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Country / Regional Environmental Profile (CEP/REP)

The CEP / REP is the main tool to inform the greening of programming. It is a document that provides an overview of the key environmental and climate change issues in the country/region and their trends, and provides concrete recommendations on how EU cooperation can contribute to address risks and capitalise on opportunities.

Environment & climate risk screening

The screening determines the need to undertake dedicated assessments in the form of a Strategic Environmental Assessment, an Environmental Impact Assessment and/or a Climate Risk Assessment. Even if none of the above dedicated tools are necessary, the screening process helps identify environmental and climate risks and opportunities that can be integrated in the design of the action.

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)

An SEA examines the environmental risks and opportunities associated with a sector/ national policy or strategy. It can be used to determine the soundness of a strategy as part of the eligibility assessment for budget support; it provides recommendations to enhance the environmental and climate change performance of a budget support programme and the associated strategy; and it should be an essential component of any activity that supports the update or development of a sector policy or strategy in environmentally sensitive sectors.

An EIA assesses the potential impacts on the environment (direct, indirect, secondary, cumulative, transboundary, short-, medium- and long-term, permanent and temporary, positive or negative) of a proposed development project and its alternatives, and defines measures to avoid, minimise, offset and compensate for significant adverse impacts. The need for an EIA is determined by the environment and climate risk screening. For certain countries, and often under procedures of financial institutions, an EIA can also take the form of an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) if social impacts are included.

Climate Risk Assessment (CRA)

A CRA assesses the vulnerability of a project to climate change and determines measures to minimise vulnerability and for risk management. A CRA can be prepared as a stand-alone assessment or be integrated as part of an EIA (if an EIA is required). The need for a CRA is determined by the environment and climate risk screening.

Environmental Management Plan (EMP)

An EMP should be one of the products of an EIA process. It defines the details on how impact mitigation measures are to be implemented and monitored for a given project. The EMP must be reflected in the contractual documents. An EMP can also take the form of an Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) in the case social impacts are included.

A CRMP is one of the products of a CRA. It defines how climate risk reduction and risk management measures are to be implemented and monitored in a given project. The CRMP must be reflected in the contractual documents.

Screening of investment project pipelines tool

The tool for the screening of investment project pipelines helps prioritise projects according to their potential to make positive contributions to environmental sustainability, climate resilience and low-carbon development, as well as according to their environmental and climate risks.

Rio markers

The Rio markers are used by the Commission to measure and track financial contributions to the four Rio themes (climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, biodiversity and combating desertification) as well as to the EU’s spending targets on climate change and biodiversity. Coefficients are applied to translate the Rio marker scores into financial contributions.

Greenhouse gas emissions ex-ante accounting tool

The ex-ante GHG accounting tool is a standardised method for HQ and delegations to quantify and reveal GHG emissions and emission reductions connected to a given EU external action. Its purpose is to help verify whether an action aligns with climate policies; indicate its contribution to climate mitigation; and provide recommendations for reducing the expected impact of projects emitting GHG or enhancing their positive impact to reducing GHG emissions.