Today’s ESG Updates
- Bezos Earth Fund Commits $200M to Fight Species Extinction: The Phoenix Species Project will fund conservation breeding and habitat restoration for 100 critically endangered species across 30 countries.
- Australian Regulator Sues Inpex Over Ichthys LNG Emissions Breaches: The Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority alleged that the Japanese energy firm under-reported benzene and toluene emissions at its Darwin LNG plant.
- Australia Slashes Solar Costs for Businesses by 20%: The government has cut the installation costs for rooftop solar panels to help factories, farms, and warehouses.
- Domtar to Pay $1.5M Settlement Over Clean Air Act Violations: The paper producer will invest a further $2.6 million in pollution controls after regulators found inadequate emissions monitoring at its Arkansas mill.
Bezos Earth Fund commits $200M to fight species extinction
On Tuesday, the Bezos Earth Fund and Re:wild launched the Phoenix Species Project, an initial $200 million commitment to recover 100 critically endangered species across 30 countries. Backed by the non-profits Age of Union and the Todd Graves Family Foundation, the funding will support conservation breeding, habitat restoration, disease management, and control of invasive species, with scientific guidance from the IUCN Species Survival Commission.
The species targeted by the project include Madagascar’s golden-crowned sifaka lemur and Mexico’s Charco Azul pupfish. The IUCN states that more than 49,000 species, or 28% of those it has assessed, face extinction. The recovery efforts will be locally led, involving Indigenous Peoples, local communities, scientists, and governments.
The Vice Chair of the Bezos Earth Fund, Lauren Sanchez Bezos, reaffirmed their commitment to bring back one hundred species, saying that the project was “not managing their decline. Recovering them.” Ever since its launch in 2020, the Bezos Earth Fund has made 41 grants of up to $591 million on projects to restore and conserve nature.
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Australian regulator sues Inpex over Ichthys LNG emissions breaches
The Japanese energy firm Inpex was charged by Australia’s Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority for under-reporting emissions from its Ichthys LNG plant near Darwin. The charges include licence breaches, particularly the under-reporting of benzene and toluene emissions between 2019 and 2024.
The legal action follows Inpex’s own disclosure in October last year of significant under-reporting at the facility, which prompted a wider regulatory review of operations at both Ichthys LNG and Santos’ Darwin LNG plant. Inpex’s environmental licence requires it to submit regular annual reports on total air emissions to the regulator.
The regulator declined to elaborate due to ongoing litigation and Inpex hasn’t responded yet. The case adds to growing scrutiny of emissions reporting accuracy across Australia’s LNG sector.
Related Articles
Here is a list of articles selected by our Editorial Board that have gained significant interest from the public:
Australia slashes solar costs for businesses by 20%
As part of a greener shift towards renewable energy, Australia has announced it will cut the installation costs of commercial and industrial rooftop solar panels by around 20%. This decision builds on the existing subsidies for rooftop solar and batteries, which have reduced the country’s reliance on coal plants.
While addressing the National Press Club in Canberra, Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced that they will be expanding the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) to cover systems up to 1 megawatt, ten times the current 100-kilowatt cap. The change is designed to lower energy costs for businesses and further the country’s shift toward sustainable power.
Australia has one of the highest rates of rooftop solar adoption in the world, with roughly a third to 40% of homes hosting solar panels.
Domtar to pay $1.5M settlement over Clean Air Act violations
North American paper manufacturer Domtar has agreed to settle with the U.S. Justice Department over civil allegations that it violated the Clean Air Act and Arkansas pollution law at its kraft pulp and paper mill. The $1.5 million penalty will be split between the state of Arkansas and the federal government. Domtar will further commit to an estimated $2.6 million in projects to address its excess emissions.
DOJ alleged that the paper producer failed to install the required pollution controls on its brown stock washer, which can leak hydrogen sulfide, a harmful, rotten-egg-smelling gas, if not properly controlled. The complaint cites 17 instances in which inspections didn’t occur within the required 30-day window and says Domtar failed to adequately test two boilers, leaving the true scale of excess hazardous air pollutant emissions unknown.
In response to this, the firm stated that it has already completed modifications to the brown stock washer and will install capping valves and update its wastewater treatment system.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of impakter.com — Cover Photo Credit: Erik Reemst
