WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015
WEBINAR ANNOUNCEMENT
Council on Environmental Quality Revised Draft Guidance on Integrating Analysis of Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change in NEPA Documents
This webinar will present a synopsis of how courts are addressing the questions of when and how agencies consider climate change in their NEPA reviews and then focus on the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Revised Draft Guidance on Integrating Analysis of Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change into environmental documents prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Revised Draft Guidance was released by CEQ for a 60-day public review and comment on December 24, 2014, with comments due through February 23, 2015 ( https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/12/24/2014-30035/revised-draft-guidance-for-federal-departments-and-agencies-on-consideration-of-greenhouse-gas ). The Revised Draft Guidance describes how Federal departments and agencies should consider the effects of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change in their NEPA reviews. The guidance supersedes the draft greenhouse gas and climate change guidance released by CEQ in February 2010. This guidance explains that agencies should consider both the potential effects of a proposed action on climate change, as indicated by its estimated greenhouse gas emissions, and the implications of climate change for the environmental effects of a proposed action. The guidance also emphasizes that agency analyses should be commensurate with projected greenhouse gas emissions and climate impacts, and should employ appropriate quantitative or qualitative analytical methods to ensure useful information is available to inform the public and the decision-making process in distinguishing between alternatives and mitigations. It recommends that agencies consider 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions on an annual basis as a reference point below which a quantitative analysis of greenhouse gas is not recommended unless it is easily accomplished based on available tools and data. Unlike the 2010 draft guidance, the revised draft guidance applies to all proposed Federal agency actions, including land and resource management actions. It reflects CEQ’s consideration of responses to the questions regarding land and resource management actions and the comments received on the 2010 draft guidance in addition to other Federal agency and affected stakeholder input. The revised guidance also discusses the relationship of the proposed action to the consideration of preparedness (adaptation) to climate change. It does not create new or additional regulatory requirements. It instructs agencies on how to address the greenhouse gas emissions from and the effects of climate change on their proposed actions within the existing NEPA regulatory framework.
Moderator: Marie Campbell, President-Sapphos Environmental and NAEP Elected Board Member
Speakers: Horst Greczmiel, Associate Director for NEPA Oversight, Council on Environmental Quality
Michael Gerrard, Professor, Columbia Law School, and Director, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law
This event is free for current NCAEP members that attend at Atkins. Not a member? Join today!
Date/Time: Wednesday, January 28, 2015 at 2:00pm ET (1:00pm CT, 12:00pm MT, 11:00am PT)
Duration: Event will last 90 minutes, includes Q&A
Location: Atkins, 1616 E Millbrook Rd, Suite 310
Questions: Contact Kirsten Hunt at Kirsten.hunt@atkinsglobal.com or 919-431-5279
Related Reading:
New York Environmental Impact Statements Beginning to Address Climate Resiliency (October 2014). http://web.law.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/microsites/climate-change/files/Publications/Fellows/strell.pdf
Consideration of Climate Change in Federal EISs, 2009-2011 (2012). https://web.law.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/microsites/climate-change/files/Publications/Students/Woolsey%20NEPA%20report.pdf
Reverse Environmental Impact Analysis: Effect of Climate Change on Projects (2012). http://www.law.columbia.edu/null/download?&exclusive=filemgr.download&file_id=61833
