Even if activists lose a NSW CO2 pollution test case against Bayswater power station, the matter is still likely to add to the pressure on companies to do more to reduce emissions, says environmental lawyer Andrew Edgar.
A wide-ranging Victorian Climate Change Bill unveiled this morning that gives the EPA sweeping new powers and introduces soil carbon rights will put the State 'well ahead of the rest of Australia', Premier John Brumby has told Parliament.
The Federal Government has assured a leading textile company that value for money is the primary consideration in government purchasing, and that companies holding Good Environment Choice certification won't receive preference in government buying decisions.
Victoria's 'exceedingly ambitious' white paper recognises that owners of power stations must be compensated if they are forced to close early, but it's no substitute for a trading scheme and is silent on crucial issues, says Energy Supply Association of Australia CEO Brad Page.
Victoria will develop its own accreditation standard for carbon offsets and there are key differences between the State's proposal to buy abatement from the brown coal-fired power sector and the Coalition's 'direct action' plan, the State's Environment Minister Gavin Jennings tells CE Daily.
The Victorian Government will introduce a bill mandating that the State cut greenhouse gas emissions to 20% below 2000 levels by 2020, give its EPA new powers to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and create a green carbon offsets scheme, says its long-awaited climate change white paper.
