Name
Emily Johnstone
Job title
Partner
Organisation
Allens
Speaker biography
Emily is an environment and planning specialist, with particular experience advising on environmental impact assessments, land use and development approvals, tenure and access issues, cultural heritage and native title.
Emily advises developer, operator and investor clients across all phases of the project life cycle, from project design, approval strategies and rezonings, to operational compliance issues, divestments and disputes. Her recent work includes advising on the development of offshore wind farms in Victoria, and on nuisance claims relating to noise.
Emily also has broad experience providing advice to industrial and resources clients on environmental liability matters, including closure, rehabilitation and redevelopment of land, EPA investigations and enforcement measures, pollution incidents and legacy contamination issues, and the management, transport and disposal of hazardous waste.
Emily works primarily across the energy, resources, industrials, water and urban development sectors for both private and government authority clients.
Emily advises developer, operator and investor clients across all phases of the project life cycle, from project design, approval strategies and rezonings, to operational compliance issues, divestments and disputes. Her recent work includes advising on the development of offshore wind farms in Victoria, and on nuisance claims relating to noise.
Emily also has broad experience providing advice to industrial and resources clients on environmental liability matters, including closure, rehabilitation and redevelopment of land, EPA investigations and enforcement measures, pollution incidents and legacy contamination issues, and the management, transport and disposal of hazardous waste.
Emily works primarily across the energy, resources, industrials, water and urban development sectors for both private and government authority clients.
Speaking At
Presentation title
Strengthened biodiversity protection laws – a risk to wind projects and climate mitigation?
Presentation summary
Across Australian state and federal environmental regimes, we are seeing a trend towards the strengthening of biodiversity protection laws. The federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 has recently undergone a once in a generation reform. While some of the reforms are positive for wind energy projects, new requirements in relation to 'net gain', offsetting and unacceptable impacts risk making it more difficult to obtain approvals for wind farm developments, and more costly to deliver these projects. New South Wales and South Australia have also both recently introduced tougher biodiversity laws. If these laws increase roadblocks to environmental and planning approvals for wind energy projects there is a risk that they may end up harming the very thing they are trying to protect, by delaying the energy transition and efforts to mitigate climate change. Is there a chance we might win the battle only to lose the war? Have Australian legal settings got the balance right between biodiversity protection and facilitating approvals for wind energy projects?
