ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT

IN THE CLIMATE CENTURY

Stephen Hazell

Forum of FederationsSeptember 14, 2009

Introduction

• Harmonization has worked • Elimination of federal legal requirements• Deploying EA strategically to address

national environmental issues, such as climate change

Sierra Club Canada

• National ENGO most active in federal EAs across Canada (Deep Panuke, White Point Basalt Quarry and Marine Terminal, Rupert River, Romaine River, Lower Churchill dams, North Joslyn Tar Sands Project, Mackenzie Gas Project)

Harmonization – A Success Story

• Overlap and duplication between federal and provincial governments is no longer a significant challenge

• Harmonization has worked • Federal/provincial governments developed

mechanisms over two decades to ensure one project/one assessment

• Overlap and duplication claims are usually a smokescreen to eliminate EA requirements

Elimination of federal legal requirements for EA

• Key challenge is to reverse the current federal government’s strategy to eliminate legal requirements for federal EAs

• In the absence of legal requirements, environmental impacts will not be properly addressed by governments or industry

• EA will always be inconvenient

Elimination of federal legal requirements for EA

• Amendments to NWPA in federal budget • Government claimed that NWPA triggers duplicated

Fisheries Act or provincial EAs• SCC reviewed CEAA registry to test this claim in May

2009• 9 of 65 hydroelectric projects, and 107 out of 173

bridge and culvert projects, and several dams were only triggered by NWPA and by no other federal trigger or provincial EA

• Included construction of a bridge over Ottawa River, four B.C. hydroelectric projects and a dam at Baptiste Lake Ontario

Elimination of federal legal requirements for EA

• Regulations promulgated in 2009 excluding 14,000 “Economic Stimulus “projects from EA

• Some justification for eliminating legal requirements for some categories of projects

• But environmental effects should not be ignored merely because economy needs stimulating

• Still need to look before we leap; provide good information to decision makers

• Especially given scientific consensus that ecosystems are collapsing due to human impacts

• Sierra Club Canada initiated a judicial review arguing that regulations were promulgated without statutory authority

EA – A Strategic Tool in the Climate Century?

• How to make EA relevant to climate change, reducing GHG emissions and encourage transition to a low-carbon economy

• Climate change as planetary emergency• In federal and provincial EA’s, GHGs are largely

ignored; instead too many resources devoted to lower-priority issues

• Fed-provincial dynamics and limited federal constitutional authority are obstacles to serious action

• Provinces also do little to assess and

mitigate GHG emissions

Kearl Tar Sands Mine

• $5 - 8 billion project by Imperial Oil • 3.7 million tones of CO2 per year or 0.5% of

Canada national GHG emissions• Comparable to 800,000 cars on road annually • Joint Panel Review concluded on virtually no

analysis that GHG emissions would not have significant adverse environmental effects

• Federal Court agreed with SCC and Pembina in 2008 decision, requiring Panel to provide a justification as to how an emissions-based regulatory approach would address GHG emissions issue

National Environmental Significance – Australia

• Australian provision “National Environmental Signficance may help in Canada

• “EIA and approval required for actions likely to have a significant impact on a matter of national environmental significance”

• Examples are world heritage properties, wetlands of international importance, Commonwealth marine areas, nuclear actions

• Doesn’t include GHG emissions

Major Projects Management Office

• In 2007, the government established MPMO to deal with major resource projects

• Include GHG-intensive projects such as tar sands projects, oil and gas pipelines, coal mines, coal-fired generating stations

• Mandate is not to ensure that Canada meets its international legal commitments under the Kyoto Protocol or Biodiversity Convention

• Rather to ensure a more effective, accountable, transparent and timely review process--Get projects approved ASAP

Conclusions

• Project EA can play a strategic role in reducing Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions

• Urge conference participants to consider how EA tools and processes can be used in Canada and other federal countries to address the critical challenge of climate change

• Could Australia’s provisions relating to national environmental significance be transplanted to Canada?

• Could MPMO play a role in driving serious GHG reductions in major projects?

Sierra Club Canada • Mission - protect integrity of global

ecosystems• Canada’s only truly democratic national

environmental group, with a board of directors elected in contested elections.

• Active chapters and local groups in every region, with offices in Ottawa, Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Victoria

One Earth, One Chance