Abstract:
Environmental impact assessments (EIAs) are important tools of international environmental law. They operate on the basis that decisions relating to the environment should be made in light of a comprehensive understanding of their effects. The conduct of EIAs is an obligation under general international law, but this norm is understood as applying in relation to activities in one State potentially causing harm directly in another State. Widespread practice is emerging whereby States require consideration of climate change mitigation in EIAs. But this contemporary environmental challenge involves harm caused by activities in multiple States and requires collective action, making it ill-fitted to the existing model. Clarity has been sought at the international level around how to approach EIAs for other harms beyond the transboundary context, including common concerns of humankind. This has led to the creation of sets of Guidelines. Given the extent of emerging State practice, similar guidance is arguably required at the international level on incorporating climate change mitigation considerations in EIAs. The paper focuses on the elements of the standard process that are particularly affected by the social, spatial and temporal dimensions of climate change: (i) screening and scoping, (ii) impact analysis, and (iii) preparation of an environmental impact statement. It analyses existing EIA methods for transboundary harm and evaluates how they are being applied or adapted in respect of harm to common concerns of humankind, in order to identify how this may be applied to the specific pressures arising in each of these elements of EIAs in respect of the harm caused by climate change.
