News in brief: November

27 November: New research from JLL has pointed to a shortage of all-electric buildings to meet rising demands from the market in general and from corporates needing to meet Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards for their scopes 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 2028.

And so far it looks like the market is pricing in value differentials for buildings that meet better environmental standards. All-electric offices across Australia are achieving 23 per cent higher rents, 7.8 per cent lower vacancy rates and 55 basis points tighter yields, compared with conventional stock, the agency said this week.

“This trend is aided by the fact all-electric office stock is weighted to recently completed projects that are new or refurbished with amenity upgrades. However, the findings demonstrate that electrification is directly linked to stronger asset performance and long term value creation.”

The SMH reports that a planning official in New South Wales’ Housing Delivery Authority “has been placed on forced leave after it emerged she allowed AI software developed by her husband [a former Atlassian employee] to be used on assessments”.

The report says that hundreds of fast tracked approvals made by the agency will now be reviewed. The agency said only publicly available information was used to assess the development approval.

“While there is no indication of errors or inaccuracies in those summaries, the program is no longer being used and out of caution, the minister for planning and public spaces has requested for an independent review to be undertaken,” a department spokesperson said.

In a video/podcast on Thursday (coming soon) with Bentley System’s senior vice president, Asia Pacific, Kaushik Chakraborty the conversation ranged across the big trends underway globally – among them de-urbanisation, with key infrastructure investment now targeting ways to service these expanding regional areas.

Australia is right on trend, judging by the new price data emerging in regional areas.

Over the past five years prices nearly double in regional areas in Victoria and NSW.

In NSW this includes the Tweed region on the Far North Coast, where the local airport is being expanded and improvements on shopping centres are under way, at Muswellbrook and the Snowy Monaro region in the south-east of the state, KPMG’s Terry Rawnsley told The SMH.

Anna Martaki of Warburton Estate Agents said places such as Muswellbrook offered “plenty of work” in the renewable energy sector, (as well as, still, in mining) and in the new Sydney Rum Distillery and the Scone Equine Group.

At Tweed, the Gold Coast Airport is undergoing an expansion, there’s the new Tweed Valley Hospital, and shopping centres are being rejuvenated with expanding retail and professional services,”

Cotality told The Age that median house prices also rose nearly double in Beechworth, Mansfield and Alpine regions, and that prices in Mildura, Greater Shepparton and Horsham, also rose strongly over the past five years.

20 November

Was it the $2 billion of mooted costs? Was it Australia’s go-slow on environmental reforms and what could shape up as the biggest wasted electoral majority of all time? We might never be able to unpick the real reason from the plethora of “media words” tumbling out on Thursday to explain why Australia lost the chance to host the next COP in favour of Türkiye.

Innes Willox, chief executive of the national employer association, Australian Industry Group said the failed bid is disappointing but that Australia will “still hold the pen on negotiations over the next year ahead of the 2026 COP”. Whatever that means. We hope a lot of course.

The AFR noted that: “since the federal election in May, the political resolve globally and domestically to tackle climate change has begun to wane in the face of high energy prices and the cost of living crisis. As it did, enthusiasm for COP within the cabinet began to fade.”

And of course the Coalition has dug the stiletto in deep by messaging that it was going entirely AWOL on strong climate action with its abandonment of the net zero target.

Though judging from the intense activity we could see at Circular Disruption there’s a slew of emerging and transitioning businesses invested in sustainability that are no longer listening to the politics  – they’re getting on with the job.

Sorry for your loss Albo! And sorry for ours.

But it’s good news that Türkiye has now embraced the race to net zero and the transition, right?

What we are reading (and listening to)

Watch your language – How to get cut through in a messy political world

Kate Cotter, chief executive of the Resilient Building Council made no mention of sustainability in this interview with ABC Radio National on Thursday. She talks about buildings that last, are not flimsy and how they can protect us from fire or flood. Cotter is also getting traction with the insurance companies to acknowledge lower risk. Here’s a lesson in how to cut through the political noise and get the message to the people that matter.

Listen here

Read our stories on Kate Cotter and the Resilient Building Council.

Reads: From The New York Times – China is the new green superpower. While the US withdraws from overt climate action and Europe struggles, emerging countries such as Brazil, India, and Vietnam are rapidly expanding solar and wind power. Poorer countries like Ethiopia and Nepal are leapfrogging over gasoline-burning cars to battery-powered ones. Nigeria, a petrostate, plans to build its first solar-panel manufacturing plant. Morocco is creating a battery hub to supply European automakers. Santiago, the capital of Chile, has electrified more than half of its bus fleet in recent years. How? China, which is shaping the development trajectory of some of the world’s fastest-growing economies.

Read this extraordinary report of a quite but powerful green revolution (paywalled).    

From The AFR: In the wake of the huge enthusiasm for new low carbon materials evident at last week’s Circular Disruption Forum, news has emerged of how tough it is for green technology start-ups to attract financing from multibillion-dollar government investment. The Net Zero Economy Authority said the mandates of the government’s clean tech related specialist investment vehicles are not properly targeted at supporting net zero goals.

“The Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, the National Reconstruction Fund and the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility – have been collectively allocated more than $50 billion by successive governments,” the newspaper points out. Read more (paywalled).

18 November: UK based heavy EV company Zenobe has promised to deliver six new electric bus depots across West and South Auckland in New Zealand. With new depots, the firm has partnered with the New Zealand bus operator Ritchies Transport to deploy 172 new electric buses over the next nine months, which will increase the operator’s electric fleet by more than fivefold.

The first depot went live on 2 November, with the rest due to be completed by August next year. Alongside the depot, the EV company will also provide a “battery as a service” solution, where the operators will pay a subscription to have the firm finance and manage the lifecycle of the batteries on its buses.  Gareth Ridge, Zenobe’s country director for Australia and New Zealand, said they hope the partnership will not only deploy the country’s largest electric fleet but also provide infrastructure, which will set a new benchmark for sustainable public transport in New Zealand.

New thermal index rating could be on the way

The University of Sydney is partnering up with Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Japan’s Waseda University, and the Technical University of Denmark to develop a new thermal comfort index to recognise and support fairer, more energy-efficient workplaces across the globe.

The collaboration will involve large scale field studies, experiments with human subjects, and advanced data modelling beyond the “outdated average people” model in today’s comfort standards. The University said the index should be modern and inclusive and reflect how people feel in real offices, to ensure it provides comfort, wellbeing and productivity while cutting energy waste.

The index aims to provide a consistent, evidence-based standard for designers, engineers, and regulators across regions and climates.

Farmers speak out against dropping net zero

With the Coalition denouncing net zero, the Farmers for Climate Action, which represented 8400 farmer members, insists the politicians should “listen to the farmers, not fossil fuel billionaires.” Farmers are saying that buyers passionate about the environment will go elsewhere if Australia drops net zero.

Here are some key realities for farmers:

• Repeat fires, droughts, and floods made worse and more frequent by climate change are expensive and “smashing farmers”
• Climate change is sending farm insurance bills through the roof
• Nearly all of Australia’s farm trading partners have net zero commitments, including China, which is currently drafting a border adjustment tariff to apply to countries not pulling their weight on carbon reduction
• At the time of the Nationals conference, electricity was free for the whole market across Queensland, NSW, Victoria and SA because abundant renewable energy had forced the price low
• Stopping net zero will not stop the rollout of clean energy projects, and farmers are on track to earn $1 billion in payments from clean energy companies by 2030.

Jobs

The University of Newcastle is appointing Dr Paul Ebert as its executive director of the Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources (NIER), succeeding Alan Broadfoot, who had led the institute since it started in 2010.

Ebert will step into the new role in March 2026 but will leave his current job as the group director for sustainability and energy transition leadership at international engineering firm Worley at the end of November, after working there for almost 18 years. The firm has more than 50,000 employees across the world. 

The University’s vice chancellor, Professor Alex Zelinsky, said as an alumnus and Novocastrian, Ebert had strong local and global connections and understood the role the institute plays in driving economic and environmental outcomes for their region and beyond.

Tim Hollo has stepped down from his role as the executive director of The Green Institute, the official think tank of the Australian Greens party, after 10 years. The organisation is now looking for its next leader or member of its leadership team, asking interested parties and the broader Greens movement to pitch “a strong vision for the Institute’s future activities and how they may be implemented.”

6 November: While EY’s Australian company commits to new digs in Canberra its former global sustainability guru Matthew Bell based in the UK has jumped ship to Anthesis, where he will be group chief executive officer.

He succeeds co-founder Stuart McLachlan who started the company in 2013 and since then has amassed around 1400 staff across the globe.

Bell previously headed EY’s sustainability operations in the UK and Ireland as well as the APAC, working at the consultancy for more than 18 years. He is also currently chair and non executive director of the World Green Building Council. At EY he was global leader for climate change and sustainability services and led a team of more than 4300 staff.

New Canberra digs

Meanwhile, EY has committed to leasing two floors, or 4600 square metres, in Vernon, an all electric carbon-neutral in operation office building, featuring a hybrid timber and concrete structure with 15 per cent of the building constructed from sustainable timber.

The building is part of the final stage of construction for the 65,000sqm Constitution Place precinct in Canberra’s CBD. The building will also include a 150 kilowatt roof-mounted solar array and a 100kW battery, targeting a 5.5-Star NABERS Energy rating and a 5-Star Green Star rating.

The consultancy said the aligns with the firm’s sustainability ambitions. It was designed by Bates Smart as part of a precinct that is already home to government and corporate tenants such as King & Wood Mallesons, MinterEllison, NAB, and the ACT Government.

Completion is expected in October 2026, with tenants moving in mid-2027.

City of Sydney passes all electro building rules

The City of Sydney has passed new planning rules requiring new residential buildings, medium to large commercial buildings, hotels and serviced apartment buildings within its jurisdiction to be all electric.

This follows the adoption of planning controls earlier in the year, with indoor air quality provisions restricting indoor gas appliances such as cooktops and heaters, and new residential developments.

Starting in 2027, the restrictions will also expand to cover outdoor gas appliances such as water heaters in new residential buildings, extending the all electric requirement to new large commercial buildings, hotels and serviced apartments. The new rules won’t apply to industrial buildings and existing buildings.

New aged care in Redfern

Wyanga Aboriginal Aged Care has formalised its partnership with not for profit group Uniting to turn a council car park in Redfern into a not for profit 50 person residential aged care home. The development was approved by the City of Sydney in August after calling for contributions to the design, construction and operation of the facility at 49 Cope Street.

Once finalised, the council will hand over the $20 million site in exchange for $1 so the two organisations can start planning for the facility.

The new facility will be “culturally safe”, run by First Nations community members, so local Elders can stay connected to Country, close to family and community, to share their knowledge in their later years. Uniting has committed to officially handing over the ownership to Wyanga to ensure the facility is owned and run by the Indigenous community.

ENERGY BRIEFS: Experts are concerned that delays to the National Construction Code will slow the uptake of EVs, as yet another negative consequence flows from the backdown on regular NCC updates, especially on energy. The latest blow means the next iteration of the code, where EV charging points will be stipulated, won’t be until mid-2029.

The NCC was expected to also introduce electrical requirements that can support faster electric car charging at home. EV Council CEO Julie Delvecchio said 85 per cent of Australians charge their EVs at home, so ensuring newly built residences are EV ready would make going electric more effective.

ARENA funds new tech

ARENA has provided $25 million in funding to Melbourne-based battery technology company Relectrify to deliver what is believed to be the world’s first battery energy storage system that doesn’t require an inverter.

The battery, AC1, uses a unique battery management system that controls each battery cell to directly produce AC power, which it says can reduce battery degradation and deliver 20 per cent more energy over its lifetime and lower energy storage costs. The funding will help the company deploy up to 100 megawatts-hour of its battery system to commercial, industrial and small front of meter markets.

The company initially set out to recycle end of life batteries but unintentionally designed a product which “neutralises weaknesses found in today’s battery systems”.

Queensland needs policies to protect grids during extreme weather

Voltage management company EA Technology Australia said that, as the supercell storms are threatening Queensland with destructive winds, flash flooding and giant hailstones, policy is needed to protect people and the grid during extreme weather events.

The company said the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) and Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) need to focus on appropriate investments to increase network resilience to extreme weather events. It added that rooftop solar, home batteries and electric vehicles can’t be part of the solutions without proper management of reverse power flows and demand.

Distributed network service providers (DNSPs) need visibility to see what’s happening in real time to isolate faults faster, reconfigure the network and keep electricity flowing safely, it said.

V2G charger rolls out despite not having CEC approval

Energy storage manufacturer RedEarth is making its vehicle (V2G), “plug and play”, bidirectional charger commercially available. The company said it will take preorders starting November 2025, with the retail price of $9990 excluding GST, with deliveries expected to commence in February 2026.

The manufacturers told The Fifth Estate that the chargers have not been approved by the Clean Energy Council (CEC) and that “it is likely that approval will not be completed by the time we commence market installations”. However, several DNSPs (grid providers) have granted the manufacturers exemptions due to the product already having AS/NZS 4777.2 certification for approved inverters from the CEC.

There are currently a long line of V2G manufacturers waiting for approvals from the CEC, which they said they have started back in November 2024.

Could aviation fuel be sustainable?

Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific has signed a joint investment agreement with aircraft manufacturer Airbus to invest US$70 million (A$107 million) in developing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production in Asia and globally. The two will work together to identify, evaluate and invest in the projects that can scale up SAF production towards their 2030 targets and beyond. Projects would be evaluated based on commercial viability, technological maturity and potential long term offtake and target those offering near to medium term availability.

Cathay chief operations and service delivery officer Alex McGowan said SAF was the most important factor to drive the industry to decarbonisation. The two companies said they intend to use their influence to drive global policy in this field.