ESG Snapshot: Issue 94
This week's highlights include:
- Clean energy woes. Numerous organisations have criticised a Queensland Bill that puts new hurdles in the way of clean energy project assessments.
- New ACCC guidance. The ACCC is planning to release new guidance on 'emissions-related claims'.
- Special case pleas. ASIC has started to receive applications from businesses seeking exemptions from sustainability reporting and audit obligations.
- Coal closure oversight. The Net Zero Economy Authority is consulting on its potential role in overseeing the closure of Origin's Eraring power station.
- PFAS notice. The NSW EPA has issued a Clean-Up Notice to 3M over PFAS contamination.
- Birds, bats and blades. Victoria has issued a new guide on biodiversity protection requirements for clean energy projects.
- Circularity targets. South Australia is proposing to set new targets to reduce its material footprint and increase its material productivity.
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The ACCC intends following up its 2023 guide to making environmental claims, with additional guidance on making claims about carbon emissions, ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb has revealed in her BCSDA Fiona Wain Oration.
"Through our stakeholder engagement, businesses have called for further specific guidance, particularly in relation to emissions-related claims," Cass-Gottlieb said.
"This is a complex undertaking in a rapidly evolving landscape, but in the year ahead we are looking to provide more guidance in these areas," she said.
"As sustainability becomes a source of business differentiation – of investment, recognition of consumer preference, and reputational capital – it has also become an area of increased business accountability," Cass-Gottlieb said.
"The takeaway is simple," she said. "If you make environmental claims, you must consider what an ordinary and reasonable consumer would understand from those claims, and you must be able to back them up."
New Environment Minister Murray Watt intends approving an extension of the operating life of Woodside's North West Shelf gas processing plant in Karratha.
"The impact of air emissions on the Murujuga rock art that forms part of the Dampier Archipelago was considered as part of the assessment process," the Minister said.
"I have ensured that adequate protection for the rock art is central to my proposed decision."
Woodside has 10 business days to comment on the proposed conditions, and the company's comments will be taken into account before the decision is finalised.
Critics of the decision say industrial pollution has degraded the rock art "and will continue to do so until the industrial pollution levels at Murujuga are reduced to zero".
May 24 marked the fifth anniversary of the destruction of Juukan Gorge by Rio Tinto.
The PKKP Aboriginal Corporation, which represents the Traditional Owners of the destroyed site, said its destruction "will never be forgotten".
"But to ensure such tragedies do not happen again we continue to work with Rio Tinto and other miners to implement effective and fair co-management agreements for their activities on PKKP Country."
The federal Coalition has named its shadow ministry, with Dan Tehan, the Liberal member for Wannon, taking on the role of shadow minister for energy and emissions reduction.
The new shadow environment minister is Angie Bell, the LNP member for Moncrieff.
WA Senator Dean Smith will be the shadow assistant minister for energy and emissions, and also shadow assistant minister for foreign affairs and trade.
The shadow water portfolio has gone to NSW Nationals Senator Ross Caddell. Jason Wood, Liberal MP for La Trobe, is the shadow minister for international development and Pacific Island affairs.
Consultation opportunity - coal plant closure. The Net Zero Economy Authority is consulting to determine if an Energy Industry Jobs Plan (EIJP) framework should be applied to businesses affected by the closure of Origin Energy's Eraring power station in NSW, which is scheduled to close in August 2027.
Following the consultation, the Authority will decide whether to apply to the Fair Work Commission for a determination to apply the EIJP to the Eraring closure.
"This will consider which employers should be included under the framework and required to provide transition supports to their workers," the Commission says.
An EIJP supports employees impacted by the closure of coal-fired power stations as they prepare for transition to new employment.
It places obligations on employers to provide transition support to their employees, including access to career and financial advice, training, and paid time off or flexible working arrangements to access these supports. The framework can apply to the owner or operator of a power station, as well as businesses within its supply chain that will be directly impacted by the closure.
If an EIJP is in place, the Authority will also provide redeployment assistance, such as having on-the-ground coordinators to help link workers with new jobs.
Eraring's closure is expected to affect about 216 workers, as well as workers from dependent businesses.
Comments are due by 18 July.
Meanwhile, the Net Zero Commission has also issued a statutory instrument defining the Eraring power station geographic area.
ASIC has started to receive applications from businesses for relief from their sustainability reporting and audit obligations, which is something it can grant in some circumstances, according to ASIC Commissioner Kate O'Rourke.
"What we're seeing in these applications is a combination of novel issues that are highly specific to a particular entity – along with some common themes that may have broader relevance," O'Rourke said in a speech to the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia conference
"We have provided guidance on our approach to relief in RG 280," O'Rourke said.
"But we also intend to publicise the approach we are taking to these novel applications. While all applications need to be considered on their facts, this will help the market understand how we are exercising our discretion," she said.
"In these early stages, many of the issues being raised will take time to consider – because, by definition, they are new. So, we are encouraging entities considering relief to apply as early as possible," O'Rourke said.
ARENA has announced a $4.4 million grant to South32 to study steam electrification pathways at its Worsley alumina refinery.
The alumina refining industry is Australia's largest user of industrial process heat. About 70% of the greenhouse gas emissions produced in alumina refining arises from steam production, which is currently powered by fossil fuels .
The study, funded under the $400 million Industrial Transformation Stream (ITS) program, will allow South32 to assess four investment options for partial steam electrification.
The Productivity Commission is seeking responses by 6 June to a survey on investing in cheaper, cleaner energy and the net zero transformation.
Austell Pty Ltd has lodged an EPBC referral for the Eden 1 project, a 200-hectare ocean-based kelp farm proposed for Disaster Bay, south of Eden.
The project would be the first commercial ocean-based kelp farm in NSW, involving the first commercial cultivation of Golden Kelp globally.
Eden 1 will cultivate Golden Kelp, which is native to Disaster Bay, for the food, animal feed, and carbon offset industries.
There was a significant uptick in new financial commitments to large-scale generation in 2024, and it was also another strong year for big batteries, says the Clean Energy Council's latest annual Clean Energy report.
In 2024, there was a considerable increase in investment commitments to large-scale renewable energy generation, with a 500% uptick from $1.5 billion in 2023 to about $9 billion in 2024.
That constitutes the highest single year of new financial commitments to large-scale generation since the boom of 2018 ($8.4 billion).
"When combined with utility scale storage investment commitments, 2024 saw the largest wave of clean energy investment in Australia’s history," says an introduction by the Council's chief executive, Kane Thornton.
Meanwhile, the latest Clean Energy Council battery storage quarterly investment report says the first quarter of 2025 was the second best on record for investment in large-scale battery energy storage systems in Australia.
Six projects worth $2.4 billion in total reached the financial commitment stage – which will deliver an extra 1.5 GW in storage capacity and 5 GWh in energy output, the report says.
Eight organisations have jointly urged the federal government to rapidly deliver its long-awaited reforms of the EPBC Act.
The signatories to the open letter are the Clean Energy Investor Group, the Australian Conservation Foundation, WWF Australia, Re-Alliance, the ETU, the Clean Energy Council, the Australian Marine Conservation Society, and the Biodiversity Council.
EPBC developments:
- DCCEEW has invited comment on a referral for ZEN Energy's 100MW Hookey Creek solar farm and 200MW/4-8 hour battery energy storage system, proposed for a site near Gympie.
- DCCEEW has invited comment on Wind Prospect's referral for the 600MW Whyte Yarcowie wind farm and associated energy storage system, proposed for a site about 180km north of Adelaide.
- DCCEEW has invited comment on the referral for Fortescue's 644MW Turner River solar hub, near the company's North Star project.
Open consultations:
- The Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee has released an exposure draft of a new landfill gas ACCU method. Comments are due by 12 June.
Submissions are now available made to a parliamentary committee inquiry that will require large-scale wind and solar projects to have signed a binding community benefit agreement (CBA) with local councils, and to have completed a social impact assessment (SIA), before submitting their development application.
The Clean Energy Investor Group (CEIG) notes that requiring a completed SIA and legally binding CBA before development application lodgement "introduces significant procedural and investment risk, especially without mandated timeframes or consistent local government processes".
The CEIG, the Clean Energy Council, and the Queensland Renewable Energy Council all warn that the Bill could lead to reduced private sector investment in Queensland.
They suggest that the government make the completion of a CBA a condition of approval, instead of requiring that it be signed with relevant local governments before an application is lodged for assessment.
"This is more in-line with the resources sector approach," the QREC points out.
In similar vein, the Queensland Conservation Council points out that "no resources project is required to sign a binding community benefit agreement with local councils before submitting an application".
"We are concerned that this places higher requirements on renewable energy than resources [projects] in Queensland," the QCC says.
The Western Downs Regional Council also expresses concern about the timing of the CBI and SIA requirements in the Bill.
"Requiring these instruments to be finalised prior to lodgement of a development application is, in our view, operationally flawed. Large-scale renewable projects are dynamic," it says.
"Over the course of multi-year developments, community expectations shift, local priorities evolve, and project parameters change. Mandating early-stage agreements risks rendering these tools either inflexible or obsolete."
Gladstone Regional Council expresses a similar view, and state government agency Coexistence Queensland also makes a similar point. It notes that the goal of securing social licence before a project starts could also be achieved by making finalisation of a CBA a condition of development approval.
The Bill would also make the State assessment and Referral Agency (SARA) the assessment manager of all large-scale solar farms (which are currently assessed by councils), as well as wind farms.
The committee inquiring into the Bill is holding two hearings this week.
Click to the right to view a summary of other Bill submissions
In other comments on the Bill:
- The Queensland Renewable Energy Council points out that up to 110 renewable projects representing 66,000MW that are currently in the assessment pipeline would potentially be affected if the legislation is retrospectively applied to these projects, as is currently proposed.
- The Clean Energy Investor Group recommends that appeal rights be "proportionate and restricted to parties with a clear, direct interest in the project".
- RES Australia warns that requiring a CBA prior to submitting a development application would make it difficult for projects in Queensland to secure funding via the federal Capacity Investment Scheme.
- Coexistence Queensland says the CBA says the goal of securing social licence before a project starts could also be achieved through "conditioning on a development approval".
- Ark Energy says the Bill "creates impracticability and ambiguity for all parties", and will undermine the delivery of optimal CBAs.
- The Clean Energy Council says Queensland currently leads the nation in committed renewable energy and storage projects, with 31 assets now at financial close or under construction totalling around 8 GW/8 GWh and $10.8 billion in investment. It points out that CBAs "are not required pre-lodgement for large-scale energy projects such as gas".
- The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) is a strong critic of the Bill, saying it will "add even more consultation and generate more community fatigue". AMEC says it only wants a 'levelling the playing field, meaning it wants large-scale solar and wind projects to be subject to similar approvals frameworks as mining projects.
- RACQ warns that the Bill's scope, which encompasses solar projects of 1MW or more, would have a significant detrimental effect on commercial and industrial sites that install rooftop solar. The additional costs of an SIA, a CBA, and the extended approval processes would increase project costs by 20-40%, it warns.
- Similarly, the Queensland Farmers Federation warns the 1MW threshold "could deter small-to-medium projects, which are well-suited to marginal farmland and can provide farmers with extra income".
- The First Nations Clean Energy Network says Bill focuses only on negotiations with local governments, which "has the potential to silence and diminish the priorities, rights and interests of Traditional Owners and First Nations communities impacted by proposed developments".
- The Queensland Law Society warns the Bill undermines an integrated system of development assessment that has delivered beneficial outcomes since 1998.
- The Environmental Defenders Office says that if the Queensland government proceeds down this path, then the requirements for pre-lodgement CBAs and SIAs " should be equally applied to resource activities and other impactful developments".
- Tilt Renewables expresses concern that the Bill does not provide guidance on the CBA negotiations process or approach, nor does it specify timeframes. As a result, CBA negotiations could result in "unreasonable delays and indefinite project postponements where negotiations stall".
- Windlab recommends that the Bill include provisions that define a minimum CBA negotiation period (such as three months), with either party able to unilaterally request mediation if no agreement is reached within the timeframe. "Similar provisions exist in Queensland's resources framework regarding the negotiation of conduct and compensation agreements," it points out.
- European Energy, which has a $6 billion development pipeline in Queensland, including "four mature projects in the public domain", expresses concern that the new provisions would apply to projects already undergoing assessment.
- The Queensland Environmental Law Association says the proposed requirements could result in "further expense and delay" in project delivery. Given that a project might be refused after these consultations are completed, this could waste the time of all stakeholders, it says.
- The Central Highlands Regional Council warns that, as a party to a community benefit agreement, "particularly if conditioned under the development permit, local government officers would be required to enforce all components of the CBA", which would be onerous.
- Koala Action Inc says the government "must apply the same requirements on community benefit agreements to resource projects".
The Queensland government has announced that Greenleaf Renewables' proposed $1 billion, 450MW Moonlight Range wind farm near Rockhampton will not be allowed to proceed.
The project had been approved last December by the State Assessment and Referral Agency, but Deputy Premier and Planning Minister Jarrod Bleijie used rarely exercised powers to call it in for reassessment in April.
The ministerial veto cannot be appealed.
Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dale Last has announced a review into how land is released for exploration across the resources sector.
The "targeted three-month land release review" aims to improve the efficiency and transparency of opening areas for exploration. It will consider changes to the land release expression of interest process, the land release area selection process, and the competitive tender process.
Last also announced the opening up of tenders for nine parcels of land for gas and petroleum exploration.
Open consultations:
- The Queensland government has launched a statutory review of the environmentally relevant activity (ERA) standards that form part of the Great Barrier Reef protection regulations for sugarcane and banana cultivation and beef cattle grazing. Comments are due by 8 August.
The NSW EPA has issued a Clean-Up Notice to 3M Australia Pty Ltd after PFAS chemicals were detected at Brogans Creek Quarry in the state's Central West.
The notice follows the identification of PFAS in soil, sediment, groundwater and surface water across a 100-hectare area of the inactive limestone quarry site, which was once leased by 3M Australia to test PFAS-containing firefighting foams.
EPA director of operations, David Gathercole, said the notice marked the first time that the agency has taken regulatory action against 3M Australia.
"This is a significant moment for the EPA and one that represents an important milestone in our efforts to address legacy environmental harm," he said.
"3M Australia has so far been cooperative – voluntarily offering to conduct investigations to better understand the extent and nature of legacy PFAS contamination at the site," he said.
Under the Clean-Up Notice, 3M Australia has 60 days to submit a detailed plan to the EPA outlining how it will assess and manage the PFAS pollution.
A parliamentary committee inquiry into modern slavery risks in regional NSW has scheduled hearings for today and 19 June.
The NSW Independent Planning Commission has approved a proposed $302 million, 135MW Muswellbrook solar farm and 135/270MWh battery, to be located next to and within the site of Idemitsu's former Muswellbrook coal mine.
The solar farm is being jointly developed by OX2 (a European renewable energy company, which entered the Australian market via the purchase of ESCO) and Idemitsu.
Idemitsu has prepared a draft master plan to redevelop the coal mine site into a clean industries precinct, with the solar farm to be the first project in the precinct.
NSW Health has launched a Net Zero Roadmap that describes how the service will reach net zero by 2050.
The NSW government has released the EIS for BESS PACIFIC's proposed 100MW/200MWh Finley battery energy storage system, to be built in the Kerrigan local government area.
Robert Borsak of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party has introduced a Game and Feral Animal Legislation Amendment (Conservation Hunting) Bill.
Open consultations:
- Comments are due by 25 June on the draft NSW waste and circular infrastructure plan.
- Comments are due by 10 June on the proposed Protection from Harmful Radiation Regulation 2025.
- The NSW government is consulting on a new draft heritage strategy. Comments are due by 13 July.
- The NSW Net Zero Commission has issued a consultation paper on the transition to net zero, and the work of the Commission. Comments are due by 11 July.
The state government has released the final version of its Handbook for the Development of Renewable Energy in Victoria, which describes expectations for the management of threatened bird and bat species.
Minister for Planning Sonya Kilkenny has released her assessment of the Environmental Effects Statement for Viva's proposed LNG import terminal in Corio.
The ministerial assessments finds that the potential impacts of the project can be managed.
"The project is consistent with Victoria’s broader energy and climate policy objectives and does not undermine the state's net zero emissions target for 2045," the assessment says.
If it proceeds, the Viva Energy Terminal could annually receive up to 160PJ of LNG – approximately 88% per cent of Victoria’s 2024 gas consumption.
Meanwhile, the Victorian government has also invited comment on draft Environmental Effects Statement scoping requirements for Vopak Victoria Energy Terminal Pty Ltd's proposal to build and operate a floating LNG import terminal in Port Phillip Bay, about 19 kilometres east of Avalon. Comments are due by 23 June.
Consultation opportunity - energy storage. The Victorian government is consulting on potential amendments to the Payment in Lieu of Rates (PILOR) regime, which was introduced for electricity generators, to clarify arrangements for energy storage systems.
The proposed changes would introduce a fee-setting methodology specific to storage systems. Comments are due by 30 June.
The Victorian SEC will power about 5% of the state's electricity market from 1 July, following the signing of contracts that will see it power schools, hospitals and other Victorian government operations with 100% renewable electricity.
Meanwhile, the SEC says it will soon open an expressions of interest process for installer and trade businesses to register with it and help Victorians switch to electric.
The move is part of the SEC's plans to develop a 'one-stop-shop' to support households in making the switch to electric for their heating, hot water and cooking.
Modelling for the state government's Gas Substitution Roadmap shows that an average Victorian household with gas and electric appliances can reduce their annual energy bill by around $1,700 by going all-electric, or more than $2,700 a year with solar.
"Labor's ban on gas in homes is wrong, and we will reverse it," shadow treasurer James Newbury has said in his Budget-in-reply speech. "We will also work with industry to turn the gas tap back on. We will kickstart a gas industry."
Open consultations:
- VicGrid's draft 2025 Victorian transmission plan proposes seven renewable energy zones, a Gippsland shoreline renewable energy zone, and new transmission lines required out to 2040. Comments are due by 24 June.
Open consultations:
- Comments on a draft Tasmanian Future Clean Fuels Strategy are due by 4 July.
Green Industries SA has released a draft statewide circular economy and waste strategy for 2025 to 2030.
The draft strategy proposes an overarching goal to double SA's circularity rate by 2035, supported by seven targets for 2035:
- A 10% reduction in material footprint by 2035 (material footprint measures the amount of raw materials extracted globally for use in products and services that South Australians consume).
- A 30% increase in material productivity (economic output generated per unit of materials consumed) by 2035.
- A 10% reduction in total waste generated per person by 2030.
- Increased resource recovery and reduced contamination (with separate targets for household, commercial, and construction and demolition waste).
- A 50% reduction in organics disposed to municipal solid waste kerbside bins and commercial and industrial landfill bins by 2030.
- Maximising material circularity.
- Increasing circular consumption activities.
Under the Green Industries SA Act 2004, GISA must develop a statewide circular economy and waste strategy every five years. Comments are due by 23 July.
A comprehensive assessment of environmental outcomes in South Australia under the Murray Darling Basin Plan has shown environmental water is having a positive impact on ecosystems, biodiversity, and habitat quality.
The improvements include increased connectivity of wetlands and floodplains, benefitting native freshwater fish, vegetation and waterbird species.
The WA EPA has invited comments on two major Alcoa mining proposals in the Northern Jarrah Forest - its 2023-2027 bauxite mining operations in the Darling Ranges and its Pinjarra Alumina Refinery Revised Proposal.
"A combined public review will also be easier and more efficient for the community and stakeholders," EPA Chair Darren Walsh said. "These are both complex environmental impact assessments."
"The sheer volume, the unique biodiversity of the Northern Jarrah Forest, and the number of environmental factors to consider means a 12-week public consultation period is entirely appropriate," he said.
The WA government will undertake a "targeted review" into Native Title and Aboriginal cultural heritage processes in the state's mining and exploration sector.
The WA government is inviting applications to be a member of the Mining Rehabilitation Advisory Panel. Applications must be lodged by 23 June.
New listings are in blue.
The bank will also extend requirements for credible, Paris Agreement-aligned transition plans to customers in the metallurgical coal and coal-fired power generation sectors, the AFR says.
EU Member States have significantly closed the gap to achieving their 2030 energy and climate targets, according to a new European Commission assessment.
The EU is closing in collectively on a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, as required under the European Climate Law, and is heading towards reaching a share of at least 42.5% of renewable energy, the Commission says.
Twenty-two young people are suing the Trump Administration, alleging three of its executive orders are unconstitutional and would cripple the clean energy industry, suppress climate science, and worsen global warming.
Ecosystems Marketplace has released its 2025 State of the Voluntary Carbon Market report.
"What we are seeing is an ongoing reboot of the supply side of the voluntary carbon market, in response to the growing sophistication of the demand side of the market," it says.
"The legacy market of credits from older methodologies is winding down, while the
next phase of the VCM, with a stronger emphasis on integrity, ramps up to scale."
The Energy Transitions Commission has released a briefing note on the role of carbon credits in accelerated corporate action.
The EU has set mandatory CO2 injection capacity targets for 44 oil and gas companies.
The steel industry has begun to decarbonise through various initiatives,
including retrofitting existing facilities, developing low-emission steel plants,
integrating biomass in blast furnaces, and investing in carbon capture and
storage, notes the OECD's Steel Outlook 2025.
However, increasing global excess capacity in steel production has weakened steelmakers' financial performance and their ability to invest in decarbonisation, it says.
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