ESG Snapshot: Issue 95

This week's highlights include:

• New energy review. Queensland's Productivity Commission has received terms of reference for a new energy inquiry.
• Battery changes. A voluntary battery stewardship scheme is set to receive ACCC approval for fee and rebate changes, but the scheme still might not last.
• PFAS changes. The Queensland government has ended its zero tolerance approach to PFAS contamination.
• Scope 3 and AI. A new report discusses how AI can be used to measure and manage emissions across complex value chains.
• Subsidy tweaks. NSW households and small businesses will get a bigger subsidy if they link their battery to a virtual power plant, while Victorians will get a larger heat pump subsidy if they buy Australian-made.
• 'Plainly incorrect'. A Federal Court judge has rejected arguments raised by Woodside in a preliminary stoush with Doctors for the Environment.
• 'Not enough'. The WA government "is not doing anywhere near enough" to regulate water use, says the state's Auditor-General.
• Undermining. The NSW Minerals Council has warned against adopting an ambitious 2035 emissions reduction target.

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

After securing ACCC approval in 2020 for a voluntary stewardship scheme based on a standard fee, the Battery Stewardship Council has now received interim ACCC approval to adjust the scheme's fees and rebates.

The ACCC interim authorisation will enable the BSC to set modulated levies, depending on battery type, risks, costs, and processing outcomes, which will allow the scheme to be run in a financially viable way.

"In FY24, collectors, sorters and processors in the scheme have reported losses as the costs of collection significantly exceed the rebates currently paid," the BSC noted in its application to the ACCC to make changes to the scheme.

They will also allow the scheme to be expanded to accept small electrical and electronic equipment that contains batteries, as well as large batteries weighing up to 60kg.

However, despite the interim authorisation, the scheme might soon be replaced by a mandatory version. In its submission on the application, the NSW EPA has told the ACCC the authorisation should only be for two or three years, instead of five years as sought by BSC, because NSW is planning a mandatory battery stewardship scheme.

The SA EPA also suggests a shorter authorisation.

The Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association notes that in 2024 the scheme collected only 14.7% of eligible batteries placed on the market.

The latest Quarterly carbon market report from the Clean Energy Regulator says renewable energy penetration in the National Electricity market in the first quarter of calendar year 2025 averaged 43%.

"The penetration for the year could be as high as 46% dependent on demand and weather conditions," it says.

The Regulator had approved 1.7GW of new large-scale generation capacity to earn Large-scale Generation Certificates by 31 May.

The report says that 2025 installed rooftop capacity is on track to fall within the Regulator's projected range of 2.9 to 3.2 GW. In addition, from 1 July 2025, the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) will expand to include small-scale battery systems under the Cheaper Home Batteries Program.

ACCU issuances in 2025 are on track to meet the projected range of 19 million to 24 million, the report adds.

Q1 2025 has seen the most ACCUs transacted in the Australian National Registry of Emissions Units (ANREU) of any quarter to date, at 30.9 million. Safeguard and safeguard-related entities were a strong driver of this activity.

The generic ACCU weighted-average spot price fell from around $35 at the end of 2024 to around $33 by the end of the March quarter. Prices recovered over April and May, reaching just under $36 by 23 May.

The Climate Leaders Coalition has published a new report on how AI can transform the measurement and reduction of scope 3 emissions.

Under a joint arrangement between the federal and NSW governments, NSW households and small businesses from 1 July will be offered up to $1,500 to install and connect their new battery to a Virtual Power Plant.

The NSW-administered subsidy can be accessed whether or not a home battery is purchased under the federal Cheaper Home Battery program, which will provide a discount of up to 30% on the cost of a battery.

The federal government will introduce a Bill in the next few months to ratify the UN High Seas Biodiversity Treaty, Environment Minister Murray Watt has announced.

The Minister also pledged to ensure 30% of Australia's waters are "highly protected" by 2030. Currently, 52% of Australia's waters are "protected", but generally to a lesser level.

There will be a cost to meeting carbon targets, but this will be significantly lower than the cost of inaction towards a net-zero, resilient economy, says an Investor Group on Climate Change submission on improving productivity via meeting adaptation and mitigation objectives.

The federal government has taken a preliminary decision to offer a feasibility licence to Bunbury Offshore Wind Farm Pty Ltd for a project in the northern area of the Bunbury offshore wind zone.

If progressed, the project would be more than 30 kilometres offshore and has the potential to deliver 1. GW of reliable renewable electricity.

The government has also shortlisted two projects - one from Westward Wind Pty Ltd and an additional project from Bunbury Offshore Wind Pty Ltd - for a preliminary feasibility licence in the southern area of the zone.

The two applicants will now seek to resolve the overlap between them.

A European Commission Country Classification List confirms that Australia has been classified as "low risk" under the EU Deforestation Regulation, according to an Australian Department of Agriculture update.

The designation means that only 1% of consignments of regulated goods from Australia will be subject to annual checks at the EU border, compared to 3% for standard risk, and 9% for high-risk countries.

Australia, along with more than 90 other countries, has signed a declaration on plastics that is designed to demonstrate strong support for a global plastics treaty that includes requirements to reduce polymer production.

Doctors for the Environment Australia has secured a Federal Court order that enables it to challenge NOPSEMA's approval of Woodside's environment plan for its Scarborough Gas Project.

The court has made a maximum costs order, limiting to $80,000 the amount that NOPSEMA and energy company Woodside can seek in legal costs if DEA's case were unsuccessful.

"I am satisfied that the applicant brings this proceeding in the public interest in order to have determined whether the Authority, in the exercise of public regulatory power, made a decision lawfully in accordance with the statutory requirements," Justice Shaun McElwaine held.

"The submission of Woodside, that the applicant acts in its private interests and in order to secure some benefit for it and its members, is plainly incorrect."

A hearing is scheduled for July 14 and 15.

After more than a decade at the helm of the Australian Conservation Foundation, Kelly O’Shanassy has announced she will step down as CEO at the end of 2025.

"It's been an honour to lead this powerhouse organisation and serve Australians who love nature and want climate action. It's a hard decision to step away — but unlike solar and wind, CEO energy is not renewable, and it’s time for a break."

Tim Buckley, founder and director of Climate Energy Finance, has given a TEDx talk in Sydney on Australia's untapped economic potential in the global energy transition.

Queensland Treasurer and Energy Minister David Janetzki has ordered the state's Productivity Commission to provide advice on Queensland's energy and emissions settings.

The ministerial direction provides formal confirmation that the state government proposes to review the Energy (Renewable Transformation and Jobs) Act 2024, and the Clean Economy Jobs Act 2024, and to repeal the renewable energy targets.

The direction says the Commission must advise on:

• electricity system productivity.
• any significant impact of current energy and emissions policy settings.
• the role of the state government in facilitating an efficient shift of the electricity sector to support an economically sound pathway to reduce emissions.
• any policy and regulatory barriers impeding efficient private sector investment in new electricity infrastructure.
• potential options to address these barriers with a view towards growing our energy supply.

The Commission must submit its advice by 1 September.

Statutory development - PFAS. The Queensland government has gazetted a new regulation on PFAS, which removes a requirement that waste containing PFAS at any levels should be classified as Category 1 regulated waste.

The regulation increases the threshold values so that waste containing low levels of PFAS will be considered to be non-regulated waste.

The regulation also clarifies that waste solar panels are not considered to be regulated waste.

Statutory development - Environmental Protection Act. The Queensland government has released proposed amendments to the state's framework environment law. Proposed changes include:

• amendments to the EP Act provisions regarding progressive on rehabilitation and closure plans.
• Enhanced powers for a court to order the forfeiture of property, and to order the confiscation of proceeds from environmental crimes.
• Extended time limitations for commencing proceedings for summary offences, to ensure complex matters where the offence is not evident for a number of years, can still be prosecuted.

Comments are due by 14 July.

Transcript is now available of two parliamentary committee hearings into legislation that will overhaul assessment procedures for renewable energy projects.

The Queensland government has tabled in Parliament a QFleet Vehicle Emissions Reduction Strategy 2025-2030, that replaces the previous mandatory shift to EVs with a requirement to achieve a fleet-wide 10% reduction in emissions by 2030.

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 Minerals Council - which has members including BHP, Newmont, and various coal companies - has published an opinion piece in the Daily Telegraph, suggesting that thousands of jobs in mining and manufacturing will be lost if Australia adopts an ambitious 2035 emissions reduction target.

The Committee for Sydney has launched a report on Sydney as a renewable energy zone.

"Sydney could meet at least 75% of its annual energy needs through rooftop solar paired with battery storage," the report says.

"While CBD buildings might cover only 5% of their energy needs through rooftop solar, industrial estates could produce between 500% to 1000% of their energy requirements, creating substantial excess power that could benefit nearby residential areas, including apartment buildings that currently lack access to solar."

The report makes six recommendations.

The NSW government has gazetted a Notice of Approval of the Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (Amendment No. 1) Rule 2025.

Snowy Hydro will pay $400,000 to the NSW Parks and Wildlife Service to help protect the threatened Northern Corroboree Frog as part of an enforceable undertaking with the NSW EPA.

The undertaking was negotiated with Snowy Hydro following a 2023 incident that resulted in elevated nitrate levels in surface water and groundwater on the Snowy 2.0 construction site in Kosciuszko National Park.

The undertaking also requires the company to pay the EPA's legal and investigation fees, totalling $90,000.

Transcript is now available of the second hearing of a parliamentary committee inquiry into modern slavery in regional NSW.

A new software tool to support livestock producers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve profitability will be trialled shortly in NSW.

Open consultations:

• Comments are due by 25 June on the draft NSW waste and circular infrastructure plan.
• 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 placed on exhibition Macquarie Group's referral for its 2.5GW Great Eastern Offshore wind farm, which would be located off the Gippsland coast.

Solar Victoria customers that choose an Australian made hot water system will from 1 July get a larger rebate than those who purchase an overseas-made system.

Households that choose an eligible hot water system made in Australia will receive a rebate of $1,400, compared to the standard rebate of $1,000.

The Victorian overnment has fast-tracked approvals for two more renewable energy projects – Venn Energy's 500-megawatt solar farm in Colbinabbin and a Mint Renewables' battery energy storage system in Dederang.

The projects were assessed through the Development Facilitation Program (DFP).

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.
• The state government is consulting on potential amendments to the Payment in Lieu of Rates (PILOR) regime, to clarify arrangements for energy storage systems. Comments are due by 30 June.

Tasmania's Auditor-General plans to table a report by the end of August on the effectiveness of the regulatory oversight of landfills.

Open consultations:

• Comments on a draft Tasmanian Future Clean Fuels Strategy are due by 4 July.

The SA government has issued new briefings - here and here - on a toxic algal bloom linked to a persistent marine heat wave.

Statutory development - Biodiversity Bill. The Legislative Assembly has passed the Biodiversity Bill, and it is now before the Legislative Council.

Statutory development - planning. The State Development and Facilitation Bill has received Assent.

Open consultations:

• Green Industries SA is consulting on a draft statewide circular economy and waste strategy for 2025 to 2030. Comments are due by 23 July.

WA's Auditor-General has concluded the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation "is not doing anywhere near enough" to monitor water use by water licence holders, and is not taking proper enforcement action.

"This is the third report by my office that has found issues with the planning and monitoring of water use in our state," the Auditor-General points out. "Our previous reports in 2003 and 2009 found that regulators' efforts were not systematic or sufficient to ensure water was not being taken unlawfully."

"In the three years of our audit scope, 87% of potential incidents were never assigned to a staff member to investigate," the audit report says.

The Auditor-General also notes that a 2022 audit on compliance with mining environmental conditions had found compliance activities were inadequate, as had a report in the same year on the regulation of commercial fishing.

New listings are in blue.

Lawyers for Climate Action NZ and the Environmental Law Initiative have filed an application for judicial review alleging that the NZ government's current plan to address climate change does not comply with the Climate Change Response Act.

A joint report by the OECD and the UNDP concludes that ambitious climate action in line with the Paris Agreement "can be a powerful driver" of economic growth.

Japan's five biggest institutional investors hold US$40.6 billion in companies that have the world's biggest fossil fuel expansion plans, according to a new report from Market Forces.

Investment in companies expanding coal, oil and gas by Japan's five largest investors is undermining the US$43.2 billion they have invested in leading renewable energy companies, the report says. 

Oxford University's Smith School, which developed well-known principles for carbon offsetting, has released new principles on Responsible engagement with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which deals primarily with carbon markets.

"Rather than prioritizing engineered novel Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) over nature-based conventional CDR, a diverse portfolio of CDR is more likely to mitigate risks (including reversal and sustainability risks) of different methods while increasing the scale of removals," says a new research paper.

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