Introduction

The NDICI-Global Europe Regulation (Article 25.5) establishes that environmental screening, including for climate change and biodiversity impacts shall be undertaken at the level of actions, in accordance with applicable legislation, including the EU EIA Directive. It is also stipulated that, where relevant, Strategic Environmental Assessments, including the impact on climate change, shall be used in the implementation of sectoral programmes. The Global Gateway Communication stipulates that ‘projects will live up to the European Green Deal oath to do no harm and ensure the use of Environmental Impact Assessments and Strategic Environmental Assessments’.

The purpose of the environment & climate risk screening is to determine if a given action is likely to have significant adverse impacts on the environment or is at significant risk from climate change and environmental degradation, and therefore whether a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), and/or a Climate Risk Assessment (CRA) should be prepared. The aim of the screening and assessments is to identify, avoid, minimise and/or avoid negative impacts and to do no harm. In many cases the assessments also cover social risks and impacts (Environment and Social Impact Assessments - ESIA).

Yet, the EIA directive does not specify an impact as being negative or positive. The analysis and reflection triggered from the screening questionnaires not only allows to identify environmental and climate risks but also opportunities that should be addressed in the design of the action, regardless of whether an SEA, an EIA or a CRA are required. The screening process thus can also be used to apply the ‘green lens’ approach and look at ways to ‘do good’ to environment or climate. The screening consists of three parts:

• Part A: Screening for Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)
• Part B: Screening for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
• Part C: Screening for Climate Risk Assessment (CRA)

When should the action be screened?

The formal screening is compulsory: it should be performed as soon as there is a clear idea of the objectives and scope of the action that is promoted. In the case of DG INTPA, this information is normally available at the time when the SSC Fiche is prepared. In the case of DG NEAR, the necessary insight into the action may be available at the Identification phase (i.e., ahead of QR1). At the very latest, the screening should be undertaken during formulation. In case an SEA, and EIA and/or a CRA are required, it is necessary to allocate sufficient resources and time for their preparation. Thus, the earliest the screening is done, the better.

Screening for greening opportunities can best be done at the earliest stage of identification as it may influence objectives and scope of an action.

Is the environment & climate risk screening required in the case of blended finance and guarantees?

In the case of blending and budgetary guarantees, it is the screening procedure of the lead financial institution (LFI) that is applicable. Nevertheless, it is good practice to check whether those projects would require an SEA, EIA and/or CRA based on the INTPA/NEAR screening and, if there are significant environmental and/or climate risks involved, ensure that the LFI will apply the relevant tools, assessments and mitigation measures.

What information is required and who should do the screening?

A basic understanding of the environmental and climate change context for the project’s location and area of influence is necessary, including relevant environmental and climate change objectives. Annex 5 on ‘Sources to understand the environment and climate change context’ can be useful to this effect.

If the action offers very few or indirect links to environment and climate (e.g. support to electoral processes), the screening can be done in-house and with the support of the delegation’s green focal point.

For other actions, it is recommended to undertake the screening in a participatory manner, for example, expert advice (e.g. consultants engaged in identification, green focal point in the delegation) supplemented by a focused workshop with key stakeholders. Such a screening will be useful not only to determine the need for an SEA, and EIA and/or a CRA, but also to start defining the scope of any of the analyses required and to identify greening opportunities that go beyond formal assessment requirements but may significantly contribute to reaching EU goals and targets.

Since virtually all countries have EIA regulations, preferably the screening procedure of the national EIA system are followed, making sure that these are compliant with the minimum requirements defined under the EIA Directive. Take note that climate risk screening is not yet regularly included in national EIA systems. In case of capacity problems with the implementation of national EIA regulations, consider a capacity development component where relevant.

Reporting on the screening results

If the screening was undertaken at the identification phase (SSC Fiche in the case of INTPA), its findings should be indicated in the SSC fiche (INTPA) or the action document for QR1 (NEAR). These should include an indication as to whether an SEA, an EIA and/or a CRA are required, and the rationale for the decision.

In any case, the results of the screening must be indicated in the formulation of the action document through the CCT/RCT/TCT (INTPA) or going to QRM/QR2 (NEAR).

Part A: SEA Screening

The purpose of the SEA screening is to identify whether a SEA should be carried out for the action to be supported. An SEA is generally required to inform investment plans, programmes and other strategies, which:

1. Are prepared in following sectors:

   - Agriculture

   - Energy

   - Fisheries

   - Forestry

   - Industry (including mining)

   - Private sector development

   - Telecommunications

   - Tourism

   - Town and country planning or land use

   - Transport

   - Waste management

   - Water management

2. Set the framework for development of projects which may require EIA, or
3. May have significant impacts on sensitive habitats and ecosystems.

When the implementation of a plan or programme is likely to have significant transboundary environmental, including health, effects, it is recommended to notify the affected country as early as possible before the adoption of the plan or programme, following the procedural steps described in Article 10 of the UNECE Protocol on SEA to the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context (Espoo Convention).

Types of actions requiring an SEA

Considering the above points, an SEA is required for following types of actions in an environmentally sensitive sector^[35]:

1. When support is provided to policy-making or strategic planning, including the design of investment plans: nationally-owned SEA prepared with EU assistance.
2. When considering budget support.
3. When the project is providing strategic level support^[36] or the project is supporting the implementation of a large part of the national sector strategy.
4. When the support includes the preparation or revision of a sector-wide strategic or planning document in an environmentally sensitive sector.
5. In any other sector, for budget support programmes that will be supporting sector strategies likely to result in significant adverse impacts on the environment, including climate, or whose effectiveness and sustainability may be significantly affected by adverse environmental trends including climate change, as determined by the SEA screening questionnaire.

An SEA may not be required for points 1 and 2 above if a recent SEA, or equivalent assessment, has recently been prepared (by the national government or a development partner) that serves the purposes of informing the integration of environment and climate change in the relevant sector strategy. In this case, a simplified study may be undertaken to identify the opportunities to enhance the environmental and climate change performance of the EU support programme.

Screening questionnaire

Actions falling under any of the four categories above have to be assessed against the standard screening questions. A positive reply to any of the questions below indicates the need for preparing an SEA. If the relevant technical expertise is not available in the EU Delegation, assistance can be obtained from the relevant thematic units in HQ or support facilities.

1. Is the implementation of the sector programme/strategy likely to result in significant adverse impacts on the environment and human health, including significant contributions to GHG emissions or significant impacts on sensitive habitats and ecosystems? Impacts may be direct or indirect (e.g. promotion of subsidies to environmentally harmful or carbon-intensive products or activities) or cumulative and/ or transboundary.
2. Is the implementation of the sector programme/strategy likely to result in large-scale land use change?
3. Is the implementation of the sector programme/strategy likely to promote large-scale use of environmentally damaging substances (e.g. of herbicides for water weed control, pesticides in agriculture production)?
4. Is the implementation of the sector programme/strategy likely to significantly hinder the achievement of objectives related to any of the following areas: (i) climate change mitigation, (ii) climate change adaptation, (iii) circular economy, (iv) water and marine resources, (v) pollution prevention and control, and/or (vi) biodiversity and ecosystems?
5. Does the achievement of the programme/strategy objectives directly and significantly depend on the availability of scarce or degraded natural resources?
6. Does the state of the environment have significant adverse effects on the performance of the sector (e.g. agriculture production at risk from significant scarcity of water, significant impacts of air pollution on health of the population)?
7. Is the feasibility and sustainability of the action significantly vulnerable to the expected consequences of climate change?
8. Is the implementation of the sector programme/strategy likely to include a number of projects that may require EIA and that could result in significant cumulative impacts on the environment and health (e.g. a cascade of hydropower dams, multiple water extractions from one river basin)? See section on EIA screening below for further details.

Voluntary SEA is strongly suggested for programmes/strategies in environmentally sensitive sectors where opportunities for greening can be expected, following environmental, biodiversity, climate and circular economy objectives. More often than not, the benefits of greening activities go beyond sector boundaries; opportunities for such benefits may go unnoticed with a strict sector-focus (e.g. biodiversity and human health gains with nature-based solutions for urban climate adaptation; multiple social, economic, climate and health benefits from pollution reduction; etc.). SEAs should be considered whenever the EU is engaged for several years in supporting a sector corresponding to the above criteria, in order to inform and green the next policy/strategic planning cycle, as well as EU support and policy dialogue.

Part B: EIA Screening

An EIA is required for all projects that are likely to have a significant impact on the environment and health, i.e., large infrastructure works or other installations or schemes, and other interventions in the natural surroundings and landscape including those involving the extraction of mineral resources and large-scale land use. It is important to note that in general, an EIA is to be applied for new projects as well as for changes and extensions of already existing projects, should such a change or extension in itself meet the screening thresholds. In most partner countries EIAs are a legal obligation and a condition to receive the project development consent from the competent authority. Where such legislation is lacking, or where it is significantly weaker than EU standards, the application of EU standards is strongly encouraged.

Projects can be divided into two categories (aligned to the EIA Directive):

• Category A: Projects which always require EIA
• Category B: Projects that may require EIA based on screening criteria

Category A: Projects that always require EIA

1.  Any project that requires an EIA according to the national EIA legislation
2. Crude-oil refineries (excluding undertakings manufacturing only lubricants from crude oil) and installations for the gasification and liquefaction of 500 tonnes or more of coal or bituminous shale per day.
3.  
   1. Thermal power stations and other combustion installations with a heat output of 300 megawatts or more.
   2. Nuclear power stations and other nuclear reactors including the dismantling or decommissioning of such power stations or reactors^[37] (except research installations for the production and conversion of fissionable and fertile materials, whose maximum power does not exceed 1 kilowatt continuous thermal load).
4. 1. Installations for the reprocessing of irradiated nuclear fuel.
   2. Installations designed:
      1. for the production or enrichment of nuclear fuel;
      2. for the processing of irradiated nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste;
      3. for the final disposal of irradiated nuclear fuel;
      4. solely for the final disposal of radioactive waste;
      5. solely for the storage (planned for more than 10 years) of irradiated nuclear fuels or radioactive waste in a different site than the production site.
5. 1. Integrated works for the initial smelting of cast iron and steel;
   2. Installations for the production of non-ferrous crude metals from ore, concentrates or secondary raw materials by metallurgical, chemical or electrolytic processes.
6. Installations for the extraction of asbestos and for the processing and transformation of asbestos and products containing asbestos: for asbestos-cement products, with an annual production of more than 20 000 tonnes of finished products, for friction material, with an annual production of more than 50 tonnes of finished products, and for other uses of asbestos, utilisation of more than 200 tonnes per year.
7. Integrated chemical installations, i.e., those installations for the manufacture on an industrial scale of substances using chemical conversion processes, in which several units are juxtaposed and are functionally linked to one another, and which are:
   1. for the production of basic organic chemicals;
   2. for the production of basic inorganic chemicals;
   3. for the production of phosphorous-, nitrogen- or potassium-based fertilisers (simple or compound fertilisers);
   4. for the production of basic plant health products and of biocides;
   5. for the production of basic pharmaceutical products using a chemical or biological process;
   6. for the production of explosives;
8. 1. Construction of lines for long-distance railway traffic and of airports^[38] with a basic runway length of 2 100 m or more; 
   2. Construction of motorways and express roads^[39];
   3. Construction of a new road of four or more lanes, or realignment and/or widening of an existing road of two lanes or less so as to provide four or more lanes, where such new road or realigned and/or widened section of road would be 10 km or more in a continuous length.
9. 1. Inland waterways and ports for inland-waterway traffic which permit the passage of vessels of over 1 350 tonnes;
   2. Trading ports, piers for loading and unloading connected to land and outside ports (excluding ferry piers) which can take vessels of over 1 350 tonnes.
10. Waste disposal installations for the incineration, chemical treatment as defined in Annex I to Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste under heading D9, or landfill of hazardous waste, as defined in point 2 of Article 3 of that Directive.
11. Waste disposal installations for the incineration or chemical treatment as defined in Annex I to Directive 2008/98/EC under heading D9 of non-hazardous waste with a capacity exceeding 100 tonnes per day.
12. Groundwater abstraction or artificial groundwater recharge schemes where the annual volume of water abstracted or recharged is equivalent to or exceeds 10 million cubic metres.
13. 1. Works for the transfer of water resources between river basins where that transfer aims at preventing possible shortages of water and where the amount of water transferred exceeds 100 million cubic metres/year;
    2. In all other cases, works for the transfer of water resources between river basins where the multi-annual average flow of the basin of abstraction exceeds 2 000 million cubic metres/year and where the amount of water transferred exceeds 5 % of that flow. In both cases transfers of piped drinking water are excluded.
14. Wastewater treatment plants with a capacity exceeding 150 000 population equivalent as defined in point 6 of Article 2 of Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 concerning urban wastewater treatment.
15. Extraction of petroleum and natural gas for commercial purposes where the amount extracted exceeds 500 tonnes/day in the case of petroleum and 500 000 cubic metres/day in the case of gas.
16. Dams and other installations designed for the holding back or permanent storage of water, where a new or additional amount of water held back or stored exceeds 10 million cubic metres.
17. Pipelines with a diameter of more than 800 mm and a length of more than 40 km:
    1. for the transport of gas, oil, chemicals;
    2. for the transport of carbon dioxide (CO₂) streams for the purposes of geological storage, including associated booster stations.
18. Installations for the intensive rearing of poultry or pigs with more than:
    1. 85 000 places for broilers, 60 000 places for hens;
    2. 3 000 places for production pigs (over 30 kg); or
    3. 900 places for sows.
19. Industrial plants for the production of:
    1. pulp from timber or similar fibrous materials;
    2. paper and board with a production capacity exceeding 200 tonnes per day.
20. Quarries and open-cast mining where the surface of the site exceeds 25 hectares, or peat extraction, where the surface of the site exceeds 150 hectares.
21. Construction of overhead electrical power lines with a voltage of 220 kV or more and a length of more than 15 km.
22. Installations for storage of petroleum, petrochemical, or chemical products with a capacity of 200 000 tonnes or more.
23. Storage sites pursuant to Directive 2009/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the geological storage of carbon dioxide.
24. Installations for the capture of CO2 streams for the purposes of geological storage pursuant to Directive 2009/31/EC from installations covered by this Annex, or where the total yearly capture of CO₂ is 1,5 megatonnes or more.
25. Any change to or extension of projects listed above where such a change or extension in itself meets the thresholds, if any, set out in this list.
26. Any project which requires an EIA according to national regulations or to standards of co-donors.

 Category B: Projects that may require EIA based on screening criteria

1. AGRICULTURE, SILVICULTURE AND AQUACULTURE
   1. Projects for the restructuring of rural land holdings;
   2. Projects for the use of uncultivated land or semi-natural areas for intensive agricultural purposes;
   3. Water management projects for agriculture, including irrigation and land drainage projects;
   4. Initial afforestation and deforestation for the purposes of conversion to another type of land use;
   5. Intensive livestock installations (projects not included in Category A);
   6. Intensive fish farming;
   7. Reclamation of land from the sea.
2. EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRY
   1. Quarries, open-cast mining and peat extraction (projects not included in Category A);
   2. Underground mining;
   3. Extraction of minerals by marine or fluvial dredging;
   4. Deep drillings, in particular:
      1. geothermal drilling;
      2. drilling for the storage of nuclear waste material;
      3. drilling for water supplies; with the exception of drillings for investigating the stability of the soil;
   5. Surface industrial installations for the extraction of coal, petroleum, natural gas and ores, as well as bituminous shale.
3. ENERGY INDUSTRY
   1. Industrial installations for the production of electricity, steam and hot water (projects not included in Category A);
   2. Industrial installations for carrying gas, steam and hot water; transmission of electrical energy by overhead cables (projects not included in Category A);
   3. Surface storage of natural gas;
   4. Underground storage of combustible gases;
   5. Surface storage of fossil fuels;
   6. Industrial briquetting of coal and lignite;
   7. Installations for the processing and storage of radioactive waste (unless included in Category A);
   8. Installations for hydroelectric energy production;
   9. Installations for the harnessing of wind power for energy production (wind farms);
   10. Installations for the capture of CO2 streams for the purposes of geological storage not covered by Category A.
4. PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING OF METALS
   1. Installations for the production of pig iron or steel (primary or secondary fusion) including continuous casting;
   2. Installations for the processing of ferrous metals:
      1. hot-rolling mills;
      2. smitheries with hammers;
      3. application of protective fused metal coats;
   3. Ferrous metal foundries;
   4. Installations for the smelting, including the alloyage, of non-ferrous metals, excluding precious metals, including recovered products (refining, foundry casting, etc.);
   5. Installations for surface treatment of metals and plastic materials using an electrolytic or chemical process;
   6. Manufacture and assembly of motor vehicles and manufacture of motor-vehicle engines;
   7. Shipyards;
   8. Installations for the construction and repair of aircraft;
   9. Manufacture of railway equipment;
   10. Swaging by explosives;
   11. Installations for the roasting and sintering of metallic ores.
5. MINERAL INDUSTRY
   1. Coke ovens (dry coal distillation);
   2. Installations for the manufacture of cement;
   3. Installations for the production of asbestos and the manufacture of asbestos products (projects not included in Category A);
   4. Installations for the manufacture of glass including glass fibre;
   5. Installations for smelting mineral substances including the production of mineral fibres;
   6. Manufacture of ceramic products by burning, in particular roofing tiles, bricks, refractory bricks, tiles, stoneware or porcelain.
6. CHEMICAL INDUSTRY (PROJECTS NOT INCLUDED IN CATEGORY A)
   1. Treatment of intermediate products and production of chemicals;
   2. Production of pesticides and pharmaceutical products, paint and varnishes, elastomers and peroxides;
   3. Storage facilities for petroleum, petrochemical and chemical products.
7. FOOD INDUSTRY
   1. Manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats;
   2. Packing and canning of animal and vegetable products;
   3. Manufacture of dairy products;
   4. Brewing and malting;
   5. Confectionery and syrup manufacture;
   6. Installations for the slaughter of animals;
   7. Industrial starch manufacturing installations;
   8. Fish-meal and fish-oil factories;
   9. Sugar factories.
8. TEXTILE, LEATHER, WOOD AND PAPER INDUSTRIES
   1. Industrial plants for the production of paper and board (projects not included in Category A);
   2. Plants for the pre-treatment (operations such as washing, bleaching, mercerisation) or dyeing of fibres or textiles;
   3. Plants for the tanning of hides and skins;
   4. Cellulose-processing and production installations.
9. RUBBER INDUSTRY
   1. Manufacture and treatment of elastomer-based products.
10. INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS
    1. Industrial estate development projects;
    2. Urban development projects, including the construction of shopping centres and car parks;
    3. Construction of railways and intermodal transhipment facilities, and of intermodal terminals (projects not included in Category A;
    4. Construction of airfields (projects not included in Category A);
    5. Construction of roads, harbours and port installations, including fishing harbours (projects not included in Category A);
    6. Inland-waterway construction not included in Category A, canalisation and flood-relief works;
    7. Dams and other installations designed to hold water or store it on a long-term basis (projects not included in Category A);
    8. Tramways, elevated and underground railways, suspended lines or similar lines of a particular type, used exclusively or mainly for passenger transport;
    9. Oil and gas pipeline installations and pipelines for the transport of CO2 streams for the purposes of geological storage (projects not included in Category A);
    10. Installations of long-distance aqueducts;
    11. Coastal work to combat erosion and maritime works capable of altering the coast through the construction, for example, of dykes, moles, jetties and other sea defence works, excluding the maintenance and reconstruction of such works;
    12. Groundwater abstraction and artificial groundwater recharge schemes not included in Category A;
    13. Works for the transfer of water resources between river basins not included in Category A.
11. OTHER PROJECTS
    1. Permanent racing and test tracks for motorised vehicles;
    2. Installations for the disposal of waste (projects not included in Category A);
    3. Waste-water treatment plants (projects not included in Category A);
    4. Sludge-deposition sites;
    5. Storage of scrap iron, including scrap vehicles;
    6. Test benches for engines, turbines or reactors;
    7. Installations for the manufacture of artificial mineral fibres;
    8. Installations for the recovery or destruction of explosive substances;
    9. Knackers’ yards.
12. TOURISM AND LEISURE
    1. Ski runs, ski lifts and cable cars and associated developments;
    2. Marinas;
    3. Holiday villages and hotel complexes outside urban areas and associated developments;
    4. Permanent campsites and caravan sites;
    5. Theme parks.
13. 1. Any change or extension of projects listed in Category A or Category B, already authorised, executed or in the process of being executed, which may have significant adverse effects on the environment (change or extension not included in Category A);
    2. Projects in Category A, undertaken exclusively or mainly for the development and testing of new methods or products and not used for more than two years.

Screening criteria for Category B projects

The screening criteria below, or those defined in the applicable national legislation, have to be applied to determine if a Category B project requires an EIA (as per Annex III of the EIA Directive).

Part C: CRA Screening

The purpose of a climate risk screening is to identify and assess potential climate change related risks -current and future- that may affect the achievement of the project objectives. The findings of the screening will help determine if the design of the action would require a more detailed Climate Risk Assessment (CRA). For each significant risk identified, relevant adaptation measures should be considered and assessed.

If a Climate Risk Assessment is required, it can either be prepared as a stand-alone assessment, or integrated in the scope of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

Please go through the screening questionnaire to complete the CRA screening table below. Annex 5 provides links to useful sources of data on climate risks, including Climate Risk Regional or Country Profiles.

Q1: What timescale is relevant to the intervention?

Explanation: This is used to determine the time-horizon of the climate analysis. The answer should focus on how long the project outcomes are expected to last. This is different from the project implementation period.

This question helps to determine if the project will be able to regularly monitor climate change impacts, to adjust its level of resilience as and when needed during its lifetime (e.g. in the context of a project addressing flood impacts, by gradually increasing the height of flood defence systems).

Q2: In this timescale, which climate-related hazards are relevant? What is the likelihood that they occur?

The identified hazards should cover both extreme events and chronic stresses caused by climate change (the climate-related hazards) as well as additional hazards and their underlying drivers. Please provide an estimate of their likelihood using the table below, using the categories: ‘Likely’, ‘Unlikely’, ‘Highly unlikely’.

The following guidance can be used to determine Likelihood. Keep in mind that Likelihood must be assessed taking into account the climatic parameters expected with climate change during the lifespan of the project.

• Likely: Expected to occur recurrently during the lifespan of the project
• Unlikely: Very low or low rate occurrence during the lifespan of the project
• Highly unlikely: Remote possibility that it occurs during the lifespan of the project

Annex 5 of the Toolbox provides sources of information and analysis on the expected impacts of climate change.

Q3: How significant are their potential consequences?

Please identify the likely consequences expected if the hazards identified occur. Likely consequences should be estimated for: (1) the project itself, (2) natural systems (e.g. ecosystems) and (3) assets and persons (e.g. water infrastructure, humans and their livelihoods, etc.). In the table, indicate if the consequences are expected to be: (1) Extremely harmful, (2) Harmful or (3) Slightly harmful.

The following guidance can be used to determine potential consequences:

• Extremely harmful: The impacts require significant financial resources to repair, and these are unlikely to be readily available by the affected parties (e.g. the project, public authorities, the population); impacts can be irreversible and long-term action is likely to be required to address impacts. Impacts under this category can include: loss of life, destruction or significant damage to infrastructure, irreversible damage to ecosystems.
• Harmful: The impacts require important financial resources to repair; the original state (e.g. of infrastructure, ecosystems, livelihoods) can be generally (but maybe not always) restored in the medium term.
• Slightly harmful: The impacts can be easily repaired at low or minor cost; the original state (e.g. of infrastructure, ecosystems, livelihoods) can be restored in the short term.

Based on the above, complete the column on Estimated Risk Level in the CRA screening table to indicate the significance of the risks that could compromise the achievement of the activity with the help of the matrix provided below.

*

If the screening indicates that the action faces medium or high risks, those involved in the design and monitoring of the action should be alerted to ensure that the design and implementation of the action properly takes the expected risks over its lifetime into account.

Partners involved in the action should also be informed on the identified risks and take them into account. When it comes to climate change, the action beneficiaries/partners should be made fully aware that they should not base the action design and implementation arrangements on the historic experience and data only and that the existing design norms and standards that have evolved over past decades may not sufficiently reflect the expected changes in the future climatic conditions.

Once the project documentation is updated with stakeholder feedback, please answer the following questions.

Q4: Can the proposed action be made resilient to these risks, or can it be modified to respond to these hazards when they arise? Notably, could the action be made more resilient with nature-enhancing measures?

Please identify adaptation solutions to ensure climate resilience at the level of the action. These should address any climate change concerns that may have been identified through this screening process.

The design of the action should be modified to eliminate any High risk, and efforts should be made to introduce design features that reduce medium risks. Risk mitigation measures should be put in place to manage low and (especially) medium risks.

The level of risk can be reduced be either reducing the likelihood of hazards occurring (e.g. stabilisation of slopes through afforestation to reduce the likelihood of landslides, increasing green areas in urban centres to reduce temperature peaks) or by reducing the consequences in case they occur (e.g. higher bridges will be less prone to be washed away by a flash flood, locating infrastructure outside flood-prone areas, increasing resistance of infrastructure to higher wind speeds, use of drought-resistant crop varieties).

If the solutions are sufficient to reduce the level of climate-related risks to levels that can be addressed by simple risk management systems, then the reply is YES. In this case, there is no need for further climate assessment.

Should the action face any outstanding high risks that cannot be managed as part of the design and/or implementation, or in case of doubt, the answer is NO. The project Identification team considers the project at risk from climate change, depending on the degree of exposure of its individual components. In this case, there are two possibilities:

• If an EIA or an SEA is foreseen, it shall be designed to explicitly consider the project’s vulnerability to climate change;
• If an EIA or SEA are not foreseen, a specific CRA should be launched, considering the specific hazards, exposure and vulnerability of the action.

References

^[35] Environmentally sensitive sectors include: agriculture; energy; fisheries; forestry; industry; private sector development; telecommunications; tourism; town and country planning or land use; transport; waste management; and water management.

^[36] Support is considered to be at a strategic level if (i) support is provided to the development/revision of the sector’s policy, regulatory and/or institutional framework, and/or (ii) foresees the implementation (or sets the framework for the implementation of) multiple projects that may have significant cumulative impacts on the environment (e.g. multiple infrastructure projects, projects requiring execution of construction works or multiple projects that require land use change or intensive use of natural resources).

^[37] Nuclear power stations and other nuclear reactors cease to be such an installation when all nuclear fuel and other radioactively contaminated elements have been removed permanently from the installation site.

^[38] For purposes of this screening procedure, ‘airport’ means an airport which complies with the definition in the 1944 Chicago Convention setting up the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

^[39] For purposes of this screening, ‘express road’ means a road which complies with the definition in the European Agreement on Main International Traffic Arteries of 15 November 1975.