Top 10 Environmental & Energy Headlines from Asia Pacific If the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill 2009 (Cth) is introduced into law "liable entities" will need to acquire "Australian Emission Units" (AEUs) in order to satisfy their obligations to surrender those AEUs in compliance with the CPRS legislation. On October 18 this year, the Coalition called for changes to the proposed CPRS Bill. They continue to advocate an intensity-based cap and trade approach to the electricity sector, stating that this will more than halve the initial increase in electricity prices and reduce the economic costs of achieving emissions cuts. Australia’s population increased 6% between the 2001 and 2006 Census, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. In 2003, the Victorian Government helped elevate the topic of water quality in Australia by introducing the Safe Drinking Water Act. It’s an advantage these days to be seen as ‘green’. Companies are desperate to capture the new green consumer market, and as a result, we are seeing a dramatic increase in the number of carbon neutral and carbon offset claims being made by businesses, and in some cases, by unscrupulous traders looking to ‘greenwash’ their advertising to attract consumers. Queensland’s vast geothermal energy reserves have the potential to provide a significant and climate-friendly energy source for hundreds of years. Corporate owners of commercial office buildings with a Net Lettable Area over 2000m2 will be required to disclose the energy efficiency of those buildings when they are sold or leased under proposed new Commonwealth legislation anticipated to take effect from mid 2010. The Government of India (GoI) has offered 10 blocks in different coalfields around the country for the exploration and production of Coal Bed Methane (CBM). As more and more western renewable energy companies look at China to grow their sales or as a manufacturing base, it seems wise to recap on what the Chinese government has to offer in terms of financial incentives. The "polluter pays" principle requires those persons or entities that pollute to take responsibility for the costs that arise from the pollution. | 
