ESG Snapshot: Issue 85

This week's highlights include:

• Stewardship law. A landmark NSW Bill proposes penalties of up to $880,000 for breaching mandatory product stewardship requirements.
• Approvals bypass law. The NT Assembly has passed a Bill that allows projects to be approved, even if they don't comply with other NT laws.
• Climate law overhaul. The SA Parliament has passed a Bill that comprehensively updates the state's climate law.
• Waste to energy rethink. Victoria is proposing to raise the state's cap on the total amount of waste that can be sent for energy recovery.
• $250 million. Minister Tanya Plibersek has announced a new program that will help kickstart the nature repair market.
• Ministerial intervention. Queensland's Deputy Premier and Planning Minister will call in two more wind projects.
• Modern slavery. The NSW government has rejected several recommendations of a parliamentary inquiry into the state's Modern Slavery Act.
• New ministry. WA Premier Roger Cook has announced his new Cabinet.
• Energy efficiency Bill. The Victorian government has introduced a Bill to extend its VEU energy efficiency scheme.

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

The federal Budget will be handed down tomorrow.

The Senate inquiry into Australia's extinction crisis is nominally due to report on Wednesday (almost three years after it started), and a Senate inquiry into greenwashing is currently scheduled to issue its report on Friday (two years after it began).

The federal government's first Capacity Investment Scheme tender for Western Australia has resulted in four new battery projects receiving CIS support:

• the Boddington Giga Battery (324MW) operated by PGS Energy.
• the Merredin Big Battery (100MW) operated by Atmos Renewables.
• the Muchea Big Battery (150MW) operated by Neoen.
• the Waroona Renewable Energy Project - Stage 1 (80MW) operated by Frontier Energy.

The successful projects will be able to deliver 654MWh, which is sufficient to supply the peak electricity load for more than 600,000 homes for four hours.

The four projects are scheduled to be operational by October 2027.

The federal government has appointed 10 people to its new Youth Advisory Council on International Climate Change.

The Opposition has committed to making a decision on Woodside's North West Shelf extension within 30 days of government, if it wins the election.

The Coalition would also introduce a National Interest Test "requiring a strengthened consideration of the economic and social benefits of projects under environmental approvals". 

In addition, it would establish a 'statute of limitations' on how reconsiderations of earlier EPBC Act approvals could be initiated. This would also limit the standing of third parties to challenge EPBC Act approval decisions, and limit third party requests for reconsiderations to a maximum 12 month period after an approval is made. 

The Australian Energy Market Operator has released its latest annual Gas Statement of Opportunities (GSOO) report, which says gas consumption has declined across most sectors, influenced by higher retail prices, mild winters, and increased electrification.

In association with changes in electricity generation outlooks, this "has improved short-term gas availability", says the AEMO report, which forecasts gas supply and demand in all states except Western Australia.

Last year's GSOO forecast risks of shortfalls on extreme peak demand days from 2025 and the potential for small seasonal supply gaps from 2026, ahead of
annual supply gaps that will require new sources of supply from 2028.

In the latest report, AEMO says there will be risks of peak day shortfalls from 2028 and new investment in Australia's central and east coast gas markets is still needed to address forecast supply shortfalls in the southern states.

AEMO notes that production from the Longford Gas Plant, which has historically supplied two-thirds of the gas used in the East Coast Gas Market, will reduce before retiring at the end of 2033.

"Various industry-led solutions are being considered to address shortfall risks, beyond the advanced developments already included in the GSOO," AEMO says.

"Investment could include new production, storage, transportation, and LNG regasification terminals, or a combination of these solutions."

"Flexible gas-powered generation will remain the ultimate backstop in a high-renewable power system," AEMO adds.

"Gas, alongside batteries and pumped hydro, will enable higher renewable penetration and support reliability as coal-fired power stations retire."

Alongside the GSOO, AEMO has also published the 2025 Victorian Gas Planning Report (VGPR), which provides a five-year assessment of Victoria’s gas supply and demand balance.

Australia's Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards (WELS) scheme has marked its 20th anniversary.

Since its start in 2005, the WELS scheme is estimated to have saved more than 1,800GL of water through better consumer choices.

"Less water used also means lower water heating bills, with savings under the scheme worth $16 billion in reduced utility bill costs and 29 megatonnes of CO2e," said WELS Regulator Lou-Ellen Martin.

The draft FY26 work program of the Australian National Audit Office includes the Capacity Investment Scheme, and the early implementation of Rewiring the Nation.

It also includes the delivery of Snowy 2.0, the effectiveness of the implementation of the Future Made in Australia plan, and audits of Commonwealth funding of fire ant eradication.

The federal government will invest $250 million in a new Saving Australia's Bushland program. The money to be directed at activities including:

• kickstarting the Nature Repair Market by investing in conservation projects by private landowners, "while improving links between the nature repair and carbon markets".
• allowing partnerships with philanthropic organisations, and state and local governments to protect high conservation value areas and add them to the National Reserve System.
• better protecting degraded government land by getting rid of feral pigs and weeds.
• supporting the establishment of new Indigenous Protected Areas.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said the funding "will save another 30 million hectares of bushland - an area bigger than New Zealand".

It will also bring 30% of Australian land under protection for the first time, the Minister said.

The federal government has awarded a $39.8 million Safeguard Transformation Scheme grant to Simcoa to expand charcoal production at its WA silicon-making facility, and remove the use of coal in its silicon making operations.

Substituting coal with renewable charcoal will reduce Simcoa's emissions by 89% percent, or more than 100,000 tonnes per year.

ARENA has announced the first recipient from its Hydrogen Headstart Program, with $814 million allocated under round 1 to Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners' 1,500 MW Murchison Green Hydrogen Project in Western Australia.

The program commits funding in the form of a production credit, meaning it is only provided once projects are constructed and operational.

To date, ARENA has provided over $370 million to 65 renewable hydrogen projects from early-stage research to deployment projects.

Based on a DCCEEW analysis, ARENA says Australia's hydrogen industry could unlock over $50 billion in additional private sector investment and create up to 16,000 new jobs by 2030.

The project will involve the large-scale production of renewable hydrogen and ammonia in the Mid West of Western Australia. It will include up to 1.5GW of electrolysis and 3,600 tonnes per day of ammonia production capacity.

The facility will operate completely off-grid, powered by about 1.2GW of solar and about 1.7GW of onshore wind, with a 600MW/1,200MWh battery energy storage system.

The CEFC is investing $160 million, in conjunction with a fund managed by Goldman Sachs Alternatives, to facilitate a whole of lifecycle approach to reducing building emissions in Australian construction projects.

The CEFC and Goldman Sachs fund will co-invest in construction debt facilities, primarily in the residential and commercial office sectors.

The Australian Institute of Company Directors, in collaboration with the national science agency CSIRO, has released a Climate Change Science Snapshot.

The publication aims to support boardroom discussions on scenario analysis, risk management, and transition planning.

Meanwhile, the Actuaries Institute has issued a new Climate Change Public Policy Statement.

Clean energy is one of four focus sectors identified by DFAT in a new Roadmap for Australia's economic engagement with India.

EPBC developments:

• DCCEEW has invited comments on the referral for the first stage of SiliconAurora's Aurora Energy Project, which will comprise a 30MW concentrated solar thermal power plant, a 7,500 tonne per year solar methanol plant, and a battery energy storage system, to be built near Port Augusta. SiliconAurora is 50% owned by Vast.
• DCCEEW has invited comment on Graphinex's referral for the Esmeralda graphite project in Queensland.
• Edify Energy has made an EPBC referral for the proposed 100MW Burroway solar farm and associated battery system, to be built near Dubbo.

The Clean Energy Regulator has released the latest annual update of the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) (Audit Thresholds) Instrument. 

The Instrument is used to set the audit schedule for ACCU Scheme projects. The 2025 Instrument includes a new class of alternative assurance projects, referred to as low-risk environmental plantings projects.

Open consultations:

• Guarantee of Origin scheme. DCCEEW is consulting on the first tranche of draft rules for the Guarantee of Origin (GO) scheme. Comments are due by 27 March.
• Capacity Investment Scheme. DCCEEW has released a design paper on the WA tender under the Capacity Investment Scheme. Submissions are due by 31 March.
• ACCU Scheme. The Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee is seeking feedback on the ACCU Soil Organic Carbon Method, with comments due by 11 April.
• Circularity. The Productivity Commission has released its interim report on circular economy opportunities. Comments are due by 11 April.

Wind farm development applications for the Marmadua Energy Park and the Middle Creek Energy Hub, 23km east of Tara, and 15km south of Wandoan respectively, have been issued with proposed 'call in' notices. 

The call-ins by Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie propose that submissions on the projects be accepted until 19 May.  

Statutory development - product stewardship. The NSW government has introduced a Product Lifecycle Responsibility Bill that will initially target batteries.

The proposed law would create a framework for suppliers of specified products to participate in mandatory stewardship schemes, which means those who make and sell them would have to adhere to requirements on design and manufacturing, reuse and recycling, and safe disposal options.

Provisions of the Bill would allow the requirements to be imposed on entities outside of NSW, to ensure it applies to products sold online or manufactured outside the state.

The Bill also gives the Minister the ability to set product stewardship targets for regulated products. It also allows for the introduction of regulations that require brand owners or product stewardship organisations to prepare action plans outlining how they will meet the targets.

Brandowners that fail to comply with the proposed law would face a maximum penalty of $880,000 for organisations, and $220,000 for individuals.

NSW is the first Australian jurisdiction to propose this type of legislation, and the Greens responded to the NSW move by criticising the federal government for not introducing similar laws.

Lithium batteries, including small embedded batteries, will be the first product covered by the proposed law, because they are the fastest growing fire risk in the state.

Transcript of a recent hearing into the annual report of the Net Zero Commission is now available.

The NSW government has tabled its response to a committee review of the Modern Slavery Act.

For the most part it has rejected the committee's recommendations, including the recommendations to give the state's Anti-Slavery Commissioner greater information-gathering and sanctioning powers.

The NSW government has also tabled its response to a Parliamentary committee inquiry into electric and hybrid vehicle batteries.

Open consultations:

• Waste to energy. The NSW EPA is consulting on proposed changes to the state's energy from waste framework. Comments are due by 8 April.
• Resource recovery. The NSW EPA is consulting on updated guidelines regarding its resource recovery order and exemption framework. It is also consulting on a pathway to support innovative resource recovery. Comments are due by 9 April.

ACT Independent Senator David Pocock has announced that Hannah Vardy will be his running mate for the 2025 campaign.

"Hannah has been part of a leadership team advocating across the parliament and the community to legislate a duty of care on climate for young people and future generations," Senator Pocock said.

Statutory development - energy efficiency. The state government has introduced a Bill to amend the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target Act 2007 to extend the state's Victorian Energy Upgrades program.

The Victorian Energy Efficiency Target Amendment (Energy Upgrades for The Future) Bill 2025 would extend the operation of the scheme to the end of 2045.

It would also give the Essential Services Commission a range of new and expanded enforcement tools to ensure compliance with the scheme requirements.

Statutory development - waste to energy. The state government has released an impact assessment for proposed Circular Economy (Waste Reduction and Recycling) (Waste to Energy Scheme) Amendment Regulations 2025.

The impact assessment examines the impact of adjusting the cap on the amount of waste that can be processed in waste to energy projects.

It examines three options:

• a cap limit of 2,000,000 tonnes per year (as currently prescribed).
• a cap limit of 2,500,000 tonnes per year (the recommended option).
• a cap limit of 3,000,000 tonnes per year.

Grant opportunity - electrification. The Victorian government is inviting applications for the Community Electrification Engagement Program – which funds local community groups to help locals switch from gas to electric and save. 

Organisations will be eligible for grants of up to $110,000 to help local families in their region to electrify their homes. Applications close on 14 April.

Open consultations:

• Climate change strategy. The Victorian government is seeking survey responses on preparations for its 2026 to 2030 climate change strategy. Comments are due by 8 April.

Open consultations:

• Planning legislation. The Tasmanian government has released a draft Bill that would allow certain types of development applications to be determined by independent Development Assessment Panels (DAP), appointed by the Tasmanian Planning Commission. Comments are due by 24 April.

Statutory development - climate change. The South Australian government has secured passage of its Climate Change and Greenhouse Emissions Reduction (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill, after agreeing to Legislative Council amendments.

The Bill enshrines in law a net zero by 2050 target, and it establishes a new short-term target for reducing net emissions by at least 60% by 2030.

It also legislates a a state target of 100% net renewable electricity generation by 2027.

In addition, the Minister will be required to set interim five-yearly emissions reduction targets for the state from 2030 to 2050.

It also requires the government to prepare a statewide emissions reduction plan and to review and update it in line with the five-yearly targets. A statewide climate risk assessment must also be prepared within two years of the bBll being enacted, and it must be reviewed every five years.

In addition, the Bill allows the Premier to nominate a public sector entity to prepare an agency or sector plan that addresses emissions reduction and/or climate change adaptation.

Amendments accepted by the government, or introduced by it, include clarifying the term "net renewable energy generation", and establishing a process for considering whether net zero can be met earlier than 2050.

The government also accepted an amendment that requires the reporting of total greenhouse gas emissions without taking into account any removals of emissions from atmosphere from offsets outside the state.

The National Environmental Law Association has released its submission on South Australia's draft Biodiversity Bill.

NELA says the Bill constitutes an "important step for South Australia", and some aspects are nation-leading.

However, it also contains components of existing biodiversity laws that have been found to be problematic in other jurisdictions in Australia, NELA says.

"The major shortcomings include reliance on offsets as as tool for environment, broad discretion for decision-makers resulting in weaker protections, and biodiversity laws ‘trumped’ by planning, property, mining, water, and forestry laws," it says.

Green Adelaide, on behalf of the state government, has released a new Urban Greening Strategy for metropolitan Adelaide.

Open consultations:

• Energy efficiency. The South Australian government is consulting on the next phase of the Retailer Energy Productivity Scheme (REPS), which subsidises energy efficiency activities in homes and businesses. Comments are due by 31 March.
• Planning regulations. New draft planning amendment regulations would exclude electric vehicle charging stations from the definition of 'development'. Comments are due by April 22.

WA Premier Roger Cook has announced his new ministry, with a new portfolio of energy and decarbonisation going to Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson.

Sanderson's portfolio responsibilities also encompass Manufacturing; Skills and TAFE; and the Pilbara.

Don Punch has portfolio responsibilities including climate resilience and water. Matthew Swinbourn is the new Environment Minister.

Jodie Hanns has been appointed parliamentary secretary to Minister Sanderson, and Kim Giddens has been appointed parliamentary secretary to Minister Swinbourn.

Statutory development - fast-track approvals. The Northern Territory government has secured passage through the Legislative Assembly of its Territory Coordinator Bill.

Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro highlighted the Bill's "significance in re-defining the way business is done in the Northern Territory".

Under the new law, the Territory Coordinator can recommend that the Minister grant exemption notices that would allow approvals to be issued even if they conflict with existing laws.

The Opposition opposed the Bill, describing it as "a deeply flawed piece of legislation", and sought to have the exemption notice regime removed.

A report on the Bill by the Assembly's Scrutiny of Legislation Committee is available here. The Committee received 302 submissions, of which only two supported passage of the Bill as introduced.

Two other submissions raised concern could that the Bill might interfere with or contravene the Territory's EPBC bilateral agreements with the federal government.

Open consultations:

• Biodiversity data. The NT EPA is inviting comments on its draft biodiversity policy and related guidance. The EPA has also released draft environmental factor guidance on terrestrial ecosystems, on assessing impacts on terrestrial biodiversity, on marine ecosystems, and on assessing impacts on marine biodiversity. Comments are due by 11 April.

New listings are in blue.

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has published an initial draft of its revised Corporate Net-Zero Standard.

The SBTi acknowledges that dealing with scope 3 emissions has proved to be the most significant challenge in net-zero target setting.

"The draft standard proposes increased flexibility through options to set targets for green procurement and revenue generation, instead of setting an emissions reduction target," the SBTi says.

"In focusing on direct suppliers and/or those in emissions-intensive sectors to align with net-zero, this proposal intends to focus action in the most emission-intensive activities and those where companies have the highest influence."

This approach would replace requirement to reduce scope 3 emissions by 67% in the near-term, and 90% in the longer term.

While the current version of the standard recommends that companies to go above
and beyond their science-based targets through beyond value chain mitigation (BVCM), the draft standard aims to provide better recognition of those companies that do so.

Unlike the existing standard, which dates from 2021, the draft standard proposes differentiating scope 1 and scope 2 emissions "to reflect the unique challenges decarbonising each of these categories".

The draft also proposes a different approach for companies, based on their size
and geography.

Category A companies (large and medium-sized companies operating in higher-income geographies) would be required to follow all criteria. Category B companies (small and medium-sized companies operating in
lower-income geographies) would be offered increased flexibility.

The SBTi says alignment with 1.5 degrees continues to be its "central ambition".

Nearly four years ago, almost all governments committed to halting and reversing deforestation and forest degradation by 2030, notes a new international call to action. 

Issued by a global alliance that includes CDP and WWF, the call to action lists the "bold action" that governments must now take to get on track to meet this pledge.

The International Institute for Sustainable Development has issued a new report on The State of Border Carbon Adjustments in 2025.

The 70 member countries of the V20/Climate Vulnerable Forum have issued a report on Piloting community-based loss and damage compensation.

The International Council on Mining and Metals has published new guidance to help mining and metals companies achieve and maintain no net loss of biodiversity at their operations, and ultimately strive for net gain of biodiversity.  

The UK government has opened a short consultation into how a proposed price guarantee mechanism could reduce the risks of revenue uncertainty for SAF producers in the country, reports Green Air News.

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