ASIC releases guidance and policy proposals for carbon financial products
23 March, 2012The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) recently released regulatory guidance to help businesses comply with their financial services legal requirements leading up to the introduction of Australia’s carbon pricing mechanism.
ISO 50001 energy management Standard - adopted as European Standard
21 March, 2012European member states have recently agreed to adopt the International Organization for Standardization’s (ISO’s) Standard for energy management, ISO 50001:2011, as the European Standard for energy management systems. The publication of EN ISO 50001 will replace the existing European Standard, EN 16001:2009, to be withdrawn at the end of April 2012.
Tougher laws needed to smash green smoke screens
14 February, 2012Law reform and tougher legal sanctions to stop greenwashing are critical, according to a leading intellectual property expert from The Australian National University.
Carbon Farming Initiative open for business
08 December, 2011The Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Greg Combet, Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Mark Dreyfus QC and Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator Joe Ludwig welcomed today’s launch of the Carbon Farming Initiative Administrator - providing exciting opportunities for farmers, landholders and landfill operators to participate in carbon markets.
Applications open for energy security fund cash assistance
01 December, 2011The Australian Government is now accepting applications from eligible electricity generators for cash assistance under the Energy Security Fund.
April 2012 start date for Clean Energy Regulator
16 November, 2011The Clean Energy Regulator, the new administrative body responsible for the carbon-pricing mechanism, will begin operation from 2 April 2012.
Industry bodies call for common sense on renewable energy elibility
18 October, 2011The Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) and NSW Forest Products Association (FPA) have announced that they are hopeful common sense will prevail over the use of native forest woody biomass for green energy and its eligibility for renewable energy certificates under the national renewable energy target scheme.
New ecodesign ISO Standard
17 October, 2011A new ISO Standard has been released to help reduce the environmental impacts of products and services.
Carbon tax passed
12 October, 2011The carbon tax in Australia is set to become law after the lower house of Parliament passed the government’s set of Bills to establish the world’s second largest carbon pricing scheme.
Climate change Bills introduced to House of Reps
14 September, 2011A package of Bills has been introduced to the House of Representatives by the Gillard government to tackle climate change and promote a clean energy future.
Australia and China to cooperate on building low-carbon economies
31 March, 2011The Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Greg Combet, has announced increased collaboration between Australia and China on climate change.
Consultation paper released on National Television and Computer Product Stewardship Scheme
10 March, 2011Under the National Waste Policy: Less Waste, More Resources, the Australian Government agreed to develop and enact national legislation to support voluntary, co-regulatory and mandatory product stewardship and extended producer responsibility schemes.
Carbon farming initiative
05 January, 2011The Gillard Labor government has announced another major step towards establishing the Carbon Farming Initiative, a carbon offsets scheme that will provide new economic opportunities for farmers, forest growers and landholders and help the environment by reducing carbon pollution.
NABERS ratings - are you ready?
20 September, 2010If you own or lease office space, then you need to know about the new Commercial Building Disclosure scheme (CBD) beginning 1 November this year. CBD will require office buildings to disclose their NABERS Energy ratings when they are offered for sale or lease.
Complying with greenhouse and energy reporting
26 August, 2010As the 2009/10 financial year comes to a close, corporations are busy with their financial reporting requirements. The end of the fiscal year also signifies the approach of greenhouse gas and energy reporting deadlines under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (NGER Act), where corporations over a certain size are required to report their emissions and energy by 31 October.
