ESG Snapshot: Issue 78

This week's highlights include:

• EPA steps in. The NSW EPA has issued a new guide describing its expectations for projects that will emit more than 25,000 tonnes of CO2 annually.
• Renewables uncertainty. A new Queensland regulation makes third-party appeals possible against wind farm projects.
• Refused. NSW's planning commission has refused consent for a plastics recycling facility.
• Under $50. Santos says its Moomba CCS project is working at full capacity, with a sequestration cost of under $49 per tonne.
• Greenwashing. A Senate inquiry into greenwashing is due to report this month.

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

A Senate committee inquiry into residential electrification, which was due to report last Friday, has requested an extension until 31 July.

A Senate committee inquiry into greenwashing is due to report on 12 February, and a Senate committee inquiry into offshore wind consultation is due on 13 February.

A Senate committee inquiry into the government's proposed production tax credits Bill, which would support the development of the green hydrogen and critical minerals industries, has issued its final report.

Labor members supported passage of the Bill. Coalition members opposed it, stating that the Coalition's instant tax write off proposal, and its proposed tax deductions for business-related meals, would help more businesses.

The Greens supported the Bill, but criticised the government for continuing to support the coal and gas industries.

Transcript is now available of two hearings held this month by a Senate committee inquiry into PFAS.

Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen has directed the ARENA board to consider funding for more community electrification demonstration projects across Australia. 

The direction means ARENA will examine opportunities to expand the Electrify 2515 pilot program in North Illawarra, by replicating it in Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania and the ACT. 

Bowen's direction follows discussions with cross-bench senators David Pocock, David Van, Jacqui Lambie and Lidia Thorpe.

The CEFC has committed $300 million to co-finance two NAB green loan programs.

Of the total, $200 million will go towards a NAB green finance for vehicles and equipment program. The remaining $100 million will go to support a 1.5% interest rate discount to help farmers reduce their emissions.

The funding was announced in conjunction with the launch of Towards Net Zero Agriculture Pathfinder, an online resource co-developed by the CEFC and CSIRO.

Pathfinder^1 includes information on a range of emissions reduction activities, including those that might be eligible for discounted CEFC finance.

Meanwhile, the CEFC has announced a record $3.5 billion in new investment commitments in the six months to December 2024.

"Together with co-investors, CEFC commitments in the six-month period are on track to deliver $13.3 billion in investment across the clean energy economy," the green bank said.

"The sustained pace of CEFC investment activity saw the completion of 28 transactions to December, averaging just over one each week."

The Australian Energy Market Operator has released its Quarterly Energy Dynamics report for the last quarter of 2024, showing record-breaking demand levels in the NEM, and a surge in renewable energy contributions.

"Growth in distributed PV output and reduced coal availability saw renewable sources reaching a record 46% share of the overall NEM supply mix, with the contribution of coal-fired generation dipping below 50% for the first time," the quarterly report says.

ARENA has awarded a $20.8 million grant to Western Power to help better integrate rooftop solar and small-scale batteries into the main Western Australian grid.

The federal government has appointed Emeritus Professor Tony Haymet as Australia's tenth Chief Scientist.

Prior to his appointment, Professor Haymet was Chair of the Antarctic Science Foundation and Chair of the ATSE Climate Change Working Group.

He is also a Distinguished Professor, Director and Vice-Chancellor Emeritus at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. 

EPBC developments:

• A landowner has lodged an EPBC referral to clear native vegetation on a property near Lightning Ridge in NSW and replace it with annual cropping.
  
  The native vegetation includes areas of EPBC-listed Endangered Coolibah - Black Box Woodlands. The project area is 4427.14 hectares, with 596.12 hectares to be cleared. An area of 1694.48 hectares is proposed to be set aside to offset the impact of the clearing.

Wind farm projects in Queensland can now face third party appeals, following gazettal of a new regulation.

The Planning (Wind Farms) Amendment Regulation ends previous arrangements that made no provision for third party appeals.

"The Amendment Regulation has not been consulted outside government agencies as it has been progressed as a matter of urgency to ensure timely delivery of the Government commitment," says an explanatory statement.

In addition to introducing the regulation, the state government has amended the wind farm code so that proponents must pay security bonds for decommissioning.

The state government intends making solar farms assessable under similar arrangements, said Planning Minister Jarrod Bleijie.

It will also introduce a community benefit framework for renewable energy developments that is similar to the requirements for other major development projects, he said.

The NSW EPA has released a new Guide for Large Emitters, which describes how emissions should be assessed, avoided, and mitigated throughout a project’s life.

The guide will generally apply if a project proposal:

• requires development assessment and approval, or a change to an approval, under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, and
• involves one or more scheduled activities under Schedule 1 of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 and/or will be carried out at an existing licensed premises, and
• is likely to emit 25,000 tonnes or more of scope 1 and 2 emissions of CO₂-e in any financial year.

Proponents will need to prepare Environmental Impact Assessments that include:

• emission projections;
• plans that outline how projects propose to achieve emission reduction goals, including by avoiding or minimising greenhouse gas emissions;
• Robust measures for monitoring and reporting emissions.

The EPA will use the information to formulate its advice to the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure or the Independent Planning Commission on planning decisions.

Proponents must only use carbon credits for emissions that can't be avoided. Any credits must be sourced from accredited Australian schemes, and must preferably be from NSW projects.

The NSW Independent Planning Commission has refused consent for Plasrefine Recycling's Moss Vale Plastics Recycling Facility.

The Commission concluded that the project would "unreasonably conflict with other land uses in the area", because of its close proximity to homes, zones that permit residential development, and other land uses.  

The facility would have accepted up to 120,000 tonnes of mixed plastic annually, converting it into plastic flakes, pellets, and powder.

Almost 200 neighbours of Stromlo Energy's proposed Pines wind farm in NSW stand to share more than $100 million spread over 35 years, under the proponent's proposed Nearby Neighbour program.

The average annual payment would be around $14,000, adding up to more than $500,000 over the life of the wind farm when CPI increases are applied.

Those living nearby would also receive a $100 annual electricity bill credit.

The NSW government has released a report on triggers and thresholds for managing natural hazard risks in coastal areas, including beach erosion and shoreline recession.

The NSW government has released a new report on koalas in the landscape, which examines landscape capacity to support koala populations in a changing climate.

The report notes that landscape capacity fell by an estimated 71% from the late 1700s through to 2000, mostly due to clearing.

In the absence of significant added conservation efforts, from 2000 to 2070 a further 16% loss from pre-industrial times is expected, due solely to projected climate change impacts (not taking into account any clearing).

The submission period for a NSW parliamentary committee inquiry into the impact of renewable energy zones on rural and regional communities closed last Friday. No hearings have yet been scheduled.

The NSW government has placed on exhibition Avenis Energy's proposed Deniliquin battery energy storage system, with a capacity of 120MW/480MWh.

Victoria's Minister for Planning, Sonya Kilkenny, has appointed acommittee to advise on the Kentbruck green power hub project.

The Kentbruck hub involves the development of a 600MW wind farm on a site near Portland, and a new 275kV underground transmission line connecting the wind farm to the grid, at the existing Heywood terminal station.

The committee will hold a directions hearing on 1 April, with hearings to begin in May.

The Environmental Effects Statement for the project, which would be sited in a pine plantation, is now on public exhibition.

Agriculture Victoria is consulting on the merits of introducing a general biosecurity duty for animals and plants. Comments are due by 28 February.

Open consultations:

• Connecting energy projects to the grid. VicGrid is consulting on network access arrangements to manage how renewable energy projects connect to the state's electricity transmission network. Comments are due by 14 February.
• VEU changes. The Victorian government is consulting on plans to reward the introduction of new energy management information systems through the Victorian Energy Upgrades program. Comments are due by 17 February.

SA Premier Peter Malinauskas has congratulated Santos and Beach Energy for achieving full ramp-up of the Moomba Carbon Capture and Storage project, which will store up to 1.7 million tonnes of CO2 each year.

"As the Moomba CCS grows over subsequent phases of development, the project has potential to provide carbon storage for companies across Australia and the Asian region," Malinauskas said.

Santos chief executive Kevin Gallagher said the project was injecting CO2 at a rate of under $49 a tonne.

Open consultations:

• Biodiversity Bill. The state government has released a draft Biodiversity Bill. The objects of the Bill include "to protect, restore and enhance biodiversity such that there is an improvement in the state of biodiversity at all scales and to build the resilience of biodiversity". Comments are due by 18 February.

Five years after appeals were first lodged over the Yara Pilbara Fertilisers Ammonia Plant, the WA Appeals Convenor has dismissed them.

The appeals mostly focused on potential impacts on Murajuga rock art.

Open consultations:

• Biosolids. The NT EPA has released proposed guidelines for biosolids management. Comments are due by 28 February.

New listings are in blue.

A new international report identifies 10 "super levers" that could collectively raise US$210 billion a year in affordable climate finance for distribution to vulnerable countries.

The super levers identified in the new CVF-V20 and Bridgetown Initiative report include imposing levies on shipping and aviation, which the report says could generate between $50 billion and $100 billion annually.

Repurposing harmful subsidies for fossil fuel subsidies could unlock $30 billion annually, if 1% of the revenue savings were redirected to the 70 most vulnerable countries, the report says.

Carbon markets could generate an estimated $20 billion by 2030 for the world's 70 most climate-vulnerable countries, it adds.

The report estimates that the 70 most climate-vulnerable nations together need about US$490 billion a year in financing by 2030 for climate mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage.

Meanwhile, a new report from the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force has launched an open consultation to gather feedback on proposals for 16 levies on sectors "that are undertaxed and contribute disproportionately more to global carbon emissions".

The consultation includes options for levies on aviation, cryptocurrency, fossil fuels, shipping, financial transactions, plastics production, and high-net-worth individuals.

The New Zealand government has announced the country's 2035 target, which is to reduce emissions by 51% to 55%, compared to 2005 levels, by 2035.

 The target constitutes an improvement of as little as 1% on its 2030 target of a 50% reduction on 2005 levels.

The government described the target as "ambitious but achievable".

Japan's seven largest trading companies and JERA, Japan’s largest power company, are planning 8GW of gas-fired power generation projects across Asia, "undermining the transition to clean energy and the climate commitments of Japan and Asian countries more broadly", says a new analysis from Market Forces.

The analysis examines Japan's seven major trading companies, Itochu, Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsui & Co., Marubeni Corporation, Sojitz Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation, and Toyota Tsusho Corporation, as well as JERA.

The Carbon Balance Initiative, in collaboration with Oxford Net Zero and the Carbon Capture and Storage Association, has released a report that examines whether a Carbon Takeback Obligation (CTBO) could help establish a self-sustaining CCS sector.

Climate campaigners have successfully urged a Scottish court to invalidate a consent to drill the UK's largest untapped oilfield.

Greenpeace and Uplift successfully argued that the previous government had unlawfully granted the Norwegian oil company Equinor a licensing consent to develop the Rosebank oilfield, located 130km northwest of Shetland.

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