Utilizing Environmental Impact Statements
to Mitigate Climate Change

Whether directly or indirectly, many human activities generate greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. Development projects can create large amounts of greenhouse gases—from the equipment used during construction, to the electricity needed to power the completed project, to the transportation people use to reach the building constructed.

New York’s State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) requires all state and local government agencies to assess the environmental impact of all projects they have the discretion to approve, fund, or directly undertake. However, the current environmental review process does not specifically require developers to disclose anticipated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions or potential climate change impacts when submitting their environmental impact statements (EIS). As a result, opportunities to require project design modifications that would mitigate GHGs and the associated climate change impacts are lost.

INFORM has initiated a project to address this problem first at the state, then at the national level.

This year INFORM will submit comments on at least 25 draft EIS documents issued in New York state. We will ask for the quantification of GHGs that could be emitted from the proposed projects, during the construction and operation of the project as well as from related transportation and electricity generation. In our comments, we will make practical, project-specific recommendations that can be implemented to reduce GHG emissions from the projects.

Although government agencies are not required to have every recommendation made by the public incorporated into the project, agencies and private developers will at least have to consider GHG impacts for every project on which INFORM comments because they are legally required to respond to public comments.

Additionally, INFORM is producing a toolkit and workshop materials to teach community groups how to research, write, and submit comments for government-sanctioned projects in their areas. We will work with at least ten such groups and empower them to effect change.

None at this time