International: United States
Winter coming later ... and leaving earlier
1 Nov 2017
Across the United States, the year’s first freeze has been arriving further into the calendar, according to more than a century of measurements.
Why California’s wine country fires were so destructive
31 Oct 2017
As of late October, more than a dozen wildfires north of San Francisco had killed more than 40 people, burned approximately 160,000 acres and destroyed more than 7000 structures.
Rising seas are flooding Virginia’s vast naval base
27 Oct 2017
The giant United States naval base at Norfolk is under threat by rising seas and sinking land - and little is being done to hold back the tides.
EPA scrubs website clean of ‘climate change’
27 Oct 2017
The US Environmental Protection Agency has removed dozens of online resources dedicated to helping local governments address climate change.
US unprepared to face costs of climate change
27 Oct 2017
The risks to the US are big, and they’re rising, a new report says - just as the Trump administration is changing how it calculates costs to make them look smaller.
Texas power giant to shut coal-fired plants
25 Oct 2017
Texas power generator Luminant has announced it will close three coal-fired plants in early 2018. Combined, they account for 12 per cent of the state's coal power plant capacity.
Texas town mayor turns green-power tyro
19 Oct 2017
The mayor of Georgetown, Texas, Dale Ross is ‘a good little Republican’ – but ever since his city weaned itself off fossil fuels, he has become a hero to environmentalists.
How NASA tracks carbon emissions from space
16 Oct 2017
Fires, drought and warmer temperatures were to blame for excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere during the 2015-2016 El Niño, say scientists with NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2.
Puerto Rico wants Tesla to make it a showpiece
12 Oct 2017
Hurricane-hit Puerto Rico has urged Tesla to turn the islands into a flagship project that can show the world what solar and batteries can do.
The war on coal is over, says US environment chief
10 Oct 2017
“The war on coal is over,” EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt declared as he announced that this week he will sign a new rule overriding Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan.
Lawsuits try to paint green activism as a racket
9 Oct 2017
Logging and pipeline companies are using a new legal tactic to seek damages from Greenpeace and other groups. The long-shot cases are having a chilling effect.
Trump picks coal lobbyist to help to lead EPA
9 Oct 2017
President Trump's nominee to be second in command at the Environmental Protection Agency helped to kill bipartisan climate legislation during his time as a top Senate aide.
New York aims to be carbon neutral by 2050
5 Oct 2017
Donald Trump’s home city aligns its strategy with tough 1.5deg global warming limit, in defiance of the president’s hostility to climate action.
Post-hurricanes, wetlands take on a new role
4 Oct 2017
As communities rebuild after hurricanes, a study shows that wetlands can significantly reduce property damage.
US eyes help for struggling coal and nuclear plants
3 Oct 2017
US Energy Secretary Rick Perry has taken sweeping steps to buttress a pair of financially strapped nuclear plants under construction and to redefine how coal and nuclear plants are compensated for the electricity they provide.
Trump swaps 'climate change' for 'resilience'
3 Oct 2017
In the Trump administration's list of dos and don'ts, "climate change" is out and "resilience" is in.
Trump's next climate act is a bit of a mystery
2 Oct 2017
President Trump is preparing to repeal Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan. But what would take its place remains a mystery.
Ontario joins California-Quebec carbon market
26 Sep 2017
Ontario has signed an agreement with California to enter its joint carbon cap and trade market with Quebec, from next January 1.
Can the United States afford another hurricane?
25 Sep 2017
The 2017 North Atlantic hurricane season still has about five weeks to go, but it’s already one of the most expensive on record. Repeated storms are stretching the public and private sectors thin.
Trump told Paris Agreement is non-negotiable
19 Sep 2017
The terms of the Paris Agreement are set in stone, the EU, China and Canada agreed at a summit in Montreal at thge weekend, while Washington was forced to deny that the US is planning to stay in the accord.
Jerry Brown’s climate coalition spreads the word
19 Sep 2017
California governor Jerry Brown's climate coalition list of city, state and national governments nears 200 and is shifting climate diplomacy beyond the caprices of national leaders.
Trump might replace Obama's big climate rule
18 Sep 2017
The Trump administration is opening the door to offering its own replacement for former President Barack Obama's landmark climate regulation — rather than just erasing it altogether.
TRAGEDY TOWN: Community that took on the Kochs
12 Sep 2017
A new film tells the story of Crossett, Arkansas – a small town dominated by a Koch brothers-owned paper mill, blamed for dumping cancer-causing chemicals.
Storms lay costs of climate denial at Trump’s door
11 Sep 2017
The US president’s dismissal of scientific research is doing nothing to protect the livelihoods of ordinary Americans.
Mars (the bars kind) counters Trump's climate craziness
8 Sep 2017
The corporate backlash is growing against Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, with Mars launching a $1bn sustainability plan and an M&M’s campaign centred on renewable energy.
BLOOM AND BUST: Sick seas hurt the housing market
8 Sep 2017
In the real estate business, it’s all about location, location, location. Except when it’s about water quality. And large algal outbreaks are a great way to dampen the value of waterfront property.
Trump wants climate science denier to run NASA
6 Sep 2017
The White House has announced that President Donald Trump plans to nominate Republican Jim Bridenstine, a climate science denier, to be administrator of NASA.
Insurance industry eyes Hurricane Harvey cost
6 Sep 2017
Because US infrastructure is not built to withstand climate change the cost of the Hurrican Harvey disaster will be relatively high.
Faded favourite jeans might be causing a health threat
5 Sep 2017
The faded, “distressed look” of a favorite pair of blue jeans, might come with a hidden price.
California wants law setting 100% renewable power goal
4 Sep 2017
California, the world’s sixth-largest economy, is aiming for an entirely clean power grid by 2045 with legislation that pits technology start-ups against utilities.
Invasive insect chewing through Mississippi delta
1 Sep 2017
An invasion of tiny insects is killing swaths of coastal marsh at the mouth of the Mississippi River, and has turned an already unraveling landscape into open water in a matter of months.
US to abolish job of climate change envoy
31 Aug 2017
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has informed Congress that the US will no longer have a special envoy for climate change, the official that has led delegations to UN climate talks since 2009.
How did climate change make Hurricane Harvey much worse?
30 Aug 2017
At least 14 people have died and tens of thousands evacuated as Houston continues to be battered by catastrophic rainfall. Can we decode the disaster?
I was an Exxon-funded climate scientist
28 Aug 2017
ExxonMobil’s deliberate attempts to sow doubt on the reality and urgency of climate change and their donations to front groups to disseminate false information about climate change have been public knowledge for a long time, now.
California pollution permits sell at highest price ever
25 Aug 2017
California has raised more than $640 million auctioning off permits for businesses to emit greenhouse gases as part of a program aimed at fighting climate change.
WALL WARS: Stop fighting and make Rio Grande grand again
25 Aug 2017
Rather than spending billions of dollars and squabbling about a border wall, the US and Mexico could adopt an alternative vision: regenerating the Rio Grande.
There’s no saving the world without business
24 Aug 2017
The “We Are Still In” movement launched to send a message to US president Donald Trump over his Paris Agreement threat has grown to include more than 1500 businesses and investors, as well as nine states, more than 200 cities and counties, and more than 300 colleges and universities.
Denmark just generated 140% of its power demand from wind
23 Aug 2017
On a particularly windy day recently, Denmark’s wind farms produced between 116 per cent and 140 per cent of the national electricity requirements ... and they weren’t even trying.
Will the US ever build another big coal plant?
23 Aug 2017
About 16 per cent of the US coal fleet has retired in the past five years, but don't expect major new coal-fired plants to fill that void.
Doomed by climate – but they still don't get it
21 Aug 2017
The Louisiana town of Cameron could be the first in the US to be fully submerged by rising sea levels – and yet locals, 90 per cent of whom voted for Trump, still aren’t convinced about climate change.
Trump cans no-sales rule on plastic bottles in parks
21 Aug 2017
The Trump administration's reversal of ban on the sale of plastic water bottles in national parks shows ‘the corporate agenda is king and people and environment are left behind’, say campaigners
Not burning fossil fuels saves thousands of US lives
18 Aug 2017
Fossil fuel not burnt because of wind and solar energy helped to avoid between 3000 and 12,700 premature deaths in the US between 2007 and 2015, says a new report.
California eyes massive climate research move
18 Aug 2017
California scientists are sketching plans for a home-grown climate-research institute - to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars per year.
Alaska lists 30 towns at risk from coastal erosion
17 Aug 2017
At least 31 Alaskan communities face “imminent” existential threats from coastline erosion, flooding and other consequences of changing temperatures.
Gulf of Mexico dead zone could get worse
16 Aug 2017
Each summer, a large part of the Gulf of Mexico “dies”. This year, the “dead zone” is the largest on record, stretching hundreds of miles from the mouth of the Mississippi, along the coast of Louisiana to waters off Texas.
AL GORE: Trump has failed to knock Paris off course
14 Aug 2017
Donald Trump has failed to knock the Paris climate agreement off course, says former US vice-president Al Gore.
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.
Rising seas will threaten 1.5 million Australians by 2050 – report
Today 11:15am
One and a half million Australians living in coastal areas are at risk from rising sea levels by 2050, a landmark climate report has warned.
China aims to nearly double battery storage by 2027 in $35 billion plan
Today 11:15am
China is looking to almost double its so-called new energy storage capacity to 180 gigawatts (GW) by 2027, according to an industry plan announced by authorities on Friday.
EU considers faster Russian oil and gas exit after US pressure
Mon 15 Sep 2025
The European Union is considering a faster phase-out of Russian fossil fuels as part of new sanctions.
UK foreign aid for nature hits £800m record due to cash for carbon credits
Today 11:15am
The UK’s climate-aid spending on “nature protection and restoration” reached record levels of nearly £800m last year, according to government figures obtained by Carbon Brief.
Carney government noncommittal about Canada meeting 2030 climate goals
9 Sep 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney would not say Monday whether Canada will meet its climate goals under the Paris agreement by 2030, as his government faces criticism over his emission-reduction plans.
Tax rebalancing in Indian energy sector: Renewables cheaper, coal costlier
Fri 12 Sep 2025
Industry experts and developers have hail GST cuts on clean energy equipment, saying it will be a major enabler for India’s ambitious climate goals.
China, climate crisis and COP31: Five takeaways from the Pacific Islands Forum
Today 11:15am
A key climate crisis funding treaty struck as Pacific leaders backed Australia’s bid for Cop31 despite some criticism of its environmental credentials.
Iconic Antarctic species at risk amid 'regime shift', with 'rapid and self-perpetuating changes'
22 Aug 2025
Scientists say there is emerging evidence of abrupt and potentially unstoppable changes in the Antarctic environment.
Second Africa Climate Summit seeks to jump hurdles to green industrialisation
Wed 10 Sep 2025
A report on progress since the first summit in 2023 says financial, infrastructure and trade obstacles are hampering “climate-positive growth” on the continent.
Brazil implores businesses to attend COP30 climate summit, despite 'second thoughts' amid Trump backlash
5 Sep 2025
November's COP30 summit comes at a precarious time for climate action, as companies back away from environmental initiatives, and attacks on green energy by President Trump.
UN pushes countries for new climate targets this month
9 Sep 2025
The United Nations urged countries on Wednesday to set more ambitious climate plans during this month, seeking to pressure major economies including the EU and China ahead of this year's U.N. climate summit.
