Policy Context: Considering Environmental Obligations and Commitments in Respect of Climate Change under the Impact Assessment Act

January 17, 2020

The Practitioner's Guide is an evergreen document. Please check back periodically, as its contents may be updated as a result of ongoing engagement and feedback received.

Feedback may be sent to: guidancefeedback-retroactionorientation@iaac-aeic.gc.ca

PDF version - 719 kb

Table of Contents

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Policy Statement
  • 2.1 Guiding Principles
  • 2.2 Relevance of Strategic Assessments
  • 2.3 Conducting the Impact Assessment
  • 2.4 Analysis
  • 2.5 Mitigation Measures
• 3. Roles and Responsibilities

1. Introduction

The Impact Assessment Act (the Act) sets out a process to enable decision-makers to:

"determine whether the adverse effects within federal jurisdiction — and the adverse direct or incidental effects — that are indicated in the report are, in light of the factors referred to in section 63 and the extent to which those effects are significant, in the public interest" (Section 60(1)(a)).

The extent to which the effects of a designated project hinder or contribute to the Government of Canada's ability to meet its environmental obligations and its commitments in respect of climate change is one factor in the public interest decision.

This document provides proponents and other individuals involved in impact assessment with information on requirements and expectations for considering the extent to which the effects of a designated project would hinder or contribute to the Government of Canada's ability to meet its environmental obligations and its climate change commitments. It also provides direction on related roles and responsibilities. Although the Act includes new obligations and commitments, many of these instruments were considered under previous environmental assessment processes. A key difference under the Act is the transparent documentation and consideration of this information in decision-making (see figure 2).

2. Policy Statement

The effects of designated projects may contribute to or hinder Canada's ability to meet its environmental obligations and its climate change commitments.

The impact assessment process will be used to determine when measures are required to mitigate adverse project effects. Improving environmental outcomes through mitigation may enable designated projects to better align with Canada's environmental obligations and climate change commitments.

The term "environmental obligations" refers to obligations applicable to the Government of Canada in domestic and international law in relation to the protection of the natural environment^{Footnote 1}. Environmental obligations are set out domestically in federal legislation and regulations (with which compliance is a legal requirement). In international law, legally binding international instruments (e.g., conventions) to which Canada is a party can create environmental obligations.

"Commitments in respect of climate change" are set out in legally binding and non-binding domestic and international instruments. This document will use the term "instruments" to jointly refer to the various legislation, regulations, policies, targets, plans and frameworks to which Canada is a party.

2.1 Guiding Principles

2.2 Relevance of Strategic Assessments

Strategic assessments may be completed for any issue relevant to the conduct of an impact assessment. The first strategic assessment has been conducted on climate change and a draft report was released by Environment and Climate Change Canada. The Strategic Assessment of Climate Change will provide direction on the scope and level of information required on greenhouse gasses and climate change. This information will inform the consideration of Canada's climate change commitments under the Impact Assessment Act. Additional information on the Strategic Assessment of Climate Change can be found at https://www.strategicassessmentclimatechange.ca/

2.3 Conducting the Impact Assessment

Consideration of environmental obligations and commitments in respect of climate change is required during various phases of the impact assessment process as set out in Table 1.

Table 1: Consideration of environmental obligations and commitments in respect of climate change during an impact assessment

Phase	Description
Planning phase	The Agency considers information from the proponent provided in the Initial and Detailed Project Description, advice from federal authorities, and comments from Indigenous groups and other participants. The Agency will identify in the Tailored Impact Statement Guidelines which international or domestic instruments contain environmental obligations or climate change commitments that require consideration in the impact assessment of a designated project.
Impact Statement phase	The proponent prepares an Impact Statement, which describes the potential effects of the designated project and provides an analysis of these effects in the context of the environmental obligations and climate change instruments identified in the Tailored Impact Statement Guidelines. The Impact Statement is reviewed by the Agency, federal expert departments, Indigenous groups and other participants. The Agency determines whether the required information or studies outlined in the Tailored Impact Statement Guidelines have been provided by the proponent.
Impact Assessment phase	Federal expert departments with responsibilities and/or in possession of specialist or expert information and knowledge in relation to identified environmental obligations and climate change commitments provide advice and analysis on the extent to which the potential effects of the designated project would hinder or contribute to Canada's ability to meet the applicable environmental obligations and climate change commitments. The Agency or review panel prepares a report in which the findings on the extent to which the effects of the designated project would hinder or contribute to Canada's ability to meet its environmental obligations and its climate change commitments will be documented.
Decision phase	After taking into account the impact assessment report, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change or Governor in Council determines whether the adverse effects within federal jurisdiction — and the adverse direct or incidental effects — that are indicated in the report are, in light of the decision-making factors and the extent to which those effects are significant, in the public interest. One of the decision-making factors is the extent to which the effects of the designated project would hinder or contribute to the Government of Canada's ability to meet its environmental obligations and its commitments in respect of climate change. After the public interest determination is made by the Minister or the Governor in Council, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change issues a decision statement, which includes reasons for the determination.

2.4 Analysis

Analysis will be conducted by the Agency and relevant federal expert departments using a two step approach:

1. determining whether a project's effects could hinder or contribute to the Government of Canada's ability to meet an environmental obligation or climate change commitment and;
2. determining the extent to which these effects could hinder or contribute to the Government of Canada's ability to meet the applicable obligation or commitment.

The type and extent of analysis will depend on the project context. In some cases, a straightforward rationale describing why the project contributes to meeting climate change commitments may be needed. In other cases, a more detailed analysis may be needed. The level of analysis will depend on the specifics of predicted effects and the environmental obligation or commitment in respect of climate change under consideration.

Considerations that may inform the scope of the analysis include:

• the nature and extent of effects (e.g., whether the effects are positive or adverse; the ecological and social context including cumulative effects; and applicable criteria: magnitude, geographic extent, timing, frequency, duration, reversibility);
• indicators or mechanisms that can be used to measure the extent of effects (e.g., if specific targets for emissions have been set);
• interplay between the obligations and commitments impacted by the project's effects (e.g., effects may contribute to one obligation but hinder another);
• links to other decision-making factors (e.g., sustainability); and
• local and regional context (e.g., planning priorities, environmental sensitivities, status of protected habitat).

2.5 Mitigation Measures

Measures proposed to mitigate the adverse effects of a designated project may help limit the extent to which a project hinders the Government of Canada's ability to meet its environmental obligations or climate change commitments. The implementation of mitigation, offsets or complementary measures may also result in a designated project contributing to the Government of Canada's ability to meet its environmental obligations or its commitments in respect of climate change.

3. Roles and Responsibilities

Responsibilities of the Agency with respect to this policy include the following:

• Planning phase — Considering specialist or expert information or knowledge that federal expert departments possess and information from Indigenous groups and other participants received in the Planning phase in scoping the factors to consider and providing direction to the proponent, as part of Tailored Impact Statement Guidelines, in relation to the instruments that include environmental obligations or commitments in respect of climate change that will require consideration in the impact assessment of a designated project;
• Impact Statement phase — Reviewing information provided by the proponent in the Impact Statement, with consideration of specialist and expert advice or knowledge from federal authorities and comments from Indigenous groups and other participants, and requesting information or studies where required to complete the analysis; and
• Impact Assessment phase (for impact assessments conducted by the Agency) — Preparing a report, which includes the Agency's analysis on the extent to which the effects of a designated project would hinder or contribute to the Government of Canada's ability to meet its environmental obligations and its commitments in respect of climate change.

Responsibilities of a review panel, when an impact assessment is conducted by a review panel, with respect to this policy include:

• Impact Statement phase — Reviewing information provided by the proponent in the Impact Statement, with input from federal expert departments, Indigenous groups and other participants, and requesting information or studies where required to complete the analysis, and
• Impact Assessment phase — Preparing a report that includes the review panel's analysis on the extent to which the effects of a designated project would hinder or contribute to the Government of Canada's ability to meet its environmental obligations and its commitmentsin respect of climate change.

Responsibilities of the proponent of a designated project subject to an impact assessment with respect to this policy include:

• Planning phase — Preparing an Initial and Detailed Project Description with the required information, including an estimate of greenhouse gas emissions associated with the project in accordance with the Strategic Assessment of Climate Change, and a description of any waste and emissions (air, water and land); and
• Impact Statement phase — Preparing an Impact Statement, as per the requirements of the Tailored Impact Statement Guidelines, that predicts the potential effects of a designated project, provides an analysis of these effects in the context of the identified environmental obligations and commitments in respect of climate change, and proposes mitigation and follow-up measures in relation to potential effects. The Impact Statement may, if the proponent wishes, also present the proponent's views on the extent to which project effects would hinder or contribute to the Government of Canada's ability to meet its environmental obligations and its commitments in respect of climate change, taking into consideration proposed mitigation measures.

Responsibilities of federal expert departments with respect to this policy include:

• Providing specialist or expert information or knowledge that federal expert departments possess to the Agency or review panel in relation to:
• which environmental obligations or commitments with respect to climate change would merit consideration in the impact assessment of a designated project, and are relevant to decision-making, for inclusion in the Tailored Impact Statement Guidelines;
• the Impact Statement, including whether the analysis is complete and technically sound and/or if information or studies are sufficient;
• analysis and advice on the extent to which the effects of a designated project would hinder or contribute to the Government of Canada's ability to meet its environmentalobligations and its commitments in respect of climate change; and
• analysis and advice regarding possible mitigation measures, complementary measures, and elements of follow-up programs with respect to environmental obligations or commitments related to climate change.