Government releases new guidance on the Strategic Assessment of Climate Change under the federal Impact Assessment Act
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On July 16, 2020, the Government of Canada released the Strategic Assessment of Climate Change, July 2020 (SACC). The SACC includes rules and obligations that apply to designated projects under the federal Impact Assessment Act (IAA). In particular, the SACC outlines requirements for project proponents in relation to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as associated climate change information. In addition, the SACC will also work to guide non-designated projects such as those regulated by the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) or under regional assessments. The stated purpose of the SACC is to bring consistency, transparency, efficiency and predictability to the impact assessment process in the climate change context.
Under the SACC, proponents of designated projects are required to provide an estimate of a project's net GHG emissions with more detailed information requirements in each subsequent phase of the assessment process. Proponents must provide an initial estimate in the Initial Project Description, update that estimate in the Detailed Project Description, and then further refine it in the Impact Statement. In addition to GHG emission quantification, the SACC imposes several information requirements on project proponents at each phase of the assessment process. Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said the plan will ensure Canada’s goal to exceed its Paris climate agreement targets by 2030 and then hit net zero by 2050. Access SACC homepage at https://www.strategicassessmentclimatechange.ca/
These new requirements could apply to large infrastructure projects when a federal environmental assessment is required.
