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NATIONAL

Five projects - including three seaweed and algae projects - have received federal Industry Growth Program grants to help them commercialise innovative new products, processes and services:

• Bioborne will receive $2,267,343 to scale its closed-loop microalgae production process. After trials, bioborne aims to produce a new range of bio-fertilisers that will help increase crop yields.
• C Sea Solutions will use its $2,107,300 to help scale production of Uluu - a seaweed-based alternative to plastic packaging. The grant will help the company to complete trials, gain certification and commercialise its product. They aim to achieve first sales in sustainable packaging for cosmetics.
• Immersion Group will use its $750,000 to build a photobioreactor for cultivating a native seaweed that can be used as a feed additive to reduce livestock methane emissions.
• Levur will receive $250,000 to continue developing its precision fermentation process to produce sustainable palm oil derivatives for use in cosmetics, nutraceuticals and food.
• Aston Dynamics will use its $1,500,000 to finalise prototypes of its hydraulic jet technology for electric trailer brakes.

TERN (the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network) has released its latest annual overview of environmental conditions in Australia.

The report notes that the number of species listed as threatened under the EPBC Act grew to 2,175, which is a 54% increase since 2000.

There were a total of 39 new listings in 2025. The ongoing impact of the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires accounts for more than half of all species listed or unlisted since 2019.

This year, for the first time, the report also allows searching by region, suburb, or postcode.

The Clean Energy Regulator has released Safeguard Mechanism data for the 2024-25 financial year.

The data shows:

• 208 facilities were covered by the Mechanism in FY25.
• A total of 6.7 million Safeguard Mechanism Credits were issued to 54 facilities – a reduction from 8.3 million units issued to 64 facilities in FY24.
• Facilities surrendered 10.8 million Australian Carbon Credit Units and 2.6 million SMCs to help meet compliance obligations – an increase from FY24, when 7.6 million ACCUs and 1.4 million SMCs were surrendered.

Net emissions across Safeguard facilities fell 5.5% year on year, and are now down over 12% from when our reforms began, according to Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen.

"Onsite emissions are now 5.8 million tonnes lower than they were when our reforms were made two years ago, equivalent to taking over two million cars off the road, or around 60% of domestic aviation emissions," the Minister said.

Equity Generation Lawyers and Market Forces have lodged a complaint with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission against APA Group – Australia’s biggest gas pipeline operator.

They are alleging APA Group has misrepresented the costs, scale and financial viability of producing gas in the Beetaloo Basin.

The Productivity Commission has released its interim report on the impacts of heavy vehicle reform.

The report says the most significant challenge for the rollout of electric truck charging infrastructure is establishing connections to electricity networks, because high-powered charging requires costly and complex network augmentation.

Australia's latest greenhouse gas inventory report is now available. The National Inventory Report (NIR) 2024 provides data on Australia's net greenhouse gas emissions for the period 1989–90 to 2023–24.

It covers five sectors - energy, industrial processes and product use, agriculture, waste, and land use change and forestry.

The National Inventory Report, along with the series of Quarterly Updates, form part of Australia's National Greenhouse Accounts, which track Australia's progress towards its emissions reduction targets.

A project led by the Gulbali Institute at Charles Sturt University has developed an environmental DNA (eDNA) tool to detect river and billabong mussels.

According to DCCEEW, the method is faster, safer, and often more accurate than traditional surveys, which require digging by hand in cold murky water. 

Field surveys on two rivers found mussels at 15 of 23 sites using the eDNA, compared to only eight sites using traditional methods.

The EPBC referral for Synergy's proposed Tathra wind farm in mid-west Western Australia is now available.

The project would comprise a 1,000MW wind farm, a 500MW solar farm, and battery storage. Earlier this year, the WA EPA decided the project did not require assessment.

QUEENSLAND

The Queensland government has instructed the Queensland Productivity Commission to investigate the impact of the federal government's reforms of the EPBC Act.

The terms of reference state that the Queensland government "is leading the nation in taking proactive steps to build sovereign capability and bolster Australia's energy security by unlocking new oil, gas and coal production".

However, the EPBC reforms specifically exclude resource projects from the federal government fast-track assessment pathway, the state government says.

The terms of reference also refer to concerns about the impacts of the reforms on the state's agriculture sector. The Commission must report within 12 months.

The Queensland government has released a new Coastal Management Plan.

The plan refers to the need to consider sea level rise, including by protecting areas where coastal habitats can retreat with sea level rise.

The Queensland environment department has ordered Glencore-owned Copper Refineries Pty Ltd to investigate potential heavy metal contamination of surface waters and groundwater.

NSW

The NSW government has released an updated Electric Vehicle Strategy.

Measures in the strategy include greater efforts to deploy charging infrastructure, including at the kerbside, and the proposed introduction of a right to install EV chargers in strata buildings.

So far, the state government has funded the installation of more than 3,300 EV chargers in over 1,200 sites. More than 117,000 EVs are now registered in NSW.

Since the release of the initial 2021 NSW Electric Vehicle Strategy, EVs have increased from less than 1% of new light vehicle sales, to 8.9% of new sales in 2025. 

The NSW EPA has released the latest data on the percentage of biofuel blends that made up total fuel sales in the state.

The data for January to June last year showed that ethanol blend fuel made up 3.1% of BP's fuel sales, 2% of 7-Eleven's sales, and under two percent of sales by Caltex and Viva retailers.

None of the retailers sold any diesel containing biodiesel.

Following legislative changes last year, major supermarkets in NSW must from July 1 this year record their donations of food.

To ensure consistent reporting, the NSW EPA has released templates for reporting donations across six categories, including meat, dairy, fruit and vegetables, frozen food and baked goods.

The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust has launched a new Conservation Co-Investment program that aims to permanently conserve poorly protected landscapes.

For eligible sites, the state government will match contributions to protect biodiversity made either by landowners, or by other entities such as philanthropists or NGOs.

The NSW government has announced new recipients of Low Carbon Landscapes grants.

One project will support WWF Australia's Koala-Friendly Carbon Initiative, which aims to restore habitat for endangered east coast koalas.

The grant will be used to develop a model for high-integrity carbon projects that support biodiversity, Indigenous leadership, and nature-positive restoration across the Richmond and Clarence catchments.

Another project, delivered by Australia Wool Innovation, will work with 21 sheep farms to develop a reliable way to measure and track soil carbon over time, while assessing each farm's potential to run carbon projects.

The NSW government has signed a $1.9 billion, seven-year renewable energy power purchase agreement (PPA) with Snowy Energy that will result in the state's entire public transport system being powered by renewables, under the terms of one contract.

The renewables PPA will allow Transport NSW to avoid the equivalent of more than 800,000 tonnes of CO2 each year, compared to conventional power, according to the state government.

The NSW government has released the environmental impact statement for Auskelp's proposed 200-hectare seaweed farm offshore from Eden.

The kelp farm would produce more than 1,500 tonnes of wet seaweed annually, valued at more than $9 million, which could be used in food, for animal feed supplements, and in bioplastics.

Meanwhile, the state government has also awarded an $896,000 grant to Auskelp for the purchase of a vessel that will plant and harvest the kelp.

The NSW government has teamed up with the University of New South Wales to reinstate a seaweed known as crayweed along stretches of Sydney's coastline.

The state government has licensed more than 20 Crown land marine sites for restoration works.

Crayweed once formed vast underwater forests along Sydney's coast before it disappeared in the 1980s, probably because of pollution.

Tilt Renewables has proposed modifications to its Liverpool Range wind farm, that will significantly reduce the project's biodiversity impacts.

The modifications remove 12 wind turbines, as well as a proposed 28km transmission line.

Transcript is now available from a recent hearing in Parkes, conducted by the parliamentary committee inquiring into proposed energy from waste facilities.

VICTORIA

The Victorian government has released a new transition plan to ensure the state's water utilities reach net-zero emissions by 2035.

The state's 18 water corporations have already achieved more than a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since 2019-20, and are now powered entirely by renewable electricity.

Measures contained in the plan include introducing a standard cost for greenhouse gas emissions that will be used by the state's water businesses in their decision-making.

Melbourne Water has also undertaken to develop emissions reduction plans for its western and eastern sewage treatment plants, which produce nearly 70% of the water sector's Scope 1 emissions.

On behalf of other states and territories, EPA Victoria is developing a national guideline to support the safe management of end‑of‑life lithium‑ion batteries.

The draft guideline covers the collection, transport, handling and recycling of end-of-life batteries.

Australia produced about 5,290 tonnes of lithium-ion battery waste in 2017–18, and the volume is growing by up to 22% each year. The EPA has scheduled a webinar on the proposed guideline for April 29.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

The Western Australian government has declared the state's first State Development Area (SDA), as part of efforts to fast track industrial precincts and major developments within the state.

The declarations follow the recent passage of the State Development Act.

The Western Trade Coast, which runs between Munster and Rockingham has been declared the state's first SDA mainly because it will be the location of the proposed NeoSmelt low-emissions iron smelter.

NeoSmelt is a collaboration led by BlueScope that includes BHP, Rio Tinto, Woodside and Mitsui Iron and Steel.

The state government has also used the Act to declare four wind farms to be priority projects - the 470MW Parron Ma'am Marang wind farm, the 130MW Condoning wind farm, the 550MW Marri wind farm, and the 180MW Narrogin wind farm.

Three of the four priority wind projects have power purchase agreements in place with either Synergy or the WA Water Corporation.

New data shows total seagrass in Bindjareb Djilba (the Peel‑Harvey estuary) increased by 16% over the last four years, in line with state government commitments to improve the estuary's health.

The 2024 - 2025 Seagrass Survey shows seagrass now covers more than 9,200 hectares, accounting for around 71% of the total estuary area.

The Western Australian government has gazetted regulations that expand its container deposit scheme to include bottles containing wine and spirits.

THE COP31 GLOBAL CLIMATE TALKS

Ministers and senior officials from Tuvalu, Samoa, Fiji, Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Vanuatu have issued the Tassiriki Call for a Fossil Fuel Free Pacific.

Ministers issued the Call just ahead of an international conference in Santa Marta, Colombia, on transitioning away from fossil fuels.

IDEAS, ADVOCACY, GUIDANCE, AND INNOVATION

The Energy Efficiency Council and RACE for 2030 have released a white paper on energy governance, written by energy expert Rob Murray-Leach.

"Strengthening governance will reduce the risk of delayed, fragmented or contested policies and enable an orderly, affordable, sustainable and publicly supported energy transition," the report says.

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