The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) last week released final guidance for Federal agencies on how to consider the impacts of their actions on climate change in their National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) reviews.

Under NEPA, Federal agencies are required to consider and disclose the potential effects of their actions and decisions on the environment.  According to the White House, in many cases, Federal actions have the potential to contribute to climate change by producing greenhouse gas emissions or alternatively, be affected by many of the impacts of a changing climate, such as rising sea levels, extreme weather, drought and wildfires.

The final guidance released last week is intended to provide a level of predictability and certainty by outlining how Federal agencies can describe these impacts by quantifying greenhouse gas emissions when conducting NEPA reviews. “This increased predictability and certainty will allow decision makers and the public to more fully understand the potential climate impacts of all proposed Federal actions, and in turn, assist agencies in comparing alternatives and considering measures to mitigate the impacts of climate change,” according to the White House announcement.