International: United States
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.
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.
Oil refinery fire at key Victoria facility
16 Apr 2026
Explosions and towering flames were reported as a significant fire broke out at one of Australia’s major oil refineries.
China’s leadership calls for ‘strict control’ of fossil fuels
Tue 28 Apr 2026
Chinese government leaders published a policy document on 22 April – Earth Day – calling for stricter controls on fossil-fuel consumption and greater oversight of heavy emitters.
EU faces ‘China shock’ as EV imports drive Beijing’s record surplus with bloc
Fri 1 May 2026
The EU is experiencing a prolonged “China shock” as a flood of Chinese EVs into Europe helped push Beijing to a record surplus with the bloc.
UK scientists to fire salt water into the sky in bid to tackle climate crisis
Fri 1 May 2026
Government supporting new geoengineering techniques as race against unregulated companies seeking to capitalise on need for climate cooling tech heats up.
Canada, Alberta close in on carbon price agreement, sources say
Wed 29 Apr 2026
Canada and Alberta are expected to strike a deal in the next two weeks that will increase the price on carbon for the province's industrial emitters, but a broader agreement to tackle oil sands greenhouse gases and green-light a new crude oil export pipeline remains elusive.
India submits new climate action pledges to UN body, flags condition to fulfil promise
Wed 29 Apr 2026
India has formally submitted its pledge to the UN climate body, underline importing conditions noting the developing countries' committments cannot be fulfilled without adequate support in terms of finance and technology transfer.
Tuvalu to host world leaders before COP31 summit
16 Apr 2026
Tuvalu, the Pacific nation at the forefront of the global climate crisis, will host a special meeting of world leaders before this year’s Cop31 summit, as the conference president expresses “complete faith” in Chris Bowen to lead tough negotiations.
Drowned chicks and food scarcity: Emperor penguin and Antarctic fur seal now endangered
13 Apr 2026
The primary drivers are shrinking sea ice and warming oceans driven by climate change.
Rationing power and diluting petrol – how African countries are coping with effects of Iran war
30 Mar 2026
Countries across Africa have taken measures such as diluting petrol and restricting electricity consumption to cope with the fuel crisis triggered by the US and Israel's war in Iran.
Beef production drives 40% of agriculture-linked forest destruction, Brazil leads
26 Mar 2026
Beef production is the leading driver of agriculture-linked deforestation, accounting for 40% of all forest clearing done to open space for food production, according to details of a study released on Tuesday.
Extreme heat threatens global food systems, UN agencies warn
23 Apr 2026
Extreme heat is pushing global agrifood systems to the brink, threatening the livelihoods and health of more than a billion people, according to a new report by the U.N.'s food and weather agencies.
