International: United States
Seattle wants to charge city drivers
9 Apr 2018
A Seattle proposal to make drivers pay a fee for coming downtown is a linchpin in a list of initiatives aimed at reducing carbon emissions from the city’s transportation sector.
US to ease car and truck emissions standards
5 Apr 2018
US environmental regulators will ease emissions standards for cars and trucks, saying that a timeline put in place by President Obama was not appropriate and set standards “too high”.
Walden Pond pilgrims pollute one of nature's sacred sites
5 Apr 2018
Even the waters of Walden Pond, where Henry David Thoreau famously retreated to try to understand nature, are not safe from climate change and human pollution.
Judge rejects Exxon bid to shut down fraud probe
3 Apr 2018
A US federal judge has rejected Exxon's attempt to shut down two state investigations into whether the oil giant misled investors for years about the risks of climate change.
US judge rules out mining on public land
29 Mar 2018
A federal court has ruled on clmate grounds against a US Interior Department plan to open more than 15 million acres of public land and mineral rights to fossil fuel extraction.
New York commits $1.4b to renewable energy work
16 Mar 2018
New York has said it will spend $1.4 billion on 26 renewable projects, including 22 solar farms, three wind farms, and one hydroelectric project.
Schwarzenegger planning to sue oil companies
15 Mar 2018
Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is planning to sue oil companies, alleging they are "knowingly killing people all over the world".
Pompeo is a buddy of the Koch brothers
15 Mar 2018
Mike Pompeo, Donald Trump's choice to replace Rex Tillerson as US foreign affairs chief, is an ally of the Koch brothers and a critic of the Paris climate agreement.
How America's clean coal dream unravelled
6 Mar 2018
Kemper power plant in the US promised to be a world leader in ‘clean coal’ technology but Guardian reporting found evidence top executives knew of construction problems and design flaws years before the scheme collapsed.
Major US emitters getting away with it
14 Feb 2018
The US Environmental Protection Agency’s enforcement activity against polluters has fallen to its lowest level in a decade.
Why hasn’t Trump affected carbon markets?
9 Feb 2018
US President Donald Trump's fight against climate change reduction efforts hasn't had a noticeable impact - yet. Why not?
Top universities form climate change coalition
9 Feb 2018
Leading universities across North America have launched the University Climate Change Coalition to leverage their research and resources to spur local climate action.
Half of US bases worldwide under threat from weather
9 Feb 2018
Nearly half of US military sites are threatened by wild weather linked to climate change, according to a new Pentagon study.
Florida Keys raising road levels to beat the sea
7 Feb 2018
Parts of the Florida Keys will spend millions on raising roads before they are inundated by rising sea levels.
California wants five million electric cars by 2030
31 Jan 2018
California Governor Jerry Brown wants to put five million electric cars on the state’s roads by 2030.
Trump tariffs will cost thousands of solar jobs
25 Jan 2018
President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a tariff on imported solar panels will cost the US solar industry about 23,000 jobs this year and risks slowing the growth of clean energy.
INTERVIEW: Trump's man who doesn't know what 2deg means
15 Dec 2017
Donald Trump’s climate adviser George David Banks cut an intriguing, divisive figure at the recent climate talks in Bonn.
How Big Oil is tightening its grip on the White House
13 Dec 2017
The oil industry has stalled action on climate change from the inside and sold America on fossil fuels – and its influence goes back further than people realise.
GE's 12,000 job cuts highlight how it went wrong
13 Dec 2017
After spending years building up its gas-power business, General Electric is trying to figure out how to keep pace in a world that’s no longer all that interested in fossil fuels.
These high-speed trains could take 3m cars off the roads
13 Dec 2017
A $3 billion project that will introduce high-speed deisel trains to the US could take up to three million cars off the roads.
US judge sends Volkswagen exec to jail for seven years
11 Dec 2017
A senior Volkswagen executive has been sentenced to seven years in prison by a US court after being found guilty of concealing software used to evade pollution limits on nearly 600,000 diesel vehicles.
Peru’s melting glaciers are a godsend (until they’re gone)
29 Nov 2017
Accelerating glacial melt in the Andes caused by climate change has set off a gold rush downstream, letting the desert bloom. But as the ice vanishes, the vast farms below might do the same.
What do the Koch brothers want from Time?
28 Nov 2017
That Charles and David Koch are putting $650m into Meredith Corp’s purchase of Time would ordinarily be cause for great soul-searching in media. But these are not ordinary times.
Drilling awakens sleeping faults in Texas
27 Nov 2017
Since 2008, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and a handful of other states have experienced unprecedented surges of earthquakes.
Community solar heads for rooftops of New York
24 Nov 2017
New York City’s public housing authority is taking bids in a plan to lease its roofs for community solar projects that could power thousands of urban homes.
Climate change drove Trumps out of Germany
24 Nov 2017
Climate change contributed to the wave of German immigration to the US that included Donald Trump’s grandfather.
California nets $860 million from carbon auction
23 Nov 2017
California will collect $860 million from auctioning carbon-emissions permits after the allowances sold out at a record price for the second straight quarter.
Senate bill would cut EPA funding by $150 million
23 Nov 2017
The US Senate Appropriations Committee this week introduced a bill that would cut nearly $150 million in funding for the Environmental Protection Agency next year.
EPA revises social cost of potent greenhouse gas
22 Nov 2017
The Trump administration is tweaking how it measures the costs of emitting a potent greenhouse gas, a move that will have major impacts for climate rules.
Wildfires are making Americans sick
17 Nov 2017
As climate change fuels large wildfires, the pollution they're releasing is making Americans sick and undermining decades of progress in cleaning the air.
GATESVILLE: Bill buys big bit of Arizona to build a smart city
15 Nov 2017
Bill Gates is buying 25,000 acres near Phoenix, Arizona, on which to build a high-tech smart city named Belmont.
What would happen if all Americans went vegan?
15 Nov 2017
To produce four US hamburger patties takes 25 kilogrammes of animal feed, 25 square metres of land, and about 220 litres of water.
Can California eliminate millions of fossil cars?
9 Nov 2017
California State leaders are discussing banning the sale of the millions of cars that run on gasoline or diesel.
EPA aims to block scientists who get EPA funding
2 Nov 2017
US Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt is poised to jettison scientists who have received grants from the EPA and replace them with industry experts and state government officials.
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.
Australia-US minerals deal underpinned decision to allow mining company to clear threatened indigenous forest
Mon 23 Feb 2026
The Australian government’s decision to allow the US mining giant Alcoa to continue clearing swathes of Western Australian jarrah forest despite past illegal clearing practices was made in part due to a critical minerals deal reached between Australia and the Trump administration last year, a new document shows.
3,600 times faster: China is shaking up the steel industry
Wed 25 Feb 2026
For over a century, making steel meant coal, heat, and hours of waiting. A Chinese research team now reports collapsing that process into just three to six seconds; no coal, near zero emissions, and a vortex lance already moving toward commercial production. The technology is called flash ironmaking, and in February 2026, its implications are still unfolding.
This city turned its rooftops into a climate shield
Fri 27 Feb 2026
As cities struggle with heat, Zürich offers a masterclass in using vegetation to cool streets, manage stormwater and restore biodiversity.
‘Tinderbox’ UK may be one shock away from food riots, experts say
Wed 25 Feb 2026
A series of issues are making access to food vulnerable in the UK, including the climate crisis, low incomes, poor farming policy and fragile just-in-time supply chains.
Mark Carney just picked his lane on climate change
17 Feb 2026
COMMENT: Mark Carney's time as prime minister has been defined in part by his decision to roll back Trudeau-era climate policies.
South Korean farmers sue utility giant KEPCO over climate damage to crops
Wed 25 Feb 2026
As harvest season approached last November, farmer Ma Yong-un walked through his apple orchard in southern South Korea with a growing sense of dread.
What Vanuatu’s UN resolution on the ICJ climate opinion means for the planet
Mon 23 Feb 2026
Six months after a landmark climate ruling, the UN is being asked to act.
Limiting warming to 2C is ‘crucial’ to protect pristine Antarctic Peninsula
Tue 24 Feb 2026
Keeping global warming to less than 2C above pre-industrial temperatures is “crucial” for limiting damage to the Antarctic Peninsula’s unique ecosystems, according to a new study.
Kenya launches a carbon registry to boost climate finance and credibility
Mon 23 Feb 2026
Kenya has launched a national carbon registry, aiming to position itself as a global hub for high-integrity carbon credits at a time when scrutiny of climate offset markets is intensifying worldwide.
Floods and landslides in Brazil kill at least 30 after record rainfall
Thu 26 Feb 2026
Three firefighters pulled a man’s body from the mud amid the rubble of houses swept away in a landslide in south-eastern Brazil, where 30 people died and 39 were still missing on Tuesday after torrential rains.
UN approves first carbon credits under Paris Agreement market mechanism
Fri 27 Feb 2026
The United Nations has approved the first credits to be issued under a carbon market established by the Paris climate accord, aimed at reducing emissions – a mechanism that has faced scrutiny over greenwashing concerns.
