Climate adaptation in environmental impact assessment - a study of Danish transportation infrastructure projects

Abstract

Dette studie undersøger klimatilpasning i miljøkonsekvensvurdering (VVM) for danske transport infrastrukturprojekter og søger at besvare problemformuleringen: Hvilke potentialer og barrierer er der for at øge fokus på klimatilpasning i VVM-processen for transportinfrastrukturprojekter? Lovkrav og anbefalinger til inkludering af klimatilpasning i miljøvurdering undersøges, og på baggrund heraf udvikles en analyseramme. Den nuværende inkludering af klimatilpasning i VVM-rapporter undersøges gennem en kortlægning i den danske EA-Hub, og med afsæt i analyserammen udføres en tekstanalyse af syv projekter hvor VVM-rapporten inkluderer klimatilpasning. Disse resultater suppleres med indsigt i erfaringer om udfordringer i den nuværende praksis og mulige forbedringspotentialer identificreret gennem interviews med fire aktører inden for feltet. På baggrund af dette studies resultater udvikles ni anbefalinger til fremtidig praksis, der søger at bidrage til håndtering af de identificerede regulative, normative og kulturkognitive udfordringer og forbedringspotentialer. Overordnet set søger anbefalingerne at øge overensstemmelsen mellem indholdet i vurderingerne og brugen af metoder og tilgange, herunder brugen af værktøjer, tidshorisonter og klimascenarier. Desuden søger anbefalingerne at bidrage til en øget bevidsthed, forståelse og viden om klimaforandringernes konsekvenser og miljømæssige sammenhænge. Det kan være en udfordring at implementere anbefalingerne i praksis for eksemel grundet økonomiske omkostninger og nødvendige ændringer i det institutionelle system, men samfundets stigende fokus på klimatilpasning kan indikere et potentiale og en villighed til at foretage ændringer for en bedre fremtid.

This study investigates climate adaptation in environmental impact assessment (EIA) for Danish transportation infrastructure projects and seeks to answer the research question: What are the potentials and barriers for increasing the focus on climate adaptation in the EIA process for transportation infrastructure projects? Requirements and recommendations for integrating climate adaptation in environmental assessment (EA) are investigated, and based on this, an analytical framework is developed. The current integration of climate adaptation in EIA reports is examined through a mapping in the Danish EA-Hub, and using the analytical framework a text analysis is conducted on seven projects with EIA reports including climate adaptation. These findings are supplemented with insight into experiences of challenges in current practice and possible improvement potentials from interviews with four actors within the field. Based on the findings in this study, nine recommendations for future practice are developed, seeking to contribute to handling of the identified regulative, normative, and culture-cognitive challenges and improvement potentials. Overall, the recommendations seek to increase alignment in the content of the assessments and the use of methods and approaches, including the use of tools, time horizons, and climate scenarios. Further, the recommendations seek to contribute to an increase in awareness, understanding, and knowledge of climate change impacts and environmental interrelations. Implementing the recommendations in practice can be challenging due to for example economic costs and required changes in the institutional system, but the societal increasing focus on climate adaptation could indicate a potential and willingness to make changes for a better future.

A master thesis from Aalborg University

Climate adaptation in environmental impact assessment - a study of Danish transportation infrastructure projects

[Klimatilpasning i miljøkonsekvensvurdering - et studie af danske transport infrastrukturprojekter]