Federal changes mean companies will find it easier to buy and use Australian carbon credits, a NSW review is likely to result in tougher environmental incident notification rules and a Western Australian appeal decision confirms that backers of major projects will face carbon offset obligations.
At the Federal level, the Government has finally steered the Carbon Farming Initiative through Parliament and has signalled it will change the National Carbon Offset Standard to recognise CFI credits.
If your company is in the market for carbon credits – either to help meet carbon price scheme obligations or because it is voluntarily attempting to become carbon neutral – then it means you will have much greater access to credits generated by projects carried out in Australia.
NSW review; waste re-use opportunities
In NSW, Orica's tardiness in reporting a discharge of chromium VI to air has prompted a legislative review that is expected to lead to tougher incident notification provisions. Companies might want to check that their incident notification procedures are up to scratch ahead of any changes.
Meanwhile, the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage has reminded companies that they don't necessarily need to meet OEH's general re-use criteria – known as general resource recovery exemptions – in order to divert their industrial waste from landfill.
They can also seek an OEH "specific exemption". Plenty of companies have already successfully done it and the approach can be well-suited to businesses that have boutique waste streams or wastes that don't quite meet relevant "general exemption" criteria.
Case studies and funding
In other how to/best practice articles published in August, Ernst & Young outlined to CE Dailyhow to ready your company for a carbon price, Energetics described how to get the most out of the new ISO energy management standard and we summarised some recent water efficiency case studies.
CE Daily also highlighted that Low Carbon Australia is ready to splash some more cash on energy efficiency projects that meet its criteria, with funding available either from the organisation itself or on offer in conjunction with partner organisations.
And we noted that a steep rise in the cost of commonly-used refrigerants that are greenhouse gases – that will occur in tandem with the introduction of a carbon price – should prompt businesses to double-check refrigeration system maintenance practices and consider alternative gases.
Offsets ruling confirmed
In Western Australia, Chevron's failed appeal over a carbon offset project approval condition for its Wheatstone LNG project provides final confirmation that the state's EPA can and will impose offset obligations on major-emitting projects.
In Queensland, Coles is still attempting to fund off a local council-imposed condition that it source 50% of the energy for a new store from renewables.
In Victoria, the Baillieu Government has declined to confirm that it won't tamper with the 20% emissions reduction target that is written into the state's Climate Change Act and it has tightened constraints on wind farm projects.
EPBC Act changes mooted
Back at the Federal level, Environment Minister Tony Burke has finally laid the Government's cards on the table over proposed changes to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
Burke made it clear he is not interested in giving citizens greater access to the courts to enforce alleged breaches of the Act. But what he does favour is a greater reliance on state processes – if they satisfy national standards – and a stronger focus on strategic and regional assessments.
Prosecutions in NSW and Victoria
In the NSW Land and Environment Court, Delta's Electricity has lost a bid to have a water pollution charge brought by an environment group thrown out of court and Unomedical was ordered to pay $230,000 in the first test of a legal obligation to prevent or minimise emissions of unregulated air pollutants.
In Victoria, renderer Australian Tallow Producers Pty Ltd was fined $20,000 over offensive odours and faces more charges.
