Environmental and Climate Risk Assessment guidance documents now available
Discussion details
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Climate Risk Assessment (CRA) guidance documents developed by the European Commission are now available on the Capacity4dev group page: 'Environment, Climate Change & Green Economy'.
SEAs, EIAs and CRAs can contribute to environmental sustainability and to low-carbon and climate-resilient development. These tools can be used during a project's programming, identification and formulation phases to assess:
- the potential impacts of a policy/programme/project and their alternatives on the environment and climate vulnerability;
- the effects of environmental degradation and climate change on the feasibility and effectiveness of a policy/programme/project; and,
- the appropriate measures needed to avoid/minimise environmental and climatic risks, and adverse impacts.
An SEA is a systematic process for evaluating the environmental implications of a proposed policy, plan or programme, and provides a means to look at cumulative effects and appropriately address them at the earliest stage of decision making, alongside economic and social considerations.
An EIA is an analytical process for identifying and evaluating the environmental consequences of a project throughout its life-cycle (construction, operation and decommissioning), considering the positive and negative effects on socio-economic, cultural and human health factors. It includes proposals to avoid/mitigate negative impacts and optimise positive effects, reflected in an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) to assist in their implementation and monitoring.
Compared with the EIA, an SEA covers a broader sector, time-frame, and geographical area; it provides recommendations at a strategic level and allows a better control over interactions or cumulative effects. SEA can help to streamline a project’s EIA, making project design and implementation more effective (saving costs and time, and managing legal and regulatory constraints).
An EIA should always be carried out when it is known in advance that a proposed project has a significant potential negative impact on the environment.
CRA is a prior assessment, based on forecasts, of a project's climate risks. It outlines recommendations and measures to reduce climate-related risks and optimise opportunities for the project to contribute to environmental and economic sustainability in the face of climate change. Based on the CRA, a climate risk management plan (CRMP) is drawn up and serves to monitor risk mitigating actions.
Find more information on SEA and EIA at:
Find model terms of references for SEAs, EIAs and CRAs in the following links:
Other environment and climate change mainstreaming tools are available at:
https://europa.eu/capacity4dev/public-environment-climate/minisite/5-tools-and-methods
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