We live in an era of accelerating climate challenges and an urgent need to decarbonize energy systems. Decision-makers across the globe face the daunting task of delivering a complex, rapid, and just energy transition with potentially significant consequences across economies and societies. It is against this backdrop that the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) is launching “Improving Decision-Making for the Energy Transition: Guidance for Using Strategic Environmental Assessment.” We hope it will serve as an essential and timely reference for policymakers, planners, industry leaders, civil society, and other important stakeholders involved in the energy sector.

This guidance comes at a critical time. The past five years have witnessed remarkable growth in renewable energy generation, a trend set to increase. The International Energy Agency forecasts that more renewable energy will be added in the next five years than has been installed since the first commercial renewable energy power plant was built more than 100 years ago. Despite this progress, we are still not on a path to reach the agreed COP28 target of tripling global renewable energy generation by 2030. Reaching net zero by 2050 will remain out of reach if we continue on our current trajectory.

Rapid advancements in green technologies, greater efficiencies driving down cost, and a desire for greater energy security are set to deliver further exponential growth in renewable energy projects. But this will cause people to face a fundamental truth: the energy transition, while vital, is not benign; it is instead messy and challenging and can cause many unintended consequences in a world of complex, interrelated systems.

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is a powerful and effective process to address this challenge. It provides a comprehensive framework to see the big picture, to harmonize renewable energy development with the interests of other sectors, address the perspectives of stakeholders, communities, and marginalized groups; and ensure that sustainability considerations are paramount in protecting the future of life on our planet.

SEA is a proactive approach that examines the interconnected systems of people, our economies, and our environments. It considers alternatives to proposed policies, plans, and programs for the energy transition and addresses the potential cumulative impacts that might arise from their implementation. SEA identifies ways to reduce or avoid potential negative environmental and socioeconomic impacts, as well as how to find win-win outcomes and enhance the socioeconomic benefits of energy projects. It improves the planning process by providing a clearer understanding of the consequences for future decisions.

For policymakers, SEAs can also provide a structure for progress on international commitments made under the Sustainable Development Goals, Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement, the Global Biodiversity Framework, and other international commitments.

This report is a practical guide for undertaking SEA to support strategic-level policymaking, planning, and program development for the energy transition. It describes best practices for conducting SEA across the energy sector and offers detailed methods and case studies across various energy types that illustrate its application in different contexts.

As we collectively strive to meet global climate goals and ambitions, this guidance will be a valuable resource. It will equip leaders to make informed, sustainable, and wise decisions and will help the public and industry to contribute to these decisions. Such decisions will shape the future of our energy systems to best fit the natural and human environments where the projects will be developed, enabling a just and sustainable energy transition.

Alan Ehrlich
President
International Association for Impact Assessment