The Economic Perspective 3 October 2025

The Latest Trending Economic News Curated for You by Balmoral Group Australia

Good morning dear readers, I hope your October is off to a good start,

This week is all about the role of technology, industry and regulation in transitioning to Net Zero. Our first article focuses on Europe, where the EU’s Deforestation Regulation has been delayed by another year to prevent its digital systems from being overwhelmed with compliance submissions. While this may be a technical necessity, climate advocates are highly critical of the delay. The next article presents a discussion of policy options amid Australia’s emissions reduction plans; while the government wants to focus on new fuel options, the surer bet may be to amp up electrification, tighten regulations, and reform urban planning and freight systems.

In good news, the Australian government have released $192 million in funding for manufacturing decarbonisation through their ARENA program, and IBM has recently released a new software that compiles 140,000 global emissions datasets into one easy-access API, allowing businesses to embed emissions data into their existing systems. And finally, I've made a quick map to visualise Australia's distribution of power plants, allowing you to compare renewable and non-renewable generation. 

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Hope you enjoy the articles and have a great weekend!

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EU Pushes Back Supply Chain Deforestation Rules by One Year 

Implementation of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), introduced in 2021, will be delayed by another year due to fears that the digital systems involved won’t be able to handle the increased online traffic in their current state. The delay seems to be just a practical necessity, as the online platform will be the key enforcement mechanism for traceability requirements, meaning any IT related disruptions can have significant trade impacts. Thus, the law’s delay may end up saving time in the future if it helps to shore up digital systems. Read more here.

Transport will make or break Australia’s new climate plan – and time is running out to fix it 

Transport is the 3^rd largest and fastest growing source of emissions, primarily from difficult-to-decarbonise shipping, freight and aviation. The government has focused on low-carbon fuels and hydrogen, however, hydrogen may be less efficient and more emissions-intense than electrification. Instead, government should reform regulations: steadily increase requirements for electric vehicle sales (e.g. the UK has mandated zero-emission car sales of 80% by 2030), tightening fuel efficiency standards, re-centreing urban planning to reduce car dependence, increasing road-use charges, investing in rail corridors to shift freight away from trucks, and incentivizing heavy vehicle electrification. Read more here.    

Joint media release: $192 million to cut emissions and costs for Aussie industry 

Industrial processes make up 44% of Australia’s emissions. To tackle this, governments Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has apportioned $12 million to leading manufactures McCain Foods, Sugar Australia and Blackmores through a new program to trial cleaner industrial processes. Another $180 million in ARENA funding has also been opened for the Industrial Transformation Stream, which supports regional industry to modernise. Read more here.  

IBM Launches API to Embed Emissions Data into Corporate and Vendor Tools 

IBM has debuted their “Envizi Emissions API”, an application programming interface (API) that gives users access to 140,000 global emissions datasets, compiled and adjusted to regional standards. If companies embed the API into their already existing systems, they can access accurate, consistent emissions data without building their own costly and haphazard calculation engines, and the platform also tracks supply chain emissions and CSRD aligned reporting. Read more here.

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Australia’s power generation

BGA developed the following GIS map using data from the Global Energy Monitor. The map visualises Australia’s power plants that are currently operating, near operational (e.g. under construction) or announced. The size of each dot indicates the power plant's capacity in MW (ranging from 35000 to 1 MW), and colour indicates the method of energy production. While it’s good news that we see so many renewables, we should be cautious; 40.5% of all the non-fossil plants you see on the map are pre-operation. Only time will tell how many will reach functionality.

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