Assessment of the Implementation Status of Climate Change Management in Strategic Environmental Assessments in Poland and Slovakia

Abstract

Based on information recorded in geological sediments, glaciers and tree rings and on monitoring of climate parameters conducted for approximately 150 years, we can certainly conclude that climate on the Earth is evolving. The average global temperature of the surface layer of the atmosphere is increasing, as is the number of extreme phenomena such as storms and droughts. To counteract these changes, in 2017 the European Union began efforts to include climate change mitigation and adaptation in the Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) procedure of planned investment projects (revisions to the EU Directive (2014/52/EU), effective by 2017). Meanwhile, according to the authors, Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) procedures are much more important for mitigating climate change because they concern projects (strategic, development, planning) that usually cover a larger area and are often of a comprehensive, organizational nature and largely precede the EIA process, which concerns specific investments. The authors aimed to determine how climate change mitigation and adaptation are integrated into the SEA process in Poland and Slovakia. This study employed a cross-sectional analysis of current and planned guidelines and handbooks to incorporate climate aspects into strategic environmental assessments. Additionally, a matrix assessment was conducted to categorize the inclusion of specific climate change elements in SEA for various developmental, strategic, or planning documents implemented over the past 10 years at the national, regional, and local levels. The analysis of SEA in Poland and Slovakia in the context of climate change adaptation has revealed areas for improvement in both countries concerning the integration of climate-related aspects into their strategic documents. Poland is more advanced, especially in terms of assessing the impact of strategic documents on climate factors, evaluating the susceptibility of strategic documents to climate change, and proposing adaptive actions. According to the authors, there is an urgent need to supplement national regulations in SEA process so that they strictly take into account the problems of climate change.