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NATIONAL

Federal, state and territory environment ministers met in Canberra on Friday.

In their communique, ministers undertook to reform the regulatory framework on packaging waste, as well as Australia's circular economy legislative framework.

"Together, the reforms offer an opportunity to lift national productivity, reduce our dependency on imported materials, create stable markets for domestically recycled materials, and build more resilient domestic supply chains," the communique said.

An intergovernmental agreement on options for nationally consistent product stewardship arrangements, focusing on batteries and packaging, will be considered at the next ministerial meeting.

Ministers noted that work is continuing on new EPBC bilateral environmental assessment agreements between the federal government and each state and territory.

They also noted that the federal and Queensland governments are developing bioregional guidance plans.

Ministers endorsed an Implementation Plan for Australia's strategy for nature.

They also noted progress under the Australian Bushland Program, with projects in NSW, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania expected to protect or conserve at least 2.3 million additional hectares of land.

A further 21 million hectares are under review to identify potential further areas for protection and conservation.

The proposed Free Trade Agreement between Australia and the EU will be the first free trade agreement to contain a binding commitment to implement obligations under the Paris Agreement, according to the federal government.

The FTA will eliminate tariffs on environmental goods like wind turbines, lithium batteries and solar panel components, as well as tariffs on Australian critical minerals and hydrogen.

The FTA doesn't refer to the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), or its Deforestation Regulation, but the government says it will continue to engage with the EU on these measures in other forums.

The EU and Australia will also increase their cooperation on carbon leakage, sustainable agriculture, the circular economy, and deforestation.

The full draft text of the FTA is not yet available.

The report of a Senate committee inquiry into climate and energy misinformation has recommended that Australia officially endorse the Declaration on Information Integrity on Climate Change launched at COP30 in Belem, Brazil.

Other signatories to the declaration include the EU, Canada, and Brazil.

The report also recommends that the Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner be adequately funded to carry out community engagement activities.

It also recommends that the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation hire more staff with expertise in social science, behavioural science and community engagement.

In additional comments, Senator David Pocock and Senator Andrew McLachlan said the recommendations did not go far enough.

They urged the government to require social media companies to detect and remove bot accounts that impersonate humans, and to clearly label all automated or bot accounts that remain on their platforms.

Similarly, the Greens recommended that digital platforms be penalised for algorithmic amplification of false and misleading information on climate change
and energy.

The federal government has listed five expectations for developers of data centres and AI infrastructure, including a requirement that they support Australia's energy transition.

Developers will also be expected to use water sustainably and responsibly.

"Data centres have great potential to support our grid and expand new renewable investment," Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen said.

"But it's important we work together across jurisdictions and with industry to get the investment settings right so that we can continue to keep our system secure and energy prices low for all consumers."

The federal government is inviting tenders to administer a National Solar Panel Recycling pilot project.

The pilot project will:

• establish around 100 collection sites across Australia.
• test solutions for collecting, transporting and recycling end of life solar panels.
• recycle up to 250,000 panels from households, businesses and solar farms.

Tenders must be submitted by April 24.

The pilot project will be welcomed by the NSW EPA, which has told a Senate inquiry into recycling solar PV waste that a stewardship scheme is needed "within the next 12 months to address growing waste volumes and to support the viability of the recycling industry for solar panels".

Without a national stewardship scheme, there is likely to be an increase of incidents of illegal dumping, stockpiling and hoarding," the EPA warned.

As required by the federal Water Act, the Productivity Commission has launched its fourth inquiry on progress under the National Water Initiative.

As part of the inquiry, the Commission will examine the progress of water utilities in circularity, and in moving towards net zero emissions.

The inquiry comes as the federal government is working with states and territories to develop a new National Water Agreement.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has released a stress test study that explored how a changing climate could affect home insurance affordability.

APRA examined how home insurance coverage would be affected under two climate scenarios - one involving greater physical climate change impacts, and the other involving a faster transition to net zero.

APRA estimates that around one in seven Australian houses are uninsured today. Under both stress scenarios this could rise to around one in four by 2050 – equivalent to an additional one million homes lacking adequate home insurance.

In the higher physical risk scenario, expected annual losses from weather-related events could rise from about $7 billion today to more than $16 billion by 2050.

In the higher transition risk scenario, losses from weather events are less severe, but significant increases in construction costs drive premiums higher.

The Climate Change Authority has released advice suggesting that establishing a "decarbonisation deals" platform be one of the Australian initiatives for COP31.

The term 'decarbonisation deals' refers negotiated arrangements between willing governments and industries - arrangements that don't require formal COP endorsement or universal participation.

The advice suggests that Australia could announce a deals platform at COP31, with foundation deals focused on green iron, low-emissions fuels, and industrial electrification.

Parliament's Joint Committee on Treaties has recommended ratification of an agreement to establish the Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF), which will fund activities that help make Pacific nations more resilient to climate change.

Australia has set aside $100 million for the PRF. Other pledges have come from countries including Saudi Arabia, which has committed US$50 million.

The Senate has passed the High Seas Biodiversity Bill, which implements Australia's obligations under the UN High Seas Treaty that came into force at the start of this year.

The Bill passed after the government agreed to Greens amendments that strengthen penalties for breaches, and that reference marine protected areas.

The Bill, which is supported by the Coalition, is now before the House of Representatives.

The Australian Energy Market Operator has released its latest gas adequacy outlook, which shows improved near-term supply conditions.

Risks of extreme peak-day shortfalls in southern Australia are now expected to emerge a year later than previously forecast. 

Increased peak-day gas supply, new infrastructure investment, and reduced consumption forecasts have improved gas adequacy expectations, AEMO said.

In an analysis, the Grattan Institute's Hamish McKenzie noted that gas demand is now forecast "to drop much faster than anyone thought".

"Household gas demand was already set to plummet from 170 PJ down to 51 PJ. Now it's forecast to hit 35 PJ - an 80% drop," he noted.

"If household demand drops that much, it almost certainly means the end of the reticulated pipeline network. Which means it will probably drop closer to 100%."

"Industrial demand was forecast last year to be stable over the next 20 years," McKenzie added. "This year, they are forecasting it will drop 26%."

The federal government is developing guidance on estimating and reporting greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture and forestry, to help farmers and land managers to meet increasing customer demands for emissions data.

Comments are due by May 8.

The federal government has received EPBC Act environmental documentation from Gippsland Critical Minerals Pty Ltd for its Fingerboards critical minerals project.

CSIRO has successfully trialled AI-powered robots - adapted from the mining industry - to inspect, monitor and maintain PV panels on large solar farms.

The robots automatically detect faults across PV panels, such as dust build-up, physical damage, and wiring that needs repair.

QUEENSLAND

The federal and Queensland governments will each invest $1 billion to ensure continued operations at Rio Tinto's Boyne aluminium smelter near Gladstone.

The federal contribution, under the auspices of the Future Made in Australia initiative, will be dispersed over 10 years in the form of credits linked to the production of aluminium smelted using renewable energy.

The government funding commitments build on power purchase agreements signed by Rio Tinto in recent years to underwrite almost $7.5 billion in new investment in renewable energy and transmission assets in Central Queensland.

Since 2024, Rio Tinto has contracted more than 2.8GW of new renewable energy from projects in Queensland.

Queensland's Environment Minister Andrew Powell has introduced a Bill to strengthen the state's container deposit scheme, by improving governance arrangements.

Approximately 90% of Queensland’s land mass has been activated for disaster recovery in the first three months of this year, Queensland's Disaster Recovery Minister Ann Leahy has told state Parliament.

"Across the regions you can see the devastation on producers' faces," Primary Industries Minister Tony Perrett told Parliament. "You can hear the despair in their voices."

"In partnership with the federal government, we swiftly activated assistance for primary producers in affected local government areas," Perrett said. "Recovery will not be overnight. It will take years."

Meanwhile, Premier David Crisafuli told Parliament that in the Taroom Trough "our government has created the potential to open Australia's first major new oil province since the 1970s".

"That is the type of planning that should have been done in the last decade," Crisafuli said. "Our government is delivering it."

Commenting on the potential for new gas and oil projects in the state, Resources Minister Dale Last told Parliament that: "Since I started in this role, my mantra has been very clear: 'I'll sign; you drill'."

Minister Last continued: "Do those opposite support the development of the Taroom Trough or will they do as they always do and bury their heads in the sand, pander to their greenie mates and let ecological ideology run rampant in attempt to shut down our most important industries?"

A Queensland parliamentary committee inquiry into bioenergy is due to report tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the Queensland government has announced that a new Green Biotechnology Solutions joint venture has been established between Japan's Nippon Steel Trading and Queensland’s Energreen.

The joint venture and will create a large-scale pongamia tree plantation near Emerald. Pongamia seeds are used to make biofuels.

CSIRO is inviting small and medium businesses in Queensland to apply for its 'Innovate to grow' course, which focuses on the circular economy and sustainability.

The free eight-week research and development training program is funded by the Queensland government.

NSW

The NSW government has introduced to Parliament a Plastic Reduction and Container Recycling Bill.

The Bill empowers the EPA to specify that single-use plastic items be designed to be recycled, and that they have labels showing how they should be recycled.

The Bill also contains measures to encourage more people to use reusable coffee cups, instead of single-use cups.

The NSW EPA has released draft approved methods for modelling and assessing air pollutants.

Proposed changes include a new expectation that emissions of fine particulate matter(PM2.5) will be minimised to the maximum extent possible, and more guidance on how the EPA will regulate fugitive dust.

The approved methods are used by the EPA to decide licence limits for premises that it regulates. Comments are due by May 4.

The NSW EPA has announced that its targeted compliance program projects for this financial year will include reviewing National Pollutant Inventory NOx and Sox data in the Sydney basin, to assess compliance with regulatory limits.

The EPA noted that NOx and Sox emissions have a major impact on Sydney's air quality.

Other targeted compliance projects will examine the disposal of mixed construction and demolition waste.

The NSW government says it has had a strong landholder response to its latest Biodiversity Conservation Trust Fixed Price Offer, with owners of 50 properties keen to proceed.

"We're seeing strong engagement from landholders who want to protect the environmental values on their properties," said the Trust's senior manager Tobi Edmonds.

As a result of the expressions of interest, Biodiversity Conservation Trust staff will now assess more than 39,000 hectares of land, working with landholders to develop conservation management plans.

Landholders will receive annual fixed price payments for agreeing to comply in perpetuity with these plans, which would be registered on their property titles.

Another round of expressions of interest will open later this year.

Transport for NSW must do more to remove modern slavery risks from the supply chain for its purchases of electric buses, the NSW Office of the Anti-Slavery Commissioner has concluded.

In a new report, the Commissioner notes that Transport for NSW will be purchasing 7,500 low emissions buses, yet there are "significant deficiencies" in its current arrangements for managing modern slavery risks.

The report notes that NSW public agencies are obliged by law to take reasonable steps to ensure the goods and services that they buy are not products of modern slavery.

In a separate report, also released last week, the Commissioner presents a high-level analysis of modern slavery risks in the procurement of EVs and related infrastructure.

A NSW parliamentary inquiry into the impact of renewable energy zones will hold a public hearing in Sydney tomorrow.

Those giving evidence include representatives of Farmers for Climate Action, The Next Economy, and the Clean Energy Council, as well as representatives of several NSW government departments.

Transcript is now available of a recent hearing of a NSW parliamentary inquiry into modern slavery risks in regional NSW.

ACT

The ACT's Sustainable Household Scheme has now saved Canberrans more than $100 million on household bills, according to the ACT government.

Minister for Finance Rachel Stephen-Smith said that more than $276 million in loans have been settled since the start of the scheme in 2021, averaging out to one in every eight homes across Canberra taking out a loan.

"Scheme loans have supported more than $100 million in cumulative household bill savings from reduced energy bills and savings on fuel when purchasing an EV," the Minister said.

Through the scheme, which is run in conjunction with Brighte, eligible households can get a low interest loan of between $2000 and $15,000 to improve their home's energy efficiency, or to help purchase an EV.

VICTORIA

Victoria's Premier Jacinta Allan has announced that electricity retailers will from October be required to offer households discounted electricity for three hours in the middle of the day.

More details, including time periods and prices, will be released in May.

The discounted offer is possible thanks to Victoria's investment in renewable power, the Premier said.

The Victorian government is seeking feedback on proposed changes to methods under the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) program to provide stronger incentives for industrial and commercial businesses to reduce their use of fossil gas for industrial heat.

A webinar on the changes is scheduled for April 14, and comments close on April 28. The industrial sector currently accounts for 31% of gas use in Victoria.

The Victorian government has gazetted regulations that make the installation of ceiling insulation an activity that can be subsidised through the Victorian Energy Upgrades scheme.

Transcript is now available from a recent hearing convened by a state parliamentary committee that is inquiring into oil and gas decommissioning.

The committee heard evidence from representatives of Exxon, Woodside, and government departments, as well as union representatives.

The Net Zero Economy Authority has applied to the Fair Work Commission to establish an Energy Industry Jobs Plan that would support workers who will be affected by the closure of Origin Energy's coal-fired Eraring power station.

Eraring is Australia's largest power station.

Under an EIJP, employers can be required to provide workers with support to help prepare them for their next job.

The Authority's application names Origin Energy, Centennial Coal and 11 other businesses as employers that should be included in the EIJP. Between them these businesses employ more than 1,300 workers at Eraring power station, Myuna Colliery and across the supply chain.

If the Fair Work Commission decides to implement the EIJP, workers at businesses named in the determination will be able to access transition supports from their employer.

Meanwhile, the Net Zero Economy Authority has released submissions on the merits of preparing an Energy Industry Jobs Plan in preparation for the closure of Energy Australia's Yallourn power station.

The Yallourn power station and mine currently employ about 500 workers.

TASMANIA

An independent review of Tasmania's Climate Change Act has recommended that the state government establish an independent body to advise on emissions reduction efforts, lead the development of sector plans, and monitor progress.

The review also recommends:

• reviewing the Climate Change Act at least every 10 years, rather than every four years, because a four-year review cycle is too short.
• establishing a separate, mandatory adaptation planning process under the Act.
• mandating that climate change considerations be included in major government decisions.

The report says stakeholder confidence in the Tasmanian government's ability to deliver meaningful climate outcomes "remains low". 

The Tasmanian Parliament's select committee on energy has released transcript of its most recent hearing, featuring representatives of Hydro Tasmania.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

NSW Land and Environment Court Chief Judge Brian Preston will give the keynote address at a Perth event on April 2 convened by the National Environmental Law Association.

The Chief Judge will speak on the role of solidarity in climate justice.

Government-owned Synergy and the Water Corporation have signed Power Purchase Agreements that will enable the construction of more than 1GW of renewable generation capacity, supporting the state's ambitions to close all publicly-owned coal-fired power stations by 2030.

Synergy has agreed to buy renewable electricity from Zephyr Energy's 470MW Parron Maam Marang wind farm, as well as the 130MW Kondonin wind farm, which is being developed by a Shell Energy and Foresight joint venture.

The WA Water Corporation has signed an offtake deal with Alinta's 550MW Marri wind farm.

The three wind projects will have sufficient capacity to power 800,000 homes.

Think tank Beyond Zero Emissions has welcomed the new power purchase agreements with the three wind farms as "landmark deals".

However, it cautioned that grid infrastructure isn't keeping pace with all the generation projects that have received development approval in the state.

The Western Australian government has released a new report on rising pressures on the state's water resources as a result of increasing demand and climate change.

The Western Australian government will provide $2 million to Camco Engineering to establish Western Australia's first manufacturing facility capable of making wind tower anchor cages.

The investment was made through the government's $8 million Wind Energy Manufacturing Co-Investment Program.

Businesses and organisations in Collie can now apply for grants of up to $100,000 for projects that deliver significant benefits to the local community, including projects that help workers move away from coal‑related industries.

IDEAS, ADVOCACY, GUIDANCE, AND INNOVATION

The Australian Industry Greenhouse Network has made a submission on the government's draft method to earn carbon credits from integrated farm and land management activities, stating that the method's scope should be expanded.

"The scope of the method should be broader and include activities such as soil carbon, avoided clearing and livestock emissions management," its submission says.

"Integrity settings must be proportionate to risk, and they should not be so punitive as to discourage genuine abatement opportunities," the AIGN adds.

The Minerals Council has released a Good Guide to Critical Minerals, which was launched by Resources Minister Madeleine King.

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