August EWJ 24 - Flipbook - Page 19
concept extends the boundaries of carbon accounting
beyond the direct and indirect emissions of a company
to include the broader, positive impact of its products.
Whether an EIA needs to consider Scope 4 emissions
is a moot point; reporting net emissions in terms of
Scopes 1, 2 and 3 alone may be sufficient in most, if not
all, cases.
By definition, an EIA is required for a future project
whereas IFRS S2 would refer to past performance of
a company. This suggests an EIA would not be informed by climate-related financial disclosure and the
converse might be the case. There is clearly potential
for the same methodology to be applied and to avoid
duplication in reporting if, for example, a planning
condition is imposed requiring the developer to
submit regular reports on emissions to the local planning authority. The wider adoption of a common set
of standards will also enable planning authorities to
compare estimated GHG emissions, as reported in an
EIA, with actual GHG emissions as part of financial
disclosure. Whether this is a good thing warrants
further discussion.
Although the Supreme Court agreed that the GHG
Protocol descriptions of GHG emissions are useful, an
important point is made that the relevant EIA regulations do not specifically refer to the GHG Protocol. In
the case of Scope 1 and 2 emissions this is not of material importance, as the emissions are evidently related to the project. However, in the case of Scope 3
emissions there are some 15 categories, not all of
which would be relevant to the project. An EIA is required to cover the ‘significant indirect effects’ of a
project but this does not mean an EIA for a project is
required to quantify all of the Scope 3 emissions associated with that project, even though the GHG Protocol uses similar language (‘indirect’ emissions). In
practice, many EIAs at the scoping stage will use the
GHG Protocol as part of the process to identify all
potential emissions and screen out those deemed
irrelevant, including justification as appropriate.
Do we need public participation in environmental
decision-making?
The Supreme Court highlights that the United
Kingdom is party to the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making
and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters,
known as ‘the Aarhus Convention’ which is designed
to secure three rights in relation to environmental
matters: a right of access to information; a right of
public participation in decision-making; and a right of
access to justice. In particular, paragraph 21 of the
Supreme Court decision refers to recital (16) to the
EIA Directive:
Should an EIA be informed by climate-related
financial disclosure?
As cited above, the National Policy Planning Framework (NPPF) explicitly states that pollution control lies
beyond the scope of planning decisions, as it should
be assumed that relevant regulations are effective. Despite the growing body of climate regulations, there is
no equivalent stipulation on climate change issues. In
discussing the classification of GHG emissions, the
Supreme Court judgement refers to the International
Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for the disclosure of information related to sustainability7. Of relevance is IFRS S2 which is concerned with the
disclosure of climate-related information and includes
the requirement for companies to disclose their absolute gross GHG emissions during the reporting period, classified in accordance with the GHG Protocol
and including Scopes 1, 2 and 3. Although the adoption of IFRS S2 is voluntary for most UK companies,
there is an expectation that uptake will increase. For
example, in its recent call for evidence on Scope 3
reporting8, the Department for Energy Security and
Net Zero (DESNZ) re-iterated the UK Government’s
commitment to endorse the IFRS and clearly stated:
‘Effective public participation in the taking of decisions
enables the public to express, and the decision-maker to take account of, opinions and concerns which may be relevant to those
decisions, thereby increasing the accountability and transparency of the decision-making process and contributing to
public awareness of environmental issues and support for the
decisions taken.’
The European Environment Agency also puts
forward the case that9:
‘Sustainability transitions require shifts in production and
consumption systems that will impact our whole way of life. A
transition that considers questions of distributive and procedural justice is a challenge that calls for the full creative potential and involvement of all sectors of society, including
citizens.’
The transition to net zero requires the public (i.e.
consumers) to make decisions on what they buy and
how they go about their lives. In this example, the alternative to oil production is for the public to use renewable energy. Of course, other alternatives for use
of the land exist, each of which would have its own impact on climate change and make its own contribution
to the local, regional and national GDP. Making this
information available to the public as part of the EIA
and planning process will inform the public who may
use existing means to communicate their concerns or
support for a planning application. This, in turn, will
inform the planning authority on what matters to the
communities it represents.
‘Measuring and reporting GHG emissions are some of the
first steps an organisation can take to reduce its overall emissions and energy consumption and contribute to the government’s Net Zero target. Individual businesses making this data
publicly available can provide important information to investors and other stakeholders on the emissions associated with
their investments. The government is committed to ensuring
market participants have the information and data they need
to manage risks and allocate capital where there are opportunities, and greater transparency on business energy and resource efficiency, and decarbonisation efforts in general, is
important to achieving this.’
EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL
Underpinning these aims is the need for EIA to be effective or, as recently stated by the Department for
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AUGUST 2024
