Incorporation of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Environmental Impact Assessment

Introduction to <i>Climate Change Adaptation in New York City: Building a Risk Management Response</i>

Better information on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and mitigation potential in the agricultural sector is necessary to manage these emissions and identify responses that are consistent with the food security and economic development priorities of countries. Critical activity data (what crops or livestock are managed in what way) are poor or lacking for many agricultural systems, especially in developing countries. In addition, the currently available methods for quantifying emissions and mitigation are often too expensive or complex or not sufficiently user friendly for widespread use.The purpose of this focus issue is to capture the state of the art in quantifying greenhouse gases from agricultural systems, with the goal of better understanding our current capabilities and near-term potential for improvement, with particular attention to quantification issues relevant to smallholders in developing countries. This work is timely in light of international discussions and negotiations around how agriculture should be included in efforts to reduce and adapt to climate change impacts, and considering that significant climate financing to developing countries in post-2012 agreements may be linked to their increased ability to identify and report GHG emissions (Murphy et al 2010, CCAFS 2011, FAO 2011).

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from unsustainable land-use practices around the world contribute significantly to anthropogenic climate change. Growing population pressure and low efficiency of agricultural production systems in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) trigger the expansion of agricultural land into natural ecosystems, which leads to deforestation and land degradation, and causes GHG emissions. At the same time, prolonged droughts and increasingly erratic weather patterns due to climate change jeopardise food security in SSA countries such as Kenya.

This paper is an attempt to develop a holistic understanding on climate change (CC) in relation to the agriculture sector in Nepal. The Chapter conducts a descriptive analysis of secondary data on the trend of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate variables; in addition to a literature review on CC mitigation, adaptation and co-benefits. Nepal’s contribution to the global GHG emissions is nominal. CH4 and N2O are the GHGs mainly associated with agriculture. Agriculture and forest have a significant bearing in Nepal’s GHG emissions. Hence, any policy consideration to reduce the emissions from these two sectors can contribute significantly in CC mitigation. Moreover, agriculture has a high GHG mitigation potential with strong adaptation and sustainable development co-benefits especially in developing countries like Nepal. The clear indications of CC have shown serious adverse impact on Nepali agriculture. Therefore, adaptation is highly prioritized in agriculture. GHG mitigation has not received a policy priority until recently. The CC policy-2019 is a step ahead in defining the mitigation, and putting forward the clear strategies and working policies for it. Similarly, the international efforts towards resilient agriculture and the Paris Agreement have facilitated quick global take-up of climate smart agriculture (CSA) for mobilizing actions on CC adaptation and mitigation in agriculture. This is important for realizing the co-benefits leading towards resilient agriculture system. Piloting, screening and replicating CSA along with the policy integration from local to national levels, building institutions and improving their capacity are the important initiatives directed towards mainstreaming CC into the agriculture sector in Nepal.

The persistent issue of drought in Northern Nigeria is exacerbated by the reduction in precipitation and rise in temperature. Nigeria is being impacted by climate change in diverse ways, necessitating the immediate implementation of proactive measures to tackle its challenges. It is crucial to integrate adaptation and mitigation into the country's development plans. The objective of the study is to identify current practices, gaps, and opportunities for incorporating climate change into the EIA framework; and the integration of climate change considerations into the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process from projects in Northern Nigeria. The study assesses various criteria in EIA reports, such as vulnerability assessments, climate projections, adaptation measures, stakeholder engagement, and policy compliance. A self-created questionnaire titled "Mainstreaming Climate Change within EIA" was utilized to collect data. The questionnaire was designed with an interactive format, divided into three main categories (Category A, B, C). It was conducted between February and April 2022, with 400 potential volunteers receiving electronic and hard copies of questionnaires, resulting in 127 valid responses. The findings from five EIA reports of projects in Northern Nigeria revealed significant gaps in addressing climate change, including limited attention to vulnerability and risk assessments, inadequate reporting of adaptation measures, and insufficient stakeholder engagement. Key stakeholder interviews conducted support the relevance and significance of incorporating climate change adaptation skills into the EIA process. However, the study contends that in order for stakeholders to accept mainstreaming climate change mitigation and adaptation, institutional and policy changes are needed.

Integrating climate change into environmental impact assessment (EIA) remains a critical global challenge. Although the importance of this integration is widely acknowledged, its implementation in practice remains underexplored, particularly in countries like Brazil. This study addresses this gap by focusing on the integration of climate change mitigation into project-level EIA. It examines how greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are addressed and mitigated in the environmental impact statements (EISs) of thermal power plant (TPP) projects licensed at the federal level in Brazil, as part of climate change mitigation efforts. Adopting a qualitative multiple-case study approach, we analyzed all eight EISs issued between 2010 and 2022. The results reveal significant shortcomings: although most EISs refer to climate change, their treatment is superficial, with weak links between project activities and GHG emissions, and limited assessment of potential climate impacts. The analysis also identifies frequent non-compliance with legal requirements related to GHG mitigation. These findings show that, despite the availability of international guidance and existing national regulatory provisions, the actual practice of addressing climate change mitigation in Brazilian EISs for TPP projects remains limited and inconsistent. This highlights the importance of translating existing international guidance into clear, enforceable national regulations tailored to this project typology.

Major US electric utility climate pledges have the potential to collectively reduce power sector emissions by one-third

In Korea, a greenhouse gas (GHG) environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been conducting since 2012, which sets the evaluation procedures and methods for GHG items during the EIA. However, the current EIA on GHG emissions can support wrong decision-making because the evaluation does not consider Scope 3 GHG emissions. Accordingly, this study proposed the life cycle EIA (LCEIA) method to identify changes in GHG emissions that need to be managed by considering Scope 3 GHG emissions in construction projects. The LCEIA method incorporates life cycle CO2 (LCCO2) including Scope 1, Scope, and Scope 3 GHG emissions using the concept of life cycle assessment (LCA) into the scoping step of the EIA process. The case study was conducted using existing EIA on GHG emission and LCEIA methodology for a development project in Gwangyang City. Scenario 1 is defined as an approach that calculates GHG emissions using the existing EIA method, and scenario 2 is also defined as a process using the LCEIA method. Results reveal that Scenario 2, including Scope 3 GHG emissions, had 46.4−51.2% more GHG emissions than Scenario 1. Sensitivity analysis for electricity and liquefied natural gas (LNG) density was also performed. Although the change in the carbon emission factor of electricity had a slightly sensitive effect on the research results, the LNG density was found to be less sensitive. This study believes the importance of switching to an EIA reflecting life cycle carbon dioxide (LCCO2) to calculate the exact amount of GHG emissions for construction work.

The potential of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process to respond to climate change impacts of development projects can only be realized with the support of policies, regulations, and actors' engagement. While considering climate change in EIA has become partly mandatory through the EU revised Directive in Europe, African countries are still lagging. This paper assesses Tanzanian policies, laws, regulations, and EIA reports to uncover consideration of climate change impacts, adaptation, and mitigation measures, drawing from the transformational role of EIA. The methodology integrates content analysis, interpretive policy analysis, and discourse analysis. The analyses draw from environmental policy, three regulatory documents and three EIA reports in Tanzania using a multi-cases study design. The aim was to understand how considering Climate Change issues in EIA has played out in practice. Results reveal less consideration of climate change issues in EIA. The policy, laws, and regulations do not guide when and how the EIA process should consider climate change-related impacts mitigation and adaptation. The practice of EIA in the country is utterly procedural in line with regulations provisions. Consequently, environmental impact statements only profile the climatology of the study area without conducting a deeper analysis of the historical and future climate to enhance the resilience of proposed projects. The weakness exposed in the laws and regulations contributes to the challenges of responding to the impacts of climate change through the EIA process. It is possible to address climate change issues throughout the project life cycle, including design, approval, implementation, monitoring, and auditing, provided the policy and regulations guide how and when the EIA process should consider climate change issues. Additionally, increasing stakeholders' awareness and participation can enhance the EIA process's potential to respond to the impacts of climate change.

Identifying effective agricultural management practices for climate change adaptation and mitigation: A win-win strategy in South-Eastern Australia

CONTENTS I Introduction II Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events III Adaptation in the International Climate Regime IV Insurance and Adaptation in the International Climate Regime V Models for Climate Change Insurance VI Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility VII Climate Change Insurance and the Pacific Island States VIII Viability of Climate Insurance as a Long-Term Adaptation Strategy IX Conclusion I INTRODUCTION Many Small Island Developing States ('SIDS') lie only metres above sea level, making them particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change in both the shorter (eg storm surge during large tropical cyclones) and longer (eg sea level rise) terms. (1) The modest ambition for mitigation (ie reduction) (2) of greenhouse gas emissions in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ('UNFCCC'), (3) Kyoto Protocol (4) and Copenhagen Accord (5) means that the prospect of avoiding an increase in mean surface temperature of less than two degrees is now very low. (6) The latest climate science suggests the Earth is on a path that will lead to a rise in mean surface temperature of between three and six degrees by 2100. (7) Unless there is a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions over coming decades, SIDS are likely to experience tropical cyclones of greater severity, disrupted rainfall patterns and sea level rise. (8) Recent extreme weather events in the Asia-Pacific region, such as Typhoon Haiyan (9) and Cyclone Ian, (10) demonstrate the significant impact of these events on SIDS. (11) The lack of success in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions has led to adaptation to climate change impacts gaining greater prominence within the United Nations climate negotiations. Adaptation to climate change has been defined as '[a]djustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities'. (12) Adaptation may take many forms, including pre-emptive action to limit damage from climate change-related events (eg implementing more ambitious building codes to make buildings more resilient to storms) and building institutions to aid recovery after a climate-related event (eg improving emergency services capacity to respond in the immediate aftermath of adverse weather events). Domestically, insurance is an established mechanism to spread financial risk of adverse events and build societal resilience. However, at an international level, the issue of climate change-related insurance has only proceeded in fits and starts. Proposals for an insurance mechanism to support the adaptation of SIDS to climate change date back to 1991. At that time, the Alliance of Small Island States ('AOSIS') proposed an international, state-based pool to provide insurance against the impacts of climate change-related sea-level rise. (13) Despite this early call by AOSIS, a climate change-related insurance mechanism was not included in either the UNFCCC or the Kyoto Protocol. In 2007 climate change-related insurance emerged again on the UNFCCC agenda as the Bali Action Plan launched international discussion on enhanced action on adaptation 'including risk sharing and transfer mechanisms such as insurance'. (14) In 2008 AOSIS made a submission under the Bali Action Plan to include an insurance mechanism as part of a broader response to climate-related loss and damage. (15) In a departure from its earlier proposal in 1991, the 2008 AOSIS submission called for insurance cover for climate change-related extreme weather events such as hurricanes, floods and droughts. (16) In 2010 the Cancun Agreements also invited submissions on the development of a climate risk insurance facility, as a part of an enhanced adaptation framework, to address impacts from extreme weather events. (17) The 2012 Conference of the Parties ('COP') 18 meeting in Doha appeared to be a breakthrough in the development of institutions to assist adaptation to climate change. …

Integrating climate change in Environmental Impact Assessment: A review of requirements across 19 EIA regimes

Chapter 6: Insurance industry

Taking Stock of Strategies on Climate Change and the Way Forward: A Strategic Climate Change Framework for Australia

Togo, in west Africa, is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, but has made a negligible contribution to causing it. Togo ratified the Paris Agreement in 2017, committing to submit Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that outline Togo's climate change mitigation commitment. Togo's capital, Lomé, as well as other areas of Togo have ambient air pollutant levels exceeding World Health Organisation guidelines for human health protection, and 91 % of Togolese households cook using solid biomass, elevating household air pollution exposure. In Togo's updated NDC, submitted in 2021, Togo acknowledges the importance and opportunity of achieving international climate change mitigation targets in ways that improve air quality and achieve health benefits for Togo's citizens. The aim of this work is to evaluate priority mitigation measures in an integrated assessment of air pollutant, Short-Lived Climate Pollutant (SLCP) and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions to identify their effectiveness in simultaneously reducing air pollution and Togo's contribution to climate change. The mitigation assessment quantifies emissions for Togo and Grand Lomé from all major source sectors for historical years between 2010 and 2018, for a baseline projection to 2030 and for mitigation scenarios evaluating ten mitigation measures. The assessment estimates that Togo emitted ~21 million tonnes of GHG emissions in 2018, predominantly from the energy and Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use sectors. GHG emissions are projected to increase 42 % to 30 million tonnes in 2030 without implementation of mitigation policies and measures. The implementation of the ten identified priority mitigation measures could reduce GHG emissions by ~20 % in 2030 compared to the baseline, while SLCPs and air pollutants were estimated to be reduced more, with a more than 75 % reduction in black carbon emissions in 2030. This work therefore provides a clear pathway by which Togo can reduce its already small contribution to climate change while simultaneously achieving local benefits for air quality and human health in Togo and Grand Lomé.