ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY – AUSTRALIA

Greens’ Brown praises Turnbull’s energy shift

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 24-Mar-16

The Australian Greens’ former leader Bob Brown has welcomed the decision of the Federal Government to retain the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. The current leader of the party, Richard Di Natale, is not impressed. He described Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s move as a "con job". The Australian Labor Party stressed that Turnbull has cut funding to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency by $A1.3 billion.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. CLEAN ENERGY FINANCE CORPORATION, CLEAN ENERGY INNOVATION FUND, AUSTRALIAN RENEWABLE ENERGY AGENCY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Glenn McGrath bowls into carbon farming

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 13-Nov-15

The Clean Energy Regulator has granted $A557 million to 131 carbon reduction projects via the second auction from the Emissions Reduction Fund. Former cricketer Glenn McGrath is among the recipients of funding. He has agreed to grow trees on his rural property in north-west New South Wales to offset carbon emissions. Wesfarmers, Consolidated Pastoral Company, AGL Energy and Pacific National are among bigger recipients of funding for carbon reduction programs.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. CLEAN ENERGY REGULATOR, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, CONSOLIDATED PASTORAL COMPANY PTY LTD, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, PACIFIC NATIONAL PTY LTD, CLIMATE FRIENDLY PTY LTD, REPUTEX AUSTRALIA PACIFIC PTY LTD

Big four advisory firms ramp up climate practices

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Original article by Agnes King
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 2-Sep-15

Big four professional services firms are expanding their climate change and sustainability practices. At EY, the acquisition of boutique consultancy Net Balance in 2014 increased its domestic sustainability practice from 90 to 160 staff. KPMG has developed a tool to quantify the value of an asset when social and environmental impact is taken into account.

CORPORATES
KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ERNST AND YOUNG, SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS AUSTRALIA (SBA) LIMITED, NET BALANCE MANAGEMENT GROUP PTY LTD

McKibbin says climate target at ‘high end’

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Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 : 31-Aug-15

Warwick McKibbin has defended the Australian Government’s climate change policy. McKibbin, the head of the Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis at Australian National University’s Crawford School of Public Policy, said on 30 August 2015 that the Government’s emissions reduction target of at least 26 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030 would result in gross domestic product being 0.6 per cent smaller than if there were no target.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. CRAWFORD SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND GOVERNMENT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. CLIMATE CHANGE AUTHORITY, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

The long wait for Adani

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Mark Ludlow, Primrose Riordan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 : 20-Aug-15

Attorney-General George Brandis has challenged the Australian Labor Party (ALP) to support workers instead of the green movement in repealing section 487 of the Environment Protection & Biodiversity Conservation Act. It is the section which has allowed activists to tie up mining projects, such as the giant Adani coal mine in Queensland, in the courts. Brandis said passing the repeal through the Senate was a matter for the ALP, not the Australian Greens or crossbench senators.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF MINES AND ENERGY, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, ADANI ENTERPRISES LIMITED, PALMER UNITED PARTY, MACKAY CONSERVATION GROUP INCORPORATED, ASSOCIATION OF MINING AND EXPLORATION COMPANIES, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Cheap permits an option for emitters

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1&8 : 12-Aug-15

The Australian Government has announced a plan to cut emissions by 26 per cent to 28 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on 11 August 2015 that the Government did not abandon the idea of allowing Australian companies to trade in international permits. This option will be reconsidered in 2017-18 or later.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, SNOWY HYDRO LIMITED, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, CLIMATE INSTITUTE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

Hunt slams lobbyists for Adani hold-up

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 6-Aug-15

Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt has accused environmental activists of using litigation as often as possible to obstruct the approval process for mining projects. On 5 August 2015, the Federal Court of Australia set aside environmental approval for the Carmichael coal mine project in Queensland, to be developed by Indian company Adani. The litigant, the Mackay Conservation Group, is confident that the mine will not be built, but Hunt has vowed to issue a new approval as quickly as possible.

CORPORATES
FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, ADANI MINING PTY LTD, MACKAY CONSERVATION GROUP INCORPORATED, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF MINES AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Review signals overhaul of RET

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Original article by Sid Maher
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 29-Aug-14

A review deems the Renewable Energy Target (RET) to be a costly means of carbon abatement that undermines national productivity. The review panel’s recommendations offer Prime Minister Tony Abbott guidelines to greatly reduce subsidies for solar rooftop panels and wind farms. The renewable energy sector is upset by the review findings, whereas the Energy Supply Association of Australia says the RET risks making the overall energy market "uninvestable"

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN ALUMINIUM COUNCIL LIMITED, ENERGY SUPPLY ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, CLEAN ENERGY COUNCIL LIMITED, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN SOLAR COUNCIL LIMITED