The Australian Federal Minister for the Environment and Water has tabled proposed laws before the Australian Parliament to establish new national environmental agencies, enhance their enforcement powers and establish the...more
Following two rounds of consultation, the Australian Government has released an exposure draft of the Treasury Laws Amendment Bill 2024: Climate related financial disclosure (Draft Bill) which would introduce mandatory,...more
On 29 March 2023, the Australian Government introduced two Bills to the federal Parliament that, if passed, will introduce the world's first voluntary biodiversity market. This would allow eligible landholders to generate...more
On 30 March 2023, the Australian Federal Parliament passed the Safeguard Mechanism (Crediting) Amendment Act 2023 (Cth) (Safeguard Act). The Safeguard Act, together with the Federal government's proposed reforms to the design...more
In June 2022, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) released guidance (INFO 271) for entities offering sustainability-related financial products to avoid making misrepresentations in promotional material,...more
The Australian government has released draft regulations and guidelines for the country's Offshore Electricity Infrastructure (OEI) framework, with public consultation to run until 22 April 2022.
Last year, we reported...more
The Paris Agreement approved by the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ("UNFCCC") aims to (i) hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C...more
On 2 September 2021, the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction tabled two Bills in the Australian Parliament that will, if enacted, regulate the development and operation of offshore wind and other renewable energy in...more
Digitalisation and ESG are transforming the face of infrastructure. Here we explore how investors are reacting to the opportunities and challenges these forces present.
Technology is playing a transformative role in...more
The future is bright for the asset class in the region. Here we explore investor' vision for the future -
The pandemic has dealt a heavy blow to government budgets and containing the virus, and supporting households and...more
The Equator Principles have been one of the principal frameworks for managing sustainability and ESG risk in projects by financial institutions since 2003. The latest update – known as EP4 – renews the focus on human rights...more
9/26/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EPFIs ,
Equator Principles ,
Financial Institutions ,
Human Rights ,
OECD ,
Popular ,
Refinancing ,
Sustainable Finance
On 27 August 2020, the Federal Government tabled the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Streamlining Environmental Approvals) Bill 2020 (Bill) in the House of Representatives.
...more
9/3/2020
/ Australia ,
Bilateral Agreements ,
Coal Industry ,
Coal Mines ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Policies ,
EPBC Act ,
Forum Shopping ,
Oil & Gas
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission ("ASIC") has recently released updates to its existing regulatory guidance on effective disclosure, to clarify its position on the disclosure of climate change-related...more
9/7/2019
/ Annual Reports ,
ASIC ,
Australia ,
Australian Securities and Investments Commission ,
Board of Directors ,
Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Deceptively Misdescriptive ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Diligence ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Reporting ,
Misleading Statements ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Mitigation
The Equator Principles Association (EPA) has released the much-awaited draft text of Equator Principles 4 (EP4). Further consultation of the draft text will be coordinated by the EPA in July and August, and it is anticipated...more
6/27/2019
/ Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
EPFIs ,
Equator Principles ,
Financial Institutions ,
Human Rights ,
International Finance ,
Land Developers ,
Lenders ,
OECD ,
Paris Agreement ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Public Consultations ,
Public Projects ,
Risk Assessment
Offshore wind projects face challenges that are not addressed by the regulatory system established for onshore projects.
The Australian government's mandatory renewable energy target (MRET) supports investment in renewable...more
4/29/2019
/ Australia ,
Bilateral Agreements ,
Bird Fatalities ,
Development Agreements ,
Electricity ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Policies ,
EPBC Act ,
Excessive Noise ,
Incidental Take Permits ,
Jurisdiction ,
Offshore Wind ,
Permits ,
Renewable Energy ,
Wind Farm ,
Wind Power
What happened?
The Chief Judge of the NSW Land and Environment Court in Australia has upheld the decision of the NSW Minister for Planning's delegate to refuse planning approval for the proposed Rocky Hill Coal Project...more
2/20/2019
/ Australia ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Coal Industry ,
Cost-Benefit Analysis ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Policies ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Oil & Gas ,
Paris Agreement