LEGAL PRACTICES IN THE ASSESSMENT OF CLIMATIC FACTORS IN EIA AND SEA

Since the effects of climate change are becoming more severe, an effective assessment of climatic factors in environmental impact assessment (EIA) and strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is necessary. Both, the SEA Directive1 as well as the EIA Directive,2 require Member States to assess effects of a project or of certain plans and programmes on the climate.

Past studies conducted by Justice & Environment showed that the assessment of climatic factors in both, EIA and SEA procedures, was an abstract topic for participants in the procedures. Justice & Environment thus provided guidance in the document Assessing the Impact on Climatic Factors in SEA and EIA. It concluded that for integrating climate content into all policies, the SEA constitutes an excellent tool for impact assessment of the highest strategic plans and programmes. Projects must contribute as much as possible to climate change mitigation and adaptation. At the same time, sufficient resilience of the project itself to the anticipated effects of climate change is important.

Against this background, this comparative study evaluates the transposition of the EIA and SEA Directive of member states. In particular, it analyses whether transposing provisions in nine Member States (Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia and Spain) explicitly mandate the assessment of climatic factors; whether specific bodies exist which provide an opinion on the impact on the climate, whether mandatory instructions or trainings exist in that regard (see sections II. and III.); and whether carbon budgets play a role in this context (section IV.). Finally, recommendations for the improvement of the effective assessment of climatic factors will be provided.

legal-practices-in-assessment-of-climatic-factors-in-eia-and-sea.pdf