ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AUTHORITY —
GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS —BRIEFING NOTES
308. Hon PETER COLLIER to
the Minister for Environment:
I refer to question without notice 285 answered on 3 April
2019.
(1) Will the
minister confirm that the Conservation Council of Western Australia, the World
Wildlife Fund, the Wilderness Society, the Environmental Defender's
Office, the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand, the Environmental
Consultants Association, and Natural Resource Management WA were consulted on the EPA's decision to amend
the guidelines to include a requirement to fully offset all scope 1
emissions from projects emitting over 100 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent
emissions per annum?
(2) Were any
formal documents prepared to guide the consultation process, and were they
provided to the stakeholder reference group?
(3) If yes to (2), will the minister table the documents;
and, if not, why not?
(4) Was the
Department of the Premier and Cabinet, the Department of Water and
Environmental Regulation, the minister's office or the Premier's
office consulted in the preparation of the revised guidelines prior to the
briefing on 21 February 2019?
(5) If yes to (4), who was consulted and on what dates did
the consultation take place?
Hon STEPHEN DAWSON
replied:
I thank the Leader of the Opposition for some notice of the
question.
(1) I am
advised that the Environmental Protection Authority's revised
greenhouse gas guidelines, including the
requirement to fully offset all scope 1 emissions from projects emitting over
100 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per annum, were
discussed at the 27 February 2019 stakeholder reference group meeting. The
Conservation Council of Western Australia, the Wilderness Society, the
Environmental Defender's Office, the Environment Institute of Australia
and New Zealand, the Environmental Consultants Association, and Natural
Resource Management Western Australia attended that meeting. In addition, other attendees included the Chamber of
Minerals and Energy, the Pastoralists and Graziers Association, the Western
Australian Local Government Association, the Association of Mining and
Exploration Companies and the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration
Association. The World Wildlife Fund did not attend that meeting.
(2)–(3)
I am advised by the EPA that no revised guidelines or other documents outlining
the requirement to fully offset all scope 1 emissions from projects emitting
over 100 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per annum were
provided to the stakeholder reference group.
(4)–(5)
The details regarding the timing of meetings of my office with the EPA on the
draft greenhouse gas guidelines are outlined in my response to Hon Dr Steve
Thomas' motion on this issue on 14 March 2019. I table the attached Hansard
extract. Questions relating to the Department of the Premier and Cabinet or the
Premier's office should be referred to the Premier.
[See paper 2562.]