NOT SO GREEN

Proposed Trump Rule Cuts Out Climate Change Considerations in Infrastructure Planning

The proposed changes to the National Environmental Policy Act would not require agencies to study the “cumulative” consequences of a major project.

Federal agencies will no longer have to consider climate change when assessing the environmental impact of infrastructure projects under the Trump administration's proposed changes to the National Environmental Policy Act, The New York Times reports. The act requires the government to conduct a detailed analysis of the environmental impacts of major projects, with long-term effects like climate change included. According to the Trump administration's proposed changes to the act, however, the type of project that would have to undergo this kind of review would be more narrowly defined. Agencies would also not have to study the “cumulative” environmental consequences of the project, like greenhouse gas emissions or sea-level rise. The White House's Council on Environmental Quality has not commented publicly on the matter.