{"id":22200,"date":"2022-02-18T09:24:58","date_gmt":"2022-02-18T14:24:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/?p=22200"},"modified":"2022-02-18T09:26:31","modified_gmt":"2022-02-18T14:26:31","slug":"new-study-shows-federal-agencies-must-consider-climate-risk-in-environmental-reviews-under-nepa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2022\/02\/18\/new-study-shows-federal-agencies-must-consider-climate-risk-in-environmental-reviews-under-nepa\/","title":{"rendered":"New study shows federal agencies must consider climate risk in environmental reviews under NEPA"},"content":{"rendered":"

(This post was co-authored by Romany Webb of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School and EDF\u2019s Michael Panfil. It is also posted on the Sabin Center\u2019s website<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n

From pipelines destabilized by melting permafrost to powerline-sparked wildfires exacerbated by drought, the impacts of climate change are affecting infrastructure across the U.S. and heightening the risks posed to the environment and communities.<\/p>\n

A new study<\/a>, undertaken jointly by Environmental Defense Fund and Columbia Law School\u2019s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, finds that federal agencies are not adequately considering climate change impacts in energy project reviews conducted under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).<\/p>\n

The finding stands at odds with NEPA\u2019s requirement that federal agencies take a \u201chard look\u201d at the environmental effects of proposed actions, including considering ways to mitigate adverse effects and alternative courses of action, before proceeding.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Federal courts have repeatedly held that federal agencies must consider climate change in their NEPA reviews. Climate change is relevant to NEPA reviews in two ways: First, any greenhouse gas emissions an action causes contribute to climate change, so consideration of these emissions is a crucial part of evaluating the action\u2019s environmental effects. Second, since the changing weather and environmental conditions brought by climate change might impact an action and alter its environmental effects, they too must be considered.<\/p>\n

Both categories of analysis are essential to meet the clear and express requirements of NEPA; our study focuses on the second, which we term \u201cclimate impact analysis.\u201d Climate impact analysis furthers NEPA\u2019s goal of ensuring informed decision-making by equipping federal agencies and the public with crucial information about the climate-related risks facing an action and its resilience to those risks. This, in turn, enables an assessment of the potential for climate change to worsen or otherwise alter the action\u2019s environmental outcomes.<\/p>\n

Our new report, Evaluating Climate Risk in NEPA Reviews: Current Practices and Recommendations for Reform<\/a>, offers recommendations for ensuring robust consideration of climate risk in environmental reviews, consistent with NEPA\u2019s requirements. The report explains that, because climate change impacts manifest in different ways depending on location, time, local environmental characteristics, and type of infrastructure, simply noting climate change in a cursory manner does not meet an agency\u2019s NEPA obligations.<\/p>\n

To sufficiently inform agency decision-making, the analysis of climate change impacts must be:<\/p>\n