Should climate be a factor in NEPA reviews?

摘要

The responsibilities of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) are clearly spelled out in the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). But the gap between Republicans and Democrats over how the CEQ should implement those responsibilities is so wide that an objective observer might conclude that the two parties are not talking about the same agency or the same law. One stark difference—and, arguably, the most consequential one—was readily apparent at a recent hearing of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW). The title of the hearing was Oversight of the Council on Environmental Quality, and the only witness was Mary Neumayr, the CEQ chair nominated by President Donald Trump. In her opening statement, Neumayr mentioned greenhouse gases (GHGs) only once in relation to a Trump Executive Order (EO) directing the CEQ to rescind guidance the CEQ wrote during the Obama administration on how GHGs and climate change should be considered in NEPA environmental reviews. The CEQ is currently drafting a new GHG guidance document. However, Neumayr’s written statement at the EPW hearing does not include the word climate or any acknowledgment that the CEQ is currently drafting measures to ensure that federal agencies will factor GHGs into their decision-making as a way to mitigate climate change.