are reasons for hope.
Trump’s promises on coal turning to dust and ashes
2 Jun 2017
Candidate Trump’s promises on coal are withering as the harsh winds of economic reality blow the President’s plans for the industry off course.
WIPEOUT: Death knell sounds for California’s surf beaches
1 Jun 2017
Scientists predict that by 2100 many of Southern California’s iconic beaches and top surfing spots will be washed away.
New York building energy grid of the future
29 May 2017
New York State is making a $5 billion bet that by making its power cleaner, it can become a magnet for the clean-energy jobs of the future.
Trump budget aims to kill ‘crazy’ climate science
25 May 2017
The Trump administration's 2018 fiscal year budget has made good on its promise to target deep cuts to federal spending on programmes widely seen as critical to America’s ability to adapt to a warming world and reduce its impact on the climate.
How US companies export industrial pollution
24 May 2017
US firms have been found to be improving their own environmental performance by moving more-polluting activities overseas, where regulations are more lax.
TRUMP TACTICS: What Americans really, really want
18 May 2017
Fewer than a third of Americans support President Donald Trump’s rollback of clean energy plans, a new survey shows.
Republicans fail to repeal methane regulations
12 May 2017
A Republican move to undo limits on the emission of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, has suffered an unexpected defeat in the Senate.
Warmer seas fuel dangerous ‘weather bomb’ in New South Wales
Thu 3 Jul 2025
If the storm shapes up as predicted, we can expect to see damage to houses and trees as well as significant beach erosion – especially in heavily populated areas exposed to the storm’s southern flank.
Floods swamp cities in Southwest China with more storms due
26 Jun 2025
Citizens in Guizhou and other parts of southern China have been swamped by days of record-breaking rainfall as the East Asia monsoon kicked into high gear over the past week.
Brussels to stand its ground on 90% emissions cut by 2040
Wed 2 Jul 2025
The European Commission is set to propose a target to slash greenhouse gas emissions to a mere tenth of the levels seen back in 1990 – but a leaked summary confirms it will offer significant leeway as a sweetener for reluctant EU members.
Activists protest at London headquarters of global ad giant promoting fossil fuels
Thu 3 Jul 2025
The agency’s work for the fossil fuel industry has made it “complicit in causing existential harm to people and planet”, say campaigners, who are calling on WPP to drop those clients.
Is Mark Carney turning his back on climate action?
23 Jun 2025
The G7 summit in Alberta, hosted by Prime Minister Mark Carney, has ended with only passing mention of fighting climate change, including a statement on wildfires that is silent on the pressing need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Pakistan slams climate ‘injustice’ as deadly floods hit country again
Tue 1 Jul 2025
Pakistan’s climate minister says country facing ‘crisis of injustice’ as more deadly flooding and extreme weather events hit the country.
Nearly a third of Tuvaluans have applied for climate migration visa
27 Jun 2025
With their country threatened by sea level rise, the people of Tuvalu have been offered an escape route through an agreement with Australia, and many are contemplating leaving their home.
I just returned from Antarctica: climate change isn’t some far-off problem – it’s here and hitting hard
13 May 2025
Antarctica is often viewed as the last truly remote place on Earth – frozen, wild and untouched. But is it really as untouched as it seems?
Congo death toll hits 77 after extreme weather brings floods and sinks boats, 107 remain missing
18 Jun 2025
Authorities in Congo said the death toll following devastating floods and separate boat accidents has reached 77, with more than 100 people missing.
‘We are perilously close to the point of no return’: climate scientist on Amazon rainforest’s future
Tue 1 Jul 2025
Carlos Nobre, who has fought for decades to save the rainforest, says up to 70% of it could be lost if a tipping point is reached.
Global climate science body roiled by controversies stoked by Saudis, US
Thu 3 Jul 2025
The proposed selection of a Saudi Aramco oil company staffer as one of the authors of a key science report has been denounced as “political capture.”
