Consideration of climate change impacts and adaptation in EIA practice — Perspectives of actors in Austria and Germany
- University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna (Austria)
- Environment Agency Austria, Environmental Impact Assessment and Climate Change, Spittelauer Lände 5, 1090 Wien (Austria)
- Environmental Assessment and Management, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, 74 Bedford Street South, Liverpool L69 7ZQ (United Kingdom)
- Büro für Umweltplanung Dr. Wachter, Wiesnerring 2c, Hamburg (Germany)
Current political discussions and developments indicate the importance and urgency of incorporating climate change considerations into EIA processes. The recent revision of the EU Directive 2014/52/EU on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) requires changes in the EIA practice of the EU member states. This paper investigates the extent to which the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) can contribute to an early consideration of climate change consequences in planning processes. In particular the roles of different actors in order to incorporate climate change impacts and adaptation into project planning subject to EIA at the appropriate levels are a core topic. Semi-structured expert interviews were carried out with representatives of the main infrastructure companies and institutions responsible in these sectors in Austria, which have to carry out EIA regularly. In a second step expert interviews were conducted with EIA assessors and EIA authorities in Austria and Germany, in order to examine the extent to which climate-based changes are already considered in EIA processes. This paper aims to discuss the different perspectives in the current EIA practice with regard to integrating climate change impacts as well as barriers and solutions identified by the groups of actors involved, namely project developers, environmental competent authorities and consultants (EIA assessors/practitioners). The interviews show that different groups of actors consider the topic to different degrees. Downscaling of climate change scenarios is in this context both, a critical issue with regards to availability of data and costs. Furthermore, assistance for the interpretation of relevant impacts, to be deducted from climate change scenarios, on the specific environmental issues in the area is needed. The main barriers identified by the EIA experts therefore include a lack of data as well as general uncertainty as to how far climate change should be considered in the process without reliable data but in the presence of knowledge about possible consequences at an abstract level. A joint strategy on how to cope with uncertain prognoses about main impacts on environmental issues for areas without reliable data requires a discussion and cooperation between EIA consultants and environmental authorities. - Highlights: • The consideration of climate change impacts in EIA practice in Austria and Germany was analysed through expert interviews. • Barriers as well as possible solutions were indentified by the different groups of actors involved in EIA. • The main challenges regard the investigation of specific entry points. • Limits of feasibility need to be discussed amongst the different groups of actors.
- OSTI ID:
- 22589233
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Impact Assessment Review, Vol. 57; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2015 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0195-9255
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Theorising EIA effectiveness: A contribution based on the Danish system
Large-scale renewable energy project barriers: Environmental impact assessment streamlining efforts in Japan and the EU