Key takeaways from the GHG Guideline
The Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has released its finalised Greenhouse Gas Emissions Environmental Factor Guideline (GHG Guideline). The final GHG Guideline dials back what has been described as the more controversial aspects of the initial guideline that was released (and subsequently withdrawn) in March 2019.
The key takeaways are:
- the GHG Guideline outlines the EPA's approach to assessing the GHG emissions of WA projects. It will be most relevant to new projects or existing projects going through an expansion phase, which are expected to have over 100,000 tonnes of scope 1 (direct) GHG emissions per year;
- projects referred to the EPA for assessment may need to include estimates of scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions (annual and total) for the life of the project. The weight that the EPA will give to those emissions (particularly scope 3 emissions) in its assessment is not expressly stated; and
- projects to which the GHG Guideline applies will need to prepare and implement a GHG Management Plan that demonstrates the proponent's contribution towards the aspiration of net zero emissions by 2050.
Environment / approvals teams will need to be mindful of the GHG Guideline in engaging with the EPA, preparing environmental impact assessment documentation and planning for delivery of offsets where required. Proponents will need to ensure that the EPA has sufficient information regarding GHG emissions to inform its assessment report and that decision-makers have sufficient information to make lawful decisions.
For further details on the GHG Guideline please refer to
our full article here.