Addressing climate change in state and local environmental impact analysis

This study examines the first generation of state and local policies in the US that require consideration of climate change in environmental impact analysis (EIA). Based on a review of six policies, the study finds significant variation in approach relative to the nature of analyses (quantitative versus qualitative), consideration of various greenhouse gases, methods used to analyse impacts, applicability of policies and approaches to integrating climate change analyses into EIA documents. At the same time, the analysis highlights key challenges associated with addressing climate change in the existing EIA framework, including addressing cumulative effects and scientific uncertainty and evaluating the significance of project-scale climate change impacts.