CHAPTER 2
Project Approach
The objective of NCHRP Project 25-64, Considering Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Change in Environmental Reviews: Resources for State DOTs, was to develop and pilot a guide for State DOTs with resources and approaches for addressing GHG emissions and climate change effects in environmental reviews. The guide is designed to help DOTs understand current requirements, guidance, practices, and available tools and methods to support consideration of GHG emissions and climate change effects in environmental reviews. These may include reviews conducted consistent with NEPA as well as reviews conducted consistent with State environmental review requirements. The guide also discusses equity and environmental justice considerations and describes tools and methods for considering equity related to emissions and climate change effects. The guide is published as NCHRP WebResource 3: GHG Emissions and Climate Change in Environmental Reviews and can be found at crp.trb.org/nchrpwebresource3/.
The project was scoped with seven tasks, as shown in Table 1. The research for Tasks 1–4 was completed between August 2021 and June 2022. Following development of the draft guide in the second half of 2022, the guide was pilot tested between February and June 2023 and finalized in the fall of 2023.
Table 1. Description of tasks.
| Task | Objectives |
|---|---|
| 1—Review Current Practice | Review current practice in addressing GHG emissions and climate change in environmental reviews, including Federal and State environmental review processes as well as environmental justice and equity analyses. |
| 2—Review Methods and Tools | Review available methodologies and tools for analyzing GHG emissions and climate change impacts related to transportation projects. |
| 3—Collect and Synthesize Perspectives | Collect and synthesize common community and stakeholder perspectives on GHG emissions and climate change impacts at the project level; describe effective responses and approaches to resolving community and stakeholder concerns along with lessons learned. |
| 4—Conduct Peer Exchanges | Conduct two virtual peer exchanges to convene participants from State DOTs with and without experience in considering GHG emissions and climate change in their environmental reviews and collect additional understanding of current practice and insights into how to fine-tune the guide. |
| 5—Develop Draft Guide | Develop a draft guide for selecting and implementing tools and methodologies for considering GHG emissions and climate change in environmental reviews; identify and recruit two State DOTs for a pilot implementation of the guide. |
| 6—Conduct Pilot | Conduct a pilot application of the draft guide, working with two State DOTs to test the utility of the guide and methods described in the guide and identify lessons learned. |
| 7—Develop Final Deliverables | Develop final deliverables, including the final guide, a technical report describing the research effort, a fact sheet on essential findings, and a technical memorandum that identifies implementation pathways. |
