HOW TO USE THIS DOCUMENT

Improving Decision-Making for the Energy Transition: Guidance for Using Strategic Environmental Assessment

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Version 1 of this document serves as a guide for conducting Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) to support policy making, planning, and program development in the energy transition. It outlines best practices for SEA in the energy sector and provides detailed methods and case studies across various energy types to illustrate its application. As we work collectively towards global climate goals, this guidance will:

  • Equip leaders to make informed, sustainable decisions.
  • Enable the public and industry to contribute to these decisions.

 

These decisions will shape future energy systems to align with the natural and human environments, enabling a just and sustainable energy transition.

How is this guidance formatted?

The guidance is framed in two main parts:

  • PART A: The why, what, and how of SEA (Chapters 1-3)
  • PART B: Focus on specific energy sectors and associated issues (Chapters 4-14)

Each chapter has its own webpage with a brief overview, a list of the main sections, an executive summary, and a link to download the PDF.

This guidance is designed as a modular resource, with the understanding that many users will consult specific chapters rather than reading it in full. To ensure important issues and context—particularly about the basics of SEA—are not overlooked, key information may be repeated in different chapters.

IAIA expects to revise, update, and expand this document over time (e.g., to include new case studies, additional reference material, videos, and other information relevant to the use of SEA for the energy transition).

PART A: The why, what, and how of SEA

Part A provides generic information that will be common to all SEAs undertaken in the renewable energy sector. These chapters will be particularly helpful for those practitioners with limited previous experience of SEA, enabling them to draw on international experience and good practice when designing and conducting SEA processes. There is no ‘blueprint or ‘one size fits all’ approach to SEA. But the basic stages and tasks are similar for all SEAs.  

  • Chapter 1 gives a background to SEA, explaining how it differs from EIA and discussing issues such as benefits of SEA, objectives, costs, stakeholder engagement and institutional arrangements.
  • Chapter 2 describes the key stages and tasks in the SEA process and methodologies.
  • Chapter 3 sets out the legal requirements and commitments for applying SEA.

PART B: Specific energy sectors and associated issues

These chapters do not discuss generic SEA methodology issues, but instead address particular methodological aspects that may be specific to or particularly important for SEAs of individual types of renewable energy.   

  • Chapter 4 addresses overall energy plans, programs, and projects (PPPs).
  • Chapters 5-11 each focus on individual renewable energy sub-sectors:
  • Chapter 12 addresses the retirement of coal-fired power plants and closing coal mines, as this will be a key element of the transition to renewable energy for many countries.
  • Chapter 13 discusses associated infrastructure (e.g., transmission lines, sub-stations, access roads, electricity storage facilities, terminals, ports, and harbors) and supply chains, which are critical to the energy transition.
  • Chapter 14 provides guidance to government institutions and other organizations likely to commission or undertake SEAs for national energy plans or PPPs as part of the energy transition.
  • A range of annexes provide additional information and details pertinent to SEA, including annex 19 which defines the technical terms used throughout the guidance.

Chapters 5–13 are each presented in a common format: 

  • A short explanation of why SEA is important to the sub-sector.
  • A discussion of existing guidelines for the sub-sector.
  • Global installed capacity.
  • A brief background to the sub-sector (e.g., types of technology in use).
  • A discussion of the environmental and social issues associated with developing the sub-sector’s energy generation facilities.