Incorporation of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Environmental Impact Assessment

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Abstract Major developmental activities, such as power generation, mining, manufacturing, oil and gas exploration, transportation and infrastructure projects, result in large scale release of Green House Gases (GHG) (i.e. carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF6) and nitrous oxide (N2O)). Release of these gases affect climate change indirectly and pose a serious challenge to global development and project planning due to uncertainty of the climate change impacts. Traditionally, projects are assessed for their potential impact on the environment. Often climate change mitigation and adaptation aspects have not been considered during the project life cycle impact assessment. Reducing GHG emissions continues to be one of the main policy drivers to meet the Kyoto Protocol targets and commitments under various climate change conventions. Current Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) methodology focuses on conventional pollutant discharges. Climate change due to GHG emissions are not considered as a pollution issue. This paper explores the opportunities and challenges in integrating climate change as a consideration that can be embedded in the EIA process.