Mainstreaming climate change into the EIA procedures: a perspective from China

Purpose – In the face of climate change, environmental impact assessment (EIA) and strategic environmental assessment (SEA) are expected to translate global or national mitigation and adaptation targets to project and plan levels of decision-making. This paper aims to examine how to transform China’...

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Main Author: Qi Gao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Emerald Publishing 2018-04-01
Series:International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1108/IJCCSM-04-2016-0040
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author Qi Gao
author_facet Qi Gao
author_sort Qi Gao
collection DOAJ
description Purpose – In the face of climate change, environmental impact assessment (EIA) and strategic environmental assessment (SEA) are expected to translate global or national mitigation and adaptation targets to project and plan levels of decision-making. This paper aims to examine how to transform China’s EIA procedures to accommodate consideration of climate change and what constraints might be for doing so. Design/methodology/approach – The main methodology used in this paper is doctrinal research, which is the primary legal methodology to find the law and interpret and analyse the document. Theoretical research is applied to analyse the ideas and assumptions of the mainstreaming approach. Comparative research is done to consider relevant international experiences. Findings – Despite well-founded rationale for the mainstreaming approach, entrenched institutional, legal and technical obstacles cannot be neglected in the context of China. Urgent needs to fix existing EIA/SEA loopholes and improve the general enabling environment are also highlighted as a fundamental aspect of mainstreaming. Originality/value – The potential of mainstreaming climate change into China’s EIA procedures remains largely unexplored. As a ground-breaking work from China’s perspective, the findings of this paper can serve as an important foundation for future research from legal and other perspectives.
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spelling doaj.art-0f9b133e69df460d8e3ddac4aea4dee32022-12-22T04:22:14ZengEmerald PublishingInternational Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management1756-86921756-87062018-04-0110334235810.1108/IJCCSM-04-2016-0040600974Mainstreaming climate change into the EIA procedures: a perspective from ChinaQi Gao0KoGuan Law School, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, ChinaPurpose – In the face of climate change, environmental impact assessment (EIA) and strategic environmental assessment (SEA) are expected to translate global or national mitigation and adaptation targets to project and plan levels of decision-making. This paper aims to examine how to transform China’s EIA procedures to accommodate consideration of climate change and what constraints might be for doing so. Design/methodology/approach – The main methodology used in this paper is doctrinal research, which is the primary legal methodology to find the law and interpret and analyse the document. Theoretical research is applied to analyse the ideas and assumptions of the mainstreaming approach. Comparative research is done to consider relevant international experiences. Findings – Despite well-founded rationale for the mainstreaming approach, entrenched institutional, legal and technical obstacles cannot be neglected in the context of China. Urgent needs to fix existing EIA/SEA loopholes and improve the general enabling environment are also highlighted as a fundamental aspect of mainstreaming. Originality/value – The potential of mainstreaming climate change into China’s EIA procedures remains largely unexplored. As a ground-breaking work from China’s perspective, the findings of this paper can serve as an important foundation for future research from legal and other perspectives.https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1108/IJCCSM-04-2016-0040Climate changeMainstreamingSEAClimate feasibility studyEIA
spellingShingle Qi Gao
Mainstreaming climate change into the EIA procedures: a perspective from China
International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management
Climate change
Mainstreaming
SEA
Climate feasibility study
EIA
title Mainstreaming climate change into the EIA procedures: a perspective from China
title_full Mainstreaming climate change into the EIA procedures: a perspective from China
title_fullStr Mainstreaming climate change into the EIA procedures: a perspective from China
title_full_unstemmed Mainstreaming climate change into the EIA procedures: a perspective from China
title_short Mainstreaming climate change into the EIA procedures: a perspective from China
title_sort mainstreaming climate change into the eia procedures a perspective from china
topic Climate change
Mainstreaming
SEA
Climate feasibility study
EIA
url https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1108/IJCCSM-04-2016-0040
work_keys_str_mv AT qigao mainstreamingclimatechangeintotheeiaproceduresaperspectivefromchina