The Guide Incorporating Climate Change Considerations in Environmental Assessment: General Guidance for Practitioners

The purpose of this document is to provide environmental assessment (EA) practitioners with general guidance for incorporating climate change considerations in project EA. It is the result of federal, provincial and territorial collaboration, and is applicable across jurisdictions. This document provides general guidance, to be considered at the discretion of jurisdictions and regulatory authorities. It marks a unique initiative in Canada's response to climate change, and includes:

• methods that can be used to obtain and evaluate information concerning a project's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the impacts of climate change on a project;
• key sources of information that practitioners can use to address climate change considerations in project EA; and
• methodology to encourage the consistent consideration of climate change in the EA process across federal, provincial and territorial jurisdictions and institutions of public government responsible for EA.

The document has been developed because:

• climate change has been recognized internationally and by the federal, provincial and territorial governments in Canada as an important environmental issue;
• EA has the potential to link project planning to the broader management of climate change issues in Canada; and
• members of the public and government agencies have raised questions and expressed interest in how climate change is, and should be considered in project reviews.