Guidance on Integrating Climate Change and Biodiversity into Strategic Environmental Assessment
AIMED AT: Policy makers PURPOSE: The aim of this Guidance is to improve the consideration of these issues in strategic environmental assessments (SEAs) carried out across the EU Member States GEOGRAPHICAL AREA: EU TECHNICAL AREA: Biodiversity and SEA BASIC STRUCTURE: The SEA Directive requires certain public Plans and Programmes to undergo an environmental assessment before they are adopted. Addressing climate change and biodiversity in the SEA process brings new challenges for the SEA practitioner. SEA should be used as an opportunity to address the key issues of climate change and biodiversity at an early stage, when many options are still open. SEA practitioners should outline climate scenarios that may either adversely affect implementation of the proposed Plans and Programmes or may worsen its impacts on biodiversity and other environmental factors. An analysis of alternatives is often viewed to be at the heart of the SEA process, as this provides confidence that the proposed course of action is the best one available. But there must be additional considerations of climate change and biodiversity issues if they are to be addressed effectively in SEAs.
Guidance on Integrating Climate Change and Biodiversity into Strategic Environmental Assessment.pdf
