ESG Snapshot: Issue 108

This week's highlights include:

• PFAS ban. A NSW parliamentary inquiry has urged a ban on all non-essential uses of PFAS.
• Modification orders. A new WA Bill would establish the Office of Coordinator-General, and would empower the government to exempt priority projects from some aspects of existing laws.
• Coastal failure. A new NSW audit report says the state's coastal management framework isn't being implemented effectively.
• Pilbara collaboration. Collaborating on the task of electrification in the Pilbara could save billions of dollars, says a CEFC-commissioned report.
• Cumulative impacts. A new study examines the social and economic impacts of developing up to nine vanadium mines in Queensland.
• Fossil fuels inquiry. Submissions to a NSW inquiry into the fossil fuels sector are now available.
• Tomorrow's EPA. The SA government is consulting on the role of the state's EPA.

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Environment Minister Murray Watt has given final approval for Woodside's North West Shelf Project Extension, following the announcement of his proposed approval in May.

Minister Watt said he had imposed 48 conditions "that will avoid and mitigate significant impacts to the Murujuga rock art", and which are additional to conditions already imposed by the Western Australian government.

Minister Watt has also gazetted a declaration under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act for part of Murujuga, on the basis that it is under threat of injury or desecration from development.

The declaration will prohibit any person from moving, damaging, defacing, or otherwise disturbing any Aboriginal site or Aboriginal object (including rock art) in the declared area.

The CEFC and global investment group La Caisse have launched a $250 million diversified agricultural platform to generate ACCUs, with Rio Tinto as a foundation offtaker of the ACCUs.

La Caisse has invested $200 million alongside a $50 million commitment from the CEFC to create the Meldora platform, which will be managed by Australian agriculture and natural capital asset manager, Gunn Agri Partners.

Meldora's first asset is a broadacre and irrigation farm of more than 15,000 hectares in Central Queensland.

Meldora will combine agricultural production with large-scale environmental plantings under the ACCU scheme, underpinned by a long term offtake from Rio Tinto for some of the ACCUs.

The federal government has approved 99 renewable energy projects since Labor won office May 2022, according to Environment Minister Murray Watt.

In his speech to the Smart Energy Council, the Minister also confirmed that EPBC Act reforms would allow for the greater use of regional planning, "in partnership with states and territories".

"We know that the current regional planning framework does not give us the tools we need to deliver proper regulatory regional plans," Watt said.

"That does not provide the certainty community and industry has been crying out for over the past 15 years," he said.

"The Australian Government has been trialling regional planning through pilot programs in partnership with the Queensland, South Australian, NSW and Victorian governments," he said.

"Now is the time to take this to the next level, to not only provide certainty for communities and industry, but to also better protect the environment and ensure we reach our renewable energy targets."

The Resources Ministers Roundtable, comprising federal Resources Minister Madeleine King and her state and territory counterparts, met in Brisbane last week.

Issues discussed include a critical minerals strategic reserve, and the creation of secure supply chains.

The Pilbara accounts for about 40% of WA's emissions, and a coordinated approach to electrification could save more than $30 billion over the next 25 years, according to a new report commissioned by the CEFC.

The report by Marsden Jacob Associates, says common user transmission infrastructure says the Pilbara energy system is at an inflection point.

"Electrification and decarbonisation provide the opportunity for wholesale system change, as it does across Australia and the world," the report says.

"The construction of more than 2,000 kilometres of new and upgraded transmission by 2031/2032, together with substantial quantities of solar and wind generation prior to 2030, means that developers and investors need confidence in the regulatory framework under which those assets will operate," it says.

Environment Minister Murray Watt has varied EPBC conditions for Talison Lithium's Greenbushes lithium mine in response to a non-compliance with conditions of the approval.

The non-compliance related to undertaking clearing without a qualified fauna spotter present, failing to submit an additional offset proposal and failure to report incidents to the department within specified timeframes.

"The varied conditions alter the date required for submission of an additional offset proposal and increase enforceability," according to DCCEEW.

Consultation opportunity - nature strategy. DCCEEW is consulting on implementing Australia's strategy for nature. Comments are due by 15 October.

A Senate inquiry into South Australia's toxic algal blooms conducted several public hearings last week, with another scheduled for Canberra on 24 September.

Transcript is now available of a recent hearing conducted by a Senate committee inquiry into PFAS.

The Victorian Automotive Chamber of Commerce has supported a Productivity Commission interim recommendation that the federal government introduce a new emissions-reduction incentive to cover heavy vehicles, "given the significant contribution to overall emissions that flows from the transport sector".

"Existing policy settings could be amended to incentivise greater uptake of low and zero emissions heavy vehicles," says the VACC submission on the Commission's interim report.

"Given that the average age of the heavy vehicle fleet is around 14 years, and the substantial costs associated with new heavy vehicle purchases, there are likely to be significant, immediate benefits from introducing tax or financial incentives for heavy vehicle owners to switch to new low or zero-emissions options," it adds.

ARENA will provide a $12.3 million grant to Mondo Power to develop, construct and operate an electric truck charging hub in Melbourne's west, to demonstrate the technical and commercial feasibility for fleets to electrify their operations.

Located in Laverton North, the hub will consist of 14 dual plug electric vehicle chargers and will be purpose built for heavy battery electric vehicle trucks.

Meanwhile, ARENA has also awarded a $3.96 million grant to Lab 360 Solar, a UNSW start-up, to develop and trial drone-based inspection technology for large solar farms.

EPBC developments:

• Highland Energy Australia, which is linked to EDF Renewables Australia, has lodged a referral for the 600MW Dawson Wind Farm, proposed for a site in central Queensland, with an accompanying 500MW/1,000MWh battery.

Open consultations:

• Transition planning. Treasury has released draft voluntary guidance on best practices for climate-related transition planning. Comments are due by 24 September.

The latest Track Changes podcast is out (on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube)!

The Queensland Investment Corporation has provided a $10 million loan to Vecco Group, for its Townsville facility that will process vanadium sourced from Vecco's Julia Creek mine into vanadium electrolyte.

The Townsville facility, which is currently operating at demonstration scale, aims to annually produce up to 600MWh of electrolyte at full scale.

The loan is being provided through the Queensland government's $150 million Critical Minerals and Battery Technology Fund. Vecco Group is majority-owned by Idemitsu.

The Queensland government has released a baseline study that examines the social and economic impacts of proposed mining developments in the Julia Creek/Richmond critical minerals zone.

Up to nine vanadium projects are proposed in the zone, which already has two existing mineral mines.

The study, which was prepared by Critical Minerals Queensland in partnership with the Office of the Coordinator-General, also examines the ramifications of establishing common user processing infrastructure in the zone.

It forms part of a broader package of baseline studies being prepared with other key state government agencies as part of the Resources Cabinet Committee’s work to streamline environmental approvals.  

These further studies will provide data on water availability and key environmental considerations that can be used by all proponents in the Critical Mineral Zone.

The state government says the studies could accelerate project assessments by as much as two years.

The Queensland government has announced the first tranche of projects under its Natural Resource Management Expansion Program, with four projects in Far North and North West Queensland to share almost $7 million.

Terrain NRM, Gulf Savannah NRM, and Natural Resource Management Regions Queensland are the funding recipients.

Grant opportunity - recycling. The Queensland government is offering a total of $60 million to local councils in the first round of a grant scheme to support projects that boost waste diversion from landfill.

The Resource Recovery Boost Fund will ultimately award $130 million to councils, for small and large projects. 

In the first funding round, $20 million is available to support small-scale projects and $40 million to support larger projects.

PepsiCo has signed a new agreement with CleanCo to continue to power its Brisbane manufacturing site with 100% renewable electricity.

The non-essential use of PFAS should be banned, recommends a Legislative Council committee inquiry into PFAS in waterways and drinking water.

"It is patently clear that no single jurisdiction can tackle this problem alone," the report says.

"That is why the committee recommended the government work with state and federal governments to support the phase-out of all non-essential uses of PFAS by 2030," it says. "Importantly, moves are also afoot internationally to do just this." 

The committee concludes Sydney Water did not perform an appropriate level of due diligence before claiming, in June 2024, that there were no known PFAS hotspots within its drinking water catchments. 

It also concludes there is a lack of transparency and adequate regulation around the historical application of biosolids in New South Wales.

"The revised standards under the PFAS National Environmental Management Plan Version 3.0 could render a significant proportion of biosolids produced by NSW water utilities unsuitable for agricultural reuse," it concludes.

The committee recommends that the EPA include load limits within environmental protection licences as to the amount of PFAS chemicals that can be discharged into waterways.

The Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association welcomed the recommendation for a ban.

"This report validates what our members have been saying for years: PFAS is not a problem that can be solved at the end of the pipe," said WMRR's CEO, Gayle Sloan.

"The Committee is right - the only effective solution is source control," Sloan said. Australia needs urgent national leadership to phase out non-essential PFAS by 2030 and ensure consistent regulations across jurisdictions."

NSW's coastal management framework is not being effectively implemented to manage the state's coastal environment, the NSW Audit Office has found.

"Seven years after the framework came into effect, most local councils are still in the process of developing Coastal Management Programs," its new audit report points out.

NSW DCCEEW "is not effectively overseeing and facilitating implementation of the framework by state and local government", the audit report says.

"As a result, the Act's objectives are not being achieved."

"The audited councils with certified CMPs have faced challenges in integrating related coastal management actions as part of their integrated planning and reporting, due to uncertainty over long-term funding sources," the report adds.

A NSW parliamentary committee inquiry into modern slavery risks in regional NSW held a public hearing last Friday.

The ACCC has raised preliminary competition concerns about a proposed acquisition of Benedict Recycling Pty Ltd by Igneo Infrastructure Partners.

Igneo manages the infrastructure fund that owns Integrated Waste Services, which operates under the Recycle Central brand in NSW's Newcastle region, supplying building and demolition waste processing services.

Benedict Recycling also provides these services in the Newcastle region.

The ACCC says it has concerns that the proposed acquisition is likely to substantially lessen competition in the supply of mixed building and demolition waste processing services in the Newcastle region.

A parliamentary select committee inquiry into proposed energy from waste facilities is now accepting submissions.

Submissions to an inquiry into the fossil fuel sector by Parliament's joint standing committee on a net zero future are now available.

The Joint Select Committee on the NSW Reconstruction Authority has launched a review of the Authority's handling of recent disasters, including the severe weather caused by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred in March. It will report by May 2026.

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.

Statutory development - grid infrastructure. The VicGrid Stage 2 Bill has now passed Parliament, after the Legislative Assembly agreed to Legislative Council amendments.

Coalition speakers in the Assembly described the Bill as "an absolute abomination" that is "taking away the property rights of Victorians".

Statutory development - hunting. The state government has introduced the Parks and Public Land Legislation Amendment (Central West and Other Matters) Bill, which creates several new park areas, and allows deer hunting in two remote East Gippsland parks.

Latrobe City Council has made submissions on draft Declared Mine Rehabilitation Plans (DMRPs) for Engie's Hazelwood mine, and Energy Australia's Yallourn W mine.

Latrobe City Council Mayor, Councillor Dale Harriman said the rehabilitation of the mines represents one of the most significant land transformations in Victoria's history, and will shape the region for generations to come.

Consultation opportunity - trade strategy. A government discussion paper on preparations for a new five-year trade strategy canvasses views on net zero and climate-driven trade.

The state government has released a 'what we heard' report on consultations for a new state threatened species strategy.

The draft strategy and an implementation plan will be released in coming months, the government said.

Consultation opportunity - the EPA. The South Australian government is seeking views on a 'regulating for tomorrow" discussion paper about the role of the state's EPA.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the EPA. Comments are due by 5 October.

Statutory development - Coordinator General. Premier Roger Cook has introduced a State Development Bill, describing it as "a pivotal next step that will empower a more strategic, coordinated and efficient approach to planning, assessment and approvals for projects and precincts".

"The Bill seeks to address the challenges that arise from the complexity, scale and urgency of emerging and strategic industries and developments," Cook said.

"These include critical mineral processing facilities, naval shipbuilding, large-scale renewable energy projects, net zero industry hubs for green metals, manufacturing and multi-user infrastructure projects."

The Bill establishes the office of Coordinator General to facilitate assessments and approvals for designated priority projects.

It also empowers the Planning Minister, with the approval of the Premier, to issue modification orders.

Modification orders can be used to exempt a priority project from specific provisions of designated legislation, although they can't exempt them from a "key regulatory authorisation".

The Bill also provides for the declaration of State Development Areas (SDAs) and for the preparation of SDA plans.

Grant opportunity - clean energy. The WA government is launching a second round of the New Energies Industries Funding Stream, with grants of up to $15 million on offer.

In the 2024 first funding ground, a total of $60 million was allocated to five projects. The second round will focus on critical minerals, green iron and steel, renewable hydrogen, and carbon capture, utilisation and storage.

Applications must be lodged by 4 November.

Acting on the advice of the WA Appeals Convenor, Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn has tightened PFAS conditions applying to Chevron's Wheatstone LNG operations.

The WA Conservation Council had appealed against a licence amendment granted to Chevron in February that allowed its Wheatstone waste management facility to accept PFAS-contaminated wastes.

The Appeals Convenor concluded that the amended licence conditions could be improved, and the Minister has made the recommended changes.

The leaders communique from last week's Pacific Islands Forum summit in the Solomons has commended the International Court of Justice advisory opinion on climate change "as a powerful affirmation of what the region can achieve when it works together as one Blue Pacific".

Leaders acknowledged the advocacy of the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change, which led to the issuance of the landmark advisory opinion.

"Leaders urged all countries, including Forum Members, to utilise, as appropriate, the ICJ advisory opinion in respect of states' obligations in relation to climate change in implementing their respective obligations nationally and internationally," the communique says.

"Leaders strongly encouraged all Forum Members to consider the ICJ AO when engaging in international climate change negotiations and associated processes, and to uphold the importance of maintaining the 1.5°C global temperature goal in
accordance with the Paris Agreement," it says.

"Leaders agreed to progress next steps in respect of the ICJ AO, including in the
development of a follow-up resolution in the UN General Assembly," the communique says.

Leaders also ratified an agreement to establish a Pacific Resilience Facility, with Australia pledging $100 million to the facility.

In addition, they supported Fiji's bid to host the Green Climate Fund (GCF) regional office in Suva.

Leaders also reaffirmed their "strong support" for Australia's bid to host COP31 as a Pacific COP.

Meanwhile, an alliance including the Smart Energy Council has released a "discussion starter" on how the Pacific can be the world's first 100% renewable energy region.

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