The Australian climate change practice applies expertise from commercial, environmental, finance, project, construction and tax law disciplines to support business to understand and plan ahead for climate change and carbon reduction. To date, given the lack of progress made in introducing an emissions trading scheme, the Australian practice has focussed on assisting clients with submissions to policy documents or draft legislation, providing analysis and briefings on the implications of an emissions trading scheme for various industry sectors and advising on interpretation and compliance issues arising under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting System (Australia's new greenhouse gas emission reporting legislation). We also have a very strong renewable energy practice area, with extensive experience in the wind, hydro and solar industry sectors.
Our primary and related practice areas in Australia include:
- Advising on international, regional and domestic climate law and policy
- Greenhouse gas emissions and energy reporting requirements
- Emissions trading schemes
- Greenhouse gas abatements and offsets, including forestry
- Green building development and construction projects, including ratings systems
- Green leasing
- Carbon aspects of corporate transactions and contractual arrangements
- Renewable energy projects (including wind, hydro, solar and bio gas) – development, financing and management
- Carbon capture and storage
- Tax implications of climate change policy.
Norton Rose Australia is one of only three Australian firms listed as 'carbon verified' in the Managing Partners Forum (MPF) Carbon Footprint Report 2008.
Three examples of our team's experience –
Waste industry
Norton Rose Australia has worked closely with the waste industry over the last few years to advise them on the implications of the proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS). Waste is proposed to be a covered sector under the current version of the Scheme. We have prepared an issues paper for the Waste Management Association of Australia on the implications of the introduction of an Australian Emissions Trading Scheme for the waste/resource recovery industry. The paper was provided to the Garnaut Climate Change Review and the Department of Climate Change as part of submissions made by the Association on the design and introduction of emissions trading in Australia. Norton Rose Australia, in conjunction with URS, also drafted the Association's submission to the Federal Government's Green Paper. Norton Rose Australia was also commissioned by the Australian Landfill Owners Association to redraft sections of the CPRS Bill dealing with treatment of landfills, for submission to the Federal Government. This work successfully helped the waste industry to have legacy waste emissions excluded from the CPRS. We have provided advice to individual waste companies and landfill owners on their potential liability under the Scheme and opportunities to access the international compliance market for compliance.
CCS Flagships Program
Norton Rose Australia is currently advising the Commonwealth Department of Resources Energy and Tourism on the funding agreements for the CCS Flagships Program. The CCS Flagships Program is one aspect of the Federal Government's Clean Energy Initiative. The funding is intended to support construction and demonstration of large-scale integrated carbon capture and storage projects in Australia, which may include gasification, post-combustion capture, oxy-firing, transport and storage technologies. The target is to create 1000MW of low emission fossil fuel generation. It is anticipated that up to four projects may receive funding assistance of $2.425 billion over nine years.
BP - Carbon Conscious
Norton Rose Australia advised, in conjunction with Norton Rose Singapore and Norton Rose London, BP Singapore (BPS) on an agreement with Carbon Conscious Limited, an Australian listed company. Under the agreement, BPS will pay Carbon Conscious to create large scale commercial plantings of Mallee Eucalypt trees in the wheatbelt region of Australia. These trees will absorb carbon from the atmosphere, producing Australian Emission Units which should be tradable under the Australian government's proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme. This is the first investment by BP's emissions asset business in the region. It involved a complex transaction structure being put in place in an uncertain regulatory environment, in a compressed timeframe.
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