Federal Agencies to Consider Climate Impacts

The White House's Council on Environmental Quality issued new guidance for government agencies on how to consider their impacts on climate change.

The guidelines add more concrete guidelines to an existing requirement that federal agencies conduct environmental reviews for all "major actions."

Agencies are now called on take a more quantitative approach, calculating the reduction or sequestering of carbon emissions that could be produced by a given federal action. They're also urged to consider more environmentally friendly alternatives.

As part of this more holistic framework, the Post adds:

The guidance also directs agencies to consider not only direct emissions of a project but also the “indirect” emissions. So, building a new road might encourage more people to drive, leading to more vehicular emissions.

More on the new guidelines, and on the original requirement—a sweeping 1969 act that is both "critical" and "exceedingly wonky"—in the Washington Post.