A major carbon offsets company has lost a Federal Court battle with the Clean Energy Regulator, in a case that tested which projects need Native Title-holder consent before credits can be issued.
A plant that would gasify coal into ammonia and syngas, producing two million tonnes of by-product CO2 a year, will undergo fast-track environmental assessment.
The federal government has finalised a new ERF method that will allow businesses to earn carbon credits through a wide range of small-scale equipment upgrades and alterations.
Woodside tried to sell to the federal government carbon credits that it created to satisfy a mandatory state offset condition for its Pluto LNG plant, and is now being audited by the Western Australian government.
The directors of a company involved in Emissions Reduction Fund carbon projects worth about $500 million have settled their legal dispute, the day before hearings were scheduled to start.
Western Australia's EPA has recommended approval for BHP projects that could boost the state's greenhouse gas emissions by more than 4%, and has left open the possibility of carbon offset conditions.