ESG Snapshot: Issue 86

This week's highlights include:

• NT axes 2030 target. The NT government has ditched the former Territory government's renewables target.
• Greens' climate litigation Bill. A Bill proposed by the Greens in the last week of Parliament would have allowed those affected by cyclones and floods, as well as attorneys-general, to seek damages payouts from large emitters.
• NZ anti-climate litigation Bill. An MP from the ruling National Party has proposed a Bill to make climate change litigation illegal (international news).
• Circularity Bill. The NSW Parliament has unanimously backed a landmark product stewardship Bill.
• Net-zero report. A NSW parliamentary committee has recommended that the NSW Net Zero Commission urgently inquire into the resources sector.
• Appeal rights axed. The NT government has secured passage of a Bill that removes third party appeal rights.
• EPBC Bill. Salmon farming in Tasmania's Macquarie Harbour can't undergo an EPBC assessment, following passage of a tightly-targeted Bill.
• Industrial grants. ARENA is offering $70 million in decarbonisation grants.
• $18 million decontamination. Two companies have agreed to spend more than $18 million decontaminating residential properties near an old smelter.

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

Budget statements for the DCCEEW portfolio are available here. Budget statements for the Department of Industry, Science and Resources is available here. General Budget papers are here. Opposition leader Peter Dutton's Budget reply speech is here.

The federal election will take place on 3 May.

Statutory development - liability for climate change damage. In this Parliament's final week, Greens senators Larissa Waters and Mehreen Faruqi introduced a Liability for Climate Change Damage (Make the Polluters Pay) Bill.

"This Bill will give people and businesses affected by climate change fuelled events, such as victims of Tropical Cyclone Alfred, the right to sue coal and gas corporations to pay for the damage these corporations have caused," Senator Waters said.

The Bill would allow a person who suffered climate change damage, or a federal, state or territory Attorney-General, to seek a court injunction requiring a major emitter to reduce or cease activities that might cause climate change damage in the future.

It would also allow the court to determine the amount of damages the major emitter is liable for, based on their share of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Statutory development - salmon farming. The federal government has secured passage of legislation that prevents an EPBC reassessment of the environmental impacts of salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour.

The new legislation prevents EPBC Act reconsiderations if three criteria are all met:

• the federal minister previously decided that a project did not warrant a full EPBC assessment.
• state government assessment was required.
• the project or activity has been operational for five years.

Labor secured passage of the Bill with Coalition support.

However, the Coalition unsuccessfully proposed amendments that sought a guarantee not to "impose new controls or reviews on the salmon industry, including through the return of their Nature Positive legislation, Federal EPA or use of other mechanisms in the EPBC Act, such as directed environmental audits".

The LEAN Labour Environment Action Network expressed significant reservations about the Bill, but noted it is "a tight set of criteria".

"It does not apply to any project that has a federal environmental approval, that is most major projects, including coal and gas," LEAN said.

"It does not apply to projects that were not submitted to the minister for approval but have since proven to have impacts, such as most land clearing."

The Offshore Infrastructure Regulator has released new guidance materials on consultation and financial security under the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act framework.

The consultation and engagement guideline provides information about the requirements for licence holders to undertake consultation before applying for approval of a management plan.

The financial security guideline provides advice on financial security obligations and compliance monitoring relating to financial security arrangements. 

Grant opportunity - industrial decarbonisation. ARENA is inviting applications under round two of its Powering the Regions - Industrial Transformation Stream, with $70 million on offer.

Focus areas for round two include supporting supporting highly innovative, first of a kind technologies and solutions that have the potential to significantly reduce emissions. Applications close on 15 July.

ARENA has awarded a $500,000 grant to RELA Australia to create create an improved software tool for assessing the potential of wind and solar energy generation on regional land.

The inclusion of additional data points, such as the ability to include farm plans while using the tool, will allow landholders to determine the potential income of renewable energy generation assets on their land and to be better equipped to negotiate agreements with renewable developers.

An updated ACCC assessment has predicted that gas supply in the east coast gas market would fall short by 9 petajoules in the period July to September 2025, if LNG producers export all their uncontracted gas.

In response, the federal government has secured agreement from gas producers to make an additional 9PJ of gas available for the domestic market in Q3 of this year, under the terms of a pre-existing arrangement between the government and gas producers.

Circular Australia, in conjunction with the Institute for Sustainable Futures, has issued a report on the intersection of the circular economy, climate change, and biodiversity.

Australia and Singapore have selected eight projects for funding as part of a $20 million initiative to reduce emissions in the maritime sector, and create a green shipping corridor between the two economies. 

The federal government has announced an additional $2.3 million in plantation grants, which will support the establishment of five new plantations in NSW, Victoria, Western Australia and Tasmania.

Total funding through the Support Plantation Establishment program now exceeds $28.5 million. 

EPBC developments:

• The federal government has again extended the timeframe for deciding on Woodside's extension of the North West Shelf project.
• Macquarie Asset Management has made an EPBC referral for the Great Eastern Offshore wind farm, off Victoria's Gippsland coast.
• Esso Australia has withdrawn an EPBC referral to sequester CO2 in the depleted Bream oil and gas reservoir in Bass Strait.

Open consultations:

• 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.

A parliamentary committee reviewing the first annual report of the Net Zero Commission has issued its final report.

The report acknowledges that there is "considerable uncertainty" about whether the state can meet its 2030 and 2035 emissions targets, given the sizeable pipeline of new coal expansions currently being assessed.

It recommends that the state government support the Commission to use its legislated functions to provide a further report on the resources sector, including methane abatement technology and fugitive emissions, "as a matter of urgency".

It also recommends that the government consider "regulatory changes to encourage the earlier adoption of low emissions technologies".

In addition, it recommends that the government implement an energy ratings disclosure scheme for existing homes at the point of sale or lease.

The report doesn't include any dissenting statements.

Statutory development - circularity. The NSW Parliament has unanimously passed a Product Lifecycle Responsibility Bill that will initially target batteries. 

The new law will 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.

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.

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.

The Bill passed through Parliament in 1o days.

The current owner of the former Port Kembla copper smelter has agreed to provide more than $18 million to address legacy contamination issues in the surrounding area.

The voluntary Enforceable Undertaking by Port Kembla Copper Pty Ltd and PKC Properties Pty Ltd will finance an investigation and remediation program for properties potentially contaminated by historic smelting activities.

About 300 homes – mostly located within 800 metres of the site – are estimated to be affected by roof dust contamination associated with smelter activities and require further investigation. Approximately 60 of these properties are also thought to have contaminated soil.

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.

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.

Open consultations:

• Planning regulations. New draft planning amendment regulations would exclude electric vehicle charging stations from the definition of 'development'. Comments are due by April 22.

Fortescue has made a referral to the WA EPA for a solar hub to power its Pilbara mining operations. 

The Turner River solar hub would comprise the installation of solar panels and a substation with an estimated total capacity of 644MW.

Infinite Green Energy has released further supporting information on its Arrowsmith Hydrogen Project.

The NT government has announced the scrapping of the former Labor government's target of 50% renewable energy generation by 2030.

The NT government said the target was "unachievable".

"Attempting to meet this target would put an unacceptable financial burden on Territorians and crippling pressure on our aging electricity network," it said.

Renewables in 2024 accounted for less than 20% of the Territory’s energy generation, the NT government noted, claiming that meeting the target would cost households up to $56,000 each.

The government said it will:

• develop the Beetaloo Sub-basin "to provide an abundant and reliable source of gas to underpin our energy security and economic growth".
• expand large-scale solar and battery storage "to reduce the cost of supply whilst maintaining grid stability".

Statutory development - removing appeal rights. The NT Assembly has passed the Petroleum, Planning and Water Legislation Amendment Bill 2025, which removes the rights of third parties to go to the NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal seeking reviews of decisions.

The Bill will prevent third parties, "with no stake in a project, from exploiting the merits review process to deliberately sabotage the Territory’s economy," according to the NT government.

The Opposition opposed the Bill.

Third party merits reviews to the NTCAT have been a feature of Territory legislation for some years. In the Planning Act, third-party rights to merits reviews have existed since 2004. In the Water Act, they have existed since the law commenced in 1992. They were introduced into the Petroleum Act in 2022, in line with a recommendation of the Scientific Inquiry into Hydraulic Fracturing in the Northern Territory. 

Appeals are still available in some cases to the Supreme Court, although this is a more expensive and time-consuming appeal route.

Statutory developments. The NT government has introduced two new Bills - the Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 and the Water Amendment (Aboriginal Water Reserves) Bill 2025.  Hansard on both bills is available here.

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.

A member of New Zealand's ruling National Party has proposed a Bill that would prevent climate litigation.

The Bill put forward by National MP Joseph Mooney would "establish and clear and uniform policy prohibiting tort claims arising from or related to climate change matters, including but not limited to alleged damages, injuries, or losses attributed to greenhouse gas emissions, global temperature changes, or environmental impacts associated therewith".

As Mooney is not a Minister, it will only be debated if it is successful in a ballot process.

Global energy demand grew at a faster-than-average pace in 2024 as the consumption of electricity rose around the world – with increased supply of renewables and fossil gas covering the majority of additional energy needs, according to a new IEA report.

Europe has yet to properly tackle the threat of espionage posed by Chinese-made electric vehicles, a new report by the London-based China Strategic Risk Institute (CSRI) has warned.

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