ESG Snapshot: Issue 105

This week's highlights include:

• REZ concerns. A NSW parliamentary report says consultation has been inadequate in a key renewables zone, and urges a cumulative impacts study.
• Coordinator-General. The federal government's new 'single front door' for mega-projects might lead to the office of a new federal Coordinator-General.
• Plastics levy. A proposed new soft plastics stewardship scheme might evolve to encompass business-to-business plastic use.
• Hot to trot. Victoria has issued seven new licences that could lead to more than two million tonnes of additional waste being sent for energy recovery.
• Batteries planning. Batteries larger than 5MW will now need a planning permit in Victoria.
• ICJ ruling. An upcoming webinar will examine the implications for Australia of the recent International Court of Justice climate ruling.
• Safeguard credits. A proposed low-emissions iron project in WA will generate large amounts of Safeguard Mechanism Credits.

ESG Snapshot - powered by the Business Council for Sustainable Development Australia and curated by ESG communications and content consultancy Earthed.

Speaking at the conclusion of the Economic Reform Roundtable, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has signalled that Environment Minister Murray Watt has been asked to move faster to finalise EPBC Act reforms.

The Treasurer also flagged that the "single front door" approach being developed for "nation changing projects", might encompass the creation of a new Coordinator-General role.

The establishment of a new position of federal Coordinator-General was floated in the Productivity Commission's recent interim report on net zero.

In a separate interview, Chalmers added that there was "a lot of appetite around the roundtable today for a form of road user charging for EVs, but not yet a consensus on the model or on the sequencing and timing of that".

The government will work with states and territories to pause further residential changes to the National Construction Code until mid-2029, following finalisation of the 2025 version of the Code.

The move was announced by Environment Minister Murray Watt and Housing Minister Claire O'Neill.

While the pause is underway, the government will streamline the Code, and remove barriers to prefab and modular housing.

The ACCC has issued a draft determination proposing to authorise a voluntary, industry-led scheme to collect and recycle soft plastic packaging.

The scheme will be run by Soft Plastics Stewardship Australia (SPSA), with initial members comprising Woolworths, Coles, Aldi, Nestlé, Mars and McCormick Foods.

The scheme will be funded through the imposition of a levy on scheme participants based on how much soft plastic they place on the market. 

The initial scheme levy will be $160 per tonne of soft plastic packaging placed on the market. Scheme participants who place 10 tonnes or less of soft plastic packaging on the market will be eligible to pay a minimum, flat levy, initially set at $1,600 per year.

The scheme will initially focus on business-to-consumer soft plastic packaging, such as shopping bags, fresh produce bags and food wrappers, bags and pouches. However, it might in future be expanded to include business-to-business plastic, such as commercial and industrial shrink and pallet wrap

Submissions on the draft determination are due by 25 August.

The federal government has appointed Will Nankervis as Australia's new Ambassador for Climate Change.

Nankervis is a senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and is also First Assistant Secretary, Climate Diplomacy and Development Finance Division.

He has previously served overseas as Australia's Ambassador to ASEAN, and had earlier postings to the UN, and to Australia's High Commission in Colombo.

New emissions data shows Australia's emissions fell by 1.4% in the year to March 2025.

The data shows Australia is tracking well to meet its 2030 climate pollution target, driven largely by federal policies, Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen said.

"Across Australia’s two main grids, renewable energy has now reached over 40% of all energy produced in the last financial year, with solar and wind capacity up 45% since we came to government – more new capacity than four Snowy Hydro schemes," the Minister said.

The National Environmental Law Association and the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand are jointly hosting a 29 August webinar on the implications for Australia of the International Court of Justice advisory opinion and the Australian Pabai case.

Round 17 funding for new Cooperative Research Centre project (CRC-P) grants has largely gone to projects with clean economy goals. Grant winners include:

• From panels to products: Aluminium-silicon alloys from PV waste ($3 million).
• Liquid hydrogen-powered aircraft for regional and remote Australia ($3 million).
• Developing a scalable green plasma-based perchlorate manufacturing process ($2.8 million).
• Regenerable carbon for eliminating forever chemicals in Water ($3 million).
• An integrated platform for removing forever chemicals from water and solids ($2 million).
• Methanol fuel production from biogas ($1.4 million).
• Transforming nickel ore processing with low-cost, low-emission molten sulphur ($3 million).
• Building a scalable Indigenous-led biomaterials supply chain ($556,314).

DCCEEW has released an updated Commercial Building Baseline Study, which describes outcomes in the commercial building sector, including its energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, if AEMO's Step Change scenario comes to fruition.

Total emissions would fall rapidly to relatively low levels by the mid-to-late 2030s under Step Change assumptions, the study says.

"Under Step Change assumptions, the greenhouse gas emissions associated with commercial building use would fall by almost 97% from FY2024 by FY2050," the study concludes.

APRA's latest corporate plan, says it will release the results of its Climate Vulnerability Assessment for the general insurance sector before the end of next June.

"This assessment has involved Australia's five largest general insurers and has included detailed analysis of granular, modelled premium data," the plan says.

Consultation opportunity - offshore electricity infrastructure. DCCEEW has released a draft research and demonstration licence guideline for offshore renewable energy technologies.

Comments are due by 3 October.

The Productivity Commission last Friday submitted the final report of its circular economy report to the government. The report has not yet been made public.

Grant opportunity - Battery Breakthrough Initiative. ARENA is inviting applications for grants under the $500 million Battery Breakthrough Initiative, which will fund projects that enhance Australia's battery manufacturing capability, or commercialise battery manufacturing processes and technologies.

The Australian Energy Market Operator has released its 2025 Electricity Statement of Opportunities report, which assesses the investments needed to maintain reliability in the National Electricity Market over the next decade.

"The report shows improved reliability outlooks, reliant on all expected investments being delivered on time and in full," AEMO says.

AEMO's report forecasts a 28% increase in grid electricity consumption, from 178TWh in 2024-25 to about 229TWh by 2034-35. The forecast growth is driven by factors including the rapid expansion of data centres and accelerating business electrification.

"Last financial year saw a record 4.4GW of new generation and storage commissioned," AEMO says. "Over the next five years, additional investment of between 5.2GW to 10.1GW is expected to come online annually, often supported by government schemes."

This new capacity will help offset the notified retirement of 11GW of predominantly coal power stations over the next 10 years, AEMO says.

Meanwhile, AEMO has also released an engagement survey for its 2026 Integrated System Plan. Responses are due by 7 September.

Applications are now being accepted for the Australia Pacific Youth Climate Dialogue, which will be hosted by UNICEF and partner organisations in Canberra.

The Dialogue will run from 27 to 29 October.

The federal government has awarded a total of $19 million to 15 new forestry plantation projects, through Round three of the Support Plantation Establishment program.

The new projects are in addition to 45 existing projects already funded through the program, taking total funding awarded to date to more than $46 million.

Accounting for Nature has appointed Switzerland-based John E. Scanlon AO to its Board of Directors.

Scanlon's current roles include executive president of the International Council of Environmental Law.

Open consultations:

• Sustainable financial products. Treasury has released a paper on policy options for a possible sustainable financial product labelling framework. Comments are due by 29 August.
• Annual climate change statement. The Climate Change Authority is seeking input to its 2025 Annual Progress Report, which will be submitted to Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen. Comments are due by 1 September.
• Offshore carbon capture and storage. DCCEEW is consulting on three offshore CCS guidance documents. Comments are due by 12 September.
• Net zero. Submissions on the Productivity Commission's draft report on clean energy and net zero are due by 15 September.
• National Electricity Market. The Nelson review of the NEM has released its draft report, with submissions due by 17 September.
• Transition planning. Treasury has released draft voluntary guidance on best practices for climate-related transition planning. Comments are due by 24 September.

The Queensland government has gazetted several regulations on energy and resources.

The Mineral Resources Regulation 2025 is part of the legislative framework governing the exploration and production of minerals and coal. The new
regulation sets out the requirements for work programs and development plans,
plugging and abandoning CSG wells, reporting, notices, conditions for resource
authorities, royalties and prescribed rents and fees.

The government says the new regulation is "in substantially similar form" to the 2013 version of the regulation, except that royalty provisions have been put into a new Mineral Resources (Royalty) Regulation.

The state government has also gazetted the Energy (Renewable Transformation and Jobs) (Transmission Ring-fencing Rule) Amendment Regulation 2025.

The final annual report of Queensland's Department of Energy and Climate - before its break-up when the LNP took office - has been tabled in the state parliament.

The curtailed annual report covers the period from 1 July 2024 to 1 November 2024.

Achievements over the period, included implementing the Energy (Renewable Transformation and Jobs) Act, and preparing Renewable Energy Zone Readiness Assessments.

The former department's energy, hydrogen and climate divisions are now part of Queensland Treasury.

A NSW parliamentary committee inquiry into the impact of renewable energy zones on regional communities has issued its first report.

The committee concludes that a significant proportion of the Central-West Orana community believe the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone has negatively impacted the region. 

It also concludes that there has been inadequate consultation between the NSW government, renewable energy developers and the Central-West Orana community.

It recommends that the NSW government urgently conduct an independent cumulative impact study on the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone.  

It also recommends that the NSW government investigate options to ensure payments for land acquisition are not taxed.

And it recommends that the NSW government identify ecological protection and restoration priorities for each Renewable Energy Zone and encourage developers to contribute to nature positive environmental regional outcomes.

In dissenting comments, a Nationals MP on the committee said there should be an "urgent moratorium" on projects in the Central-West Orana REZ until the cumulative impact study is completed.

The NSW government is due to respond by November 21.

A parliamentary committee inquiry into the management of NSW's cat population has issued its final report.

Open consultations:

• PFAS in biosolids. The NSW EPA is seeking feedback on proposed new rules regarding the application of biosolids to land, which are focused on PFAS testing and reporting. Comments close on 26 September.
• Climate change. The NSW EPA has released draft Climate Change Licensee Requirements and Mitigation Requirements, and draft sector-specific guidance for NSW coal mines. Comments are due by 7 October.

Recycling Victoria has issued new thermal energy-from-waste cap licences, which cumulatively allow seven proposed new projects to process 2.35 million tonnes of waste annually.

The three largest licences have gone to Cleanaway (760,000 tonnes annually), HiQ EFW Victoria (750,000 tonnes), and Melbourne Water (450,000 tonnes).

Licences have also been issued to Recovered Energy Laverton (280,000 tonnes), Liquid Power Co (50,000 tonnes), Zerogen Holdings (45,000 tonnes), and Knox transfer station( 15,000 tonnes).

The new "cap licences" augment "existing operator licences" previously issued to Paper Australia, Visy, Great Southern Waste Technologies, and Recovered Energy Laverton.

The state government has gazetted a change to the Victorian Planning Provisions that ensures large batteries will only be exempt from the requirement to obtain a planning permit if they are no larger than 5MW.

Batteries that exceed 5MW will now require planning permission. 

The amendment is expected to lead to a small increase in planning permit applications, the state government says.

EPA Victoria has received a development licence application from Y&Y Trading Pty Ltd, trading as Australian E-Waste Recycling, for an e-waste recycling facility in Laverton North that would recycle up to 7,000 tons of e-waste each year.

Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny will establish an expert inquiry to advise on the environmental effects of Westwind's proposed Warracknabeal Energy Park project.

The proposed project comprises a 1.6GW wind farm and associated battery energy storage.

If the project gains all required approvals, construction is anticipated to begin in 2027. Westward says more than $2,000 per turbine would be invested into the community annually, if the project proceeds.

The Victorian government has approved Elgin Energy's 85MW solar farm and battery energy storage system in Bairnsdale. The project was assessed through the fast-track Development Facilitation Program. 

Last financial year, more than 42% of Victoria's electricity was generated from renewables, the state government has announced.

Victoria now hosts more than 90 large-scale renewable energy projects, adding  almost 7GW of renewable energy capacity to the grid.

A Victorian parliamentary inquiry into decommissioning oil and gas infrastructure is accepting submissions until 7 November.

EPA Victoria has released a guideline on creating a clean-up plan for contaminated land.

A proposal to process iron ore into iron pellets and hot briquette iron for export has been recommended for approval by the WA EPA.

Port Hedland Iron Pty Ltd is proposing to develop a downstream iron ore processing facility in the Boodarie Strategic Industrial Area, about 10km south-west of Port Hedland.

EPA Chair Darren Walsh said the facility's use of direct-reduction iron technology will result in a significantly reduced rate of associated greenhouse gas emissions, compared to a conventional blast furnace method fuelled by coking coal.

Further emissions reductions are expected as hydrogen becomes available, Walsh said.

The project will generate a substantial number of Safeguard Mechanism Credits, because it is much less emissions intensive than other iron production facilities in Australia.

Climate Analytics has released a briefing on 1.5°C-aligned climate targets for Western Australia

A report by clean energy advocacy group Sustainable Energy Now on battery-backed rooftop solar optimisation, commissioned by Greens MLC Brad Pettitt, has been tabled in the WA Parliament.

"We know that we are a world leader in rooftop solar. I think more than 40% of households have rooftops solar now, but interestingly only 13% of available roof space on houses and commercial and industrial rooftops is utilised—so there is 87% we could add," Pettitt told the Legislative Council.

"If we were to fully utilise that roof space, it would add an extraordinary 16GW of rooftop capacity and, importantly, substantially reduce a couple of key things including large-scale solar."

"Importantly, it would also reduce transmission. This is actually really a key point. The modelling done by Sustainable Energy Now shows that 53% of the high-voltage transmission originally planned under the South West Interconnected System demand assessment would not be required. That would save the state about $14.5 billion, which is pretty extraordinary."

New listings are in blue.

A new SBTi Trend Tracker from the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) shows the number of companies setting near-term science-based targets has nearly doubled (97% growth) in just 18 months, while businesses going further in their ambition by setting both near-term and net-zero targets more than tripled (227% growth) across the same period.

However, the growth in Oceania is lower - with a 64% increase in the number of companies setting near-term science-based targets.

Air India has signed a memorandum of understanding with Indian Oil Corporation for the supply of sustainable aviation fuel as part of efforts to meet the nation's target of 5% SAF blending by 2030, reports Green Air News.

One billion people in Africa still lack clean cooking solutions, according to a new International Energy Agency report.

However, the report says African countries "can close one of the continent's most harmful energy and development gaps in just 15 years if they replicate the progress seen in other developing economies".

"Today, four in five families across the continent still cook with polluting fuels like wood, charcoal or dung, often over open fires or basic stoves," the IEA says.

"These practices contribute to over 800 000 premature deaths each year due to household air pollution – mostly among women and children – and trap millions more in poverty with significant impacts on health, gender equality and economic opportunity."

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