Applying environmental impact assessment as a tool for climate change mitigation
Climate Breakfast Seminar Series.
This talk discusses the application of environmental impact assessment as a tool for climate change mitigation from a comparative perspective. It firstly confirms that, despite persistent resistance in a few jurisdictions, climate effect assessment is now widely applied on a global scale. Yet the article also shows that this practice has faced recurrent practical and conceptual issues, in particular, concerning the determination of the significance of a project’s climate effect and the assessment of indirect effects. Lastly, this article assesses how states have addressed these issues and identifies good practices. In doing so, the article illustrates the potential of functionalist comparative analysis in advancing our understanding of climate law and suggesting policy-relevant conclusions.
About the speaker
Benoit Mayer is Professor of Climate Law at the School of Law at the University of Reading. He previously worked at the University of Wuhan (2015-2016) and at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (2016-2024). He is the Executive Editor-in-Chief of the Chinese Journal of Environmental Law and a member of the UNFCCC Roster of Experts. Professor Mayer holds degrees from the University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, McGill University, and the National University of Singapore.
Prof. Mayer’s research explores various aspects of international and comparative climate law. His research has explored the climate-migration nexus, interpreted the obligations of states relating to the mitigation of climate change, and explored the role of national environmental assessment tools in global efforts to mitigate climate change. His research has featured in the American Journal of International Law, the European Journal of International Law, and International and Comparative Law Quarterly, and in monographs published with Cambridge and Oxford University Press.
Register for the seminar. Zoom link is provided upon registration.