On June 26, 2019, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) released draft guidance instructing federal agencies on how to consider and document greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the effects of climate change when evaluating proposed federal actions, including rulemakings and permitting decisions, under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The guidance, if finalized, would replace a now-revoked Obama Administration 2016 guidance, which advanced broad positions on how agencies should evaluate GHG emissions and the effects of climate change when undertaking NEPA reviews for proposed federal actions.[1]
The draft guidance states that is not a rule or regulation and is intended to facilitate compliance with NEPA requirements thereby improving the efficiency and consistency of environmental reviews. A summary of the key provisions follows:
- Consideration of GHG Emissions in NEPA Analysis: Citing to NEPA’s “rule of reason,” the guidance concludes that “impacts of a proposed action should be discussed in proportion to their significance, [with] only a brief discussion of issues that are not significant.” The “rule of reason permits agencies to use their expertise and experience to decide how and to what degree to analyze particular effects,” and “greater consideration [need not be given] to potential effects from GHG emissions than to other potential effects on the human environment.”
- Projection of a proposed project’s GHG emissions as proxy: A “projection” of a proposed action’s direct and indirect GHG emissions may be used as a “proxy” for assessing potential climate effects. Following the rule of reason, action agencies are to consider direct and indirect effects when a “sufficiently close causal relationship” exists between the proposed action and the effect. The draft guidance notes...
