ESG Snapshot: Issue 119

This week's highlights include:

• Future generations. The SA government hasn't ruled out supporting an independent's intergenerational equity climate Bill.
• EPBC overhaul. From now on, all EPBC referrals will be examined under the reformed legislation.
• Northern extension. The $7 billion Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility will continue for another decade.
• Early insights. The Clean Energy Regulator has released preliminary insights on the performance of the Safeguard Mechanism in FY24.
• Heavy vehicles. Treasurer Jim Chalmers and his counterparts have agreed to embark on reforms to speed the uptake of electric heavy vehicles.
• Electrification regulations. Victoria has gazetted its regulations banning gas connections in new homes.
• 'No sign of slowing'. There's no sign of decresing demand for Queensland's coal, says the state government.
• CCS referral. INPEX has made an EPBC referral for infrastructure linked to a potential CCS project.

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

Statutory development - EPBC reform. Parliament has passed an EPBC reform package comprising seven bills.

"This is a landmark day for the environment in our country," said Environment Minister Murray Watt.

"These reforms will deliver tangible benefits for the environment and protect what is precious," the Minister said. "But these reforms will also be a power surge of productivity for our economy, cutting approval times for key projects and injecting up to $7 billion into the economy," he said.

Analyses and commentary include:

• explanatory statements on the parliamentary website.
• the 'stronger environmental protection and restoration' page on the DCCEEW website.
• an analysis in The Conversation.
• a summary by Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer.
• a summary by Ashurst.
• an article by Ken Henry in the Guardian.
• an analysis by the Biodiversity C0uncil.

DCCEEW has released INPEX's EPBC referral for infrastructure supporting its proposed Ichthys carbon capture and storage project.

The referral is for a proposed CO2 compression facility at INPEX's Ichthys LNG facility on Bladin Point near Darwin, and a buried onshore pipeline system that would go to a tie-in station, which would be located near Santos's Darwin LNG facility.

Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen has tabled in Parliament several climate-related reports:

• The latest National Greenhouse Gas inventory Quarterly Update (for June 2025).
• The fourth Annual Climate Change Statement.
• Australia's latest Emissions Projections.
• The Climate Change Authority's 2025 Annual Progress Report.

"In the last 12 months, Australia has produced over 100 terawatt-hours of renewable electricity, enough to power every household more than 1½ times," Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen told Parliament, when tabling the reports.

"We've seen over six gigawatts of new large-scale battery capacity entering the national grid," the Minister said. "This has allowed battery discharge to increase by a massive 150 per cent, and the pipeline remains strong."

"To date, we have competed five of the 15 expected capacity investment scheme tenders. We have over 16GW of projects under contract or in negotiations. Of these, we expect around 11GW will have reached financial close by the end of 2026."

The Clean Energy Regulator has released its latest Quarterly Carbon Market Report, for the September quarter.

• Around 6GWh of storage capacity could be installed under the Cheaper Home Batteries program by the end of FY26, it estimates.
• A record 15.7 million Large-scale Generation Certifications were created over the quarter, led by wind generation.
• Renewable energy capacity being added to the grid is "strong", with approved large-scale capacity likely to reach 3.8GW to 4.0GW in 2025, following a record year in 2024 of 4.3GW.  
• 5.5 million ACCUs were issued in Q3 2025, bringing the year-to-date total to 15 million. Another 7.3 million ACCUs were under application at the end of Q3 2025. Total ACCU supply for 2025 might be towards the higher end of the Regulator's forecast 19 million to 24 million range.

The Clean Energy Regulator has released a report on Preliminary Safeguard Mechanism Insights.

The report says covered emissions were down 2.4% in FY25, compared to FY24 levels.

A meeting of state and territory Treasurers convened by federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has agreed to "heavy vehicle reforms to boost productivity and increase the uptake of electric heavy vehicles".

The meeting has also agreed to extend 'right to repair' reforms to agricultural machinery, the Treasurer said.

The Treasurer provided no details on the reforms.

Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Madeleine King has announced she will introduce legislation to extend the operations of the $7 billion Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) for a further  10 years.

NAIF has a current portfolio of 32 project investments – 14 in Queensland, 10 in  Western Australia and eight in the Northern Territory.

This represents about $4.3 billion  in approved loans for projects which are forecast to generate more than $33 billion in  public benefit, the Minister said.

The Minister also tabled in Parliament the latest Northern Australia Annual Statement and Progress Report.

Tender 8 of the Capacity Investment Scheme is now open. The latest round is expected to add 16GWh of energy storage, sufficient to power the peak load of 3.7 million homes for four hours.

Renew Australia has presented new polling results to a Senate committee inquiry into climate and energy information integrity.

The polling of residents living in renewable energy zones, conducted in September, found a strong majority (62%) support Australia's shift to renewable energy.

However, respondents tended to underestimate levels of support in their own communities. While 62% of REZ residents personally support the shift to renewable energy, only 37% believe the majority of residents in their community do.

The federal government has gazetted a new Reducing Methane Emissions from Landfill Gas method for earning carbon credits.

The new ACCU method specifies the methane capture baselines that projects must exceed in order to earn carbon credits. The baselines will rise by 0.5% annually.

It replaces the 2015 landfill gas method, and the 2021 landfill gas generation method.

Open consultations:

• ACCU register. The Clean Energy Regulator has released a discussion paper on proposed improvements to the ACCU projects and contracts register. Comments are due by 19 December.
• Decommissioning offshore oil and gas and CCS projects. The federal government is seeking feedback on proposed reforms to decommissioning and financial assurance arrangements for the offshore oil and gas industry. Comments are due by 13 January.
• Environmental standards. The federal government has released a draft National Environmental Standard on Matters of National Environmental Significance (MNES), and another on environmental offsets. Comments are due by 30 January.

Queensland's Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dale Last has described an investment deal involving a Bowen Basin metallurgical coal mining company as "a vote of confidence in our mining industry".

Argo Energy has taken a 70% stake in Fitzroy Mining Operations and will become the controlling entity of its three coal mines. Fitzroy Mining also has another coal project in development, and has a portfolio of exploration tenements.

"Since 2000, global coal demand has nearly doubled, with Queensland's main export markets like India, China and South-East Asia accounting for half the world's usage," the Minister said. "And with more than 400 coal-fired power stations under construction around the world, there’s no sign of slowing."

Argo's directors are all former Fitzroy Australia Resources executives.

Meanwhile, RenewEconomy has reported that Whitehaven has withdrawn its EPBC referral for an extension of the Blackwater open-cut metallurgical coal mine near Emerald, in Queensland.

A Queensland parliamentary committee inquiry into the government's energy roadmap Bill is due to report on Friday.

Transcript of the latest hearing convened by a Queensland parliamentary committee inquiry into sugarcane bioenergy is now available.

Representatives of LMS Energy, Licella Holdings, and RACQ were among those giving evidence.

The Licella representative outlined the company's work with the Isis Central Sugar Mill in the Bundaberg region on a proposed regional biorefinery, which would produce sustainable aviation fuel and other high-value biofuels. 

The RACQ representative outlined opportunities for EVs with ethanol powered range extenders, known as Extended Range Electric Vehicles (EREVs).

The NSW government has granted environmental approval for the construction and operation of a methane-destroying pilot thermal oxidiser at the Bulli Seam Operations coal mine in the Illawarra.

It's estimated that using the oxidiser to convert emissions from methane to CO2 will reduce the mine's greenhouse gas emissions by 36,000 tonnes annually, when implemented at full scale.

The NSW government has released its response to the first report of a parliamentary committee inquiry into the impact of renewable energy zones.

The response sets out the government's views on the five recommendations made by the committee, which dealt with issues including cumulative impacts and ecological protection.

The NSW government has launched its $25 million Agriculture Industries Innovation and Growth Program.

The program will provide grants of up to $4 million for projects that will immediately scale-up production lines, or enable new products, or reduce emissions.

The NSW government has launched a $5 million grant program to help community energy groups to help boost local energy initiatives. Grants of up to $600,000 are available.

The NSW EPA has released a Statutory Review Report of the state's container deposit scheme.

The state government has gazetted regulations that require new residential and commercial buildings to be all-electric.

Following public comment on the draft proposals, Housing Minister Harriet Shing has made amendments including:

• Making 1 January 2027 the start date for the requirement that all new residential and commercial buildings be all-electric.
• Making 1 March 2027 the start date for the ban on installing or replacing reticulated gas water heaters in existing residential buildings.
• Not proceeding with the ban on installing ore replacing gas heaters in existing residential buildings.

A Victorian parliamentary committee inquiry into decommissioning offshore oil and gas has scheduled its first hearing for 10 December.

The Tasmanian government has released a Critical Minerals Prospectus.

The Tasmanian government has released a discussion paper on deer management options. Comments are due by 5 January.

Statutory development - intergenerational equity. The South Australian government last week expressed support for debate on an independent's climate change intergenerational equity Bill, and hasn't ruled out supporting it.

The Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction (Intergenerational Equity) Amendment Bill 2o25 would require the health and well‑being of children and future generations to be considered when decisions are made that are likely to contribute to climate change.

The Opposition said it did not support the Bill. However, Labor MLC Ian Hunter said the government would support a second reading and "will reserve our right on our support of the Bill for future stages".

"We have not had time to properly consult on the impacts of the Bill, so we are not in a position to progress it any further than the second reading stage today," Hunter said. 

The Bill, introduced a few months ago by independent MLC Tammy Franks, would require the completion of a child rights impact assessment when these decisions are made.

Statutory development - energy and mining reform. The government has rejected Legislative Council amendments made to its Statutes Amendment (Energy and Mining Reforms) Bill 2025.

The Bill would have amended the Energy Resources Act 2000, the Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Act 2023 and, most substantially, the Mining Act 1971.

Any reforms to these laws now won't be considered until after the forthcoming state election.

The Bill would have allowed exploration licences to be extended indefinitely, in blocks of up to five years, beyond the existing 18-year limit. They would also have increased penalties from $250,000 to $16.5 million.

The amendments rejected by the government would have required the preparation of an agricultural impact assessment before any extension, and would have limited extensions to a specific number of two-year extensions.

The SA Association of Mining and Exploration Companies said the Liberals decision to move the amendments in the Upper House had "sabotaged" investment certainty in the state, by adding extra uncertainty.

The Western Australian government has released a Strategic Industrial Lands Activation Plan.

The government says the plan outlines opportunities to "get out of government-owned coal-fired power generation faster than any other Australian state, and set our economy up for success in a world that is decarbonising".

The plan also sets out a pathway for WA to become "the largest naval maintenance and shipbuilding hub in the southern hemisphere", it says.

The Western Australian government has announced recipients of "carbon for farmers" grants, under round three of the program.

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The UK government has published a North Sea Future Plan, which states that no new oil and gas exploration licences will be issued.

The plan includes a new instrument called a Transitional Energy Certificate, which will allow known resources to be developed if they're linked to an existing field and are needed for a managed transition.

The OECD has released a new report on the Triple Planetary Crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

The analysis shows that climate change is projected to have surpassed land-use change as the main driver of biodiversity loss by 2050.

It also highlights the interconnections between policies addressing each of the three environmental challenges.

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