Asia: Energy and Natural Resources

The Supreme Court of India, through its judgment dated 12.08.2026 in Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited v. Rekha and Others , set aside concurrent orders of the High Court of Karnataka which had fastened absolute liability upon the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (“KPTCL”) in respect of two electrocution incidents.

Vietnam has enacted one of the most comprehensive nuclear energy legal frameworks among emerging economies with Law No. 94/2025/QH15, effective January 2026.

If Australia fails to resolve the power equation, we risk slowing AI adoption, delaying cloud migration and pushing investment offshore.

The State Development and Public Works Organisation (Critical Minerals) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 (the Bill) has passed the Queensland Parliament.

Special counsel Mark Cowan shares his journey to Cooper Grace Ward after nearly two decades in property, planning and environment law, discussing what attracted him to the firm's collaborative culture. The conversation explores how planning and environment law has transformed into a dynamic field spanning urban development, renewables, infrastructure, agriculture and mining, while examining the persistent challenge of delivering infrastructure efficiently amid shifting government policies.

India's Ministry of Home Affairs has introduced mandatory security clearance guidelines for renewable energy projects in sensitive border areas, requiring developers to navigate complex approval processes...

As Indian cities hurtle toward rapid urban expansion, often celebrated in terms of GDP growth, infrastructure, and high-rise skylines, a quieter crisis unfolds at the edge of this development: the disappearance of urban wetlands.

Kazakhstan's new Water Code introduces stricter requirements for special water use permits starting January 2027, mandating comprehensive documentation including technical passports, measuring devices, and five-year plans for water loss reduction. Water users must demonstrate compliance with operational limits, implement best available technologies, and maintain proper monitoring systems...

The Supreme Court has confirmed that the threshold for establishing nuisance remains high, and that factual causation will be difficult to establish when there are multiple factors contributing to an incident.

The NSW Government has doubled the objection threshold for electricity generating works to be referred to the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) and removed objection-based IPC referral for battery energy storage systems altogether. These changes seek to materially reduce approval risk for proponents across the energy sector.

A key constraining factor for Australia’s energy transition is the need to convert increasingly complex and interdependent market, regulatory and infrastructure signals into bankable project structures which deliver internationally competitive returns – and to do so at scale and speed.

Critical minerals policy is shifting from a focus on export opportunity to a question of national security, energy resilience and regulatory control. As global demand accelerates and nuclear power is repositioned as a strategic energy source, Australia’s export‑focused and restrictive uranium framework is under increasing pressure.