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One of the topics receiving much attention in recent years is climate change and the potential of its integration in impact assessment, both in terms of achieving mitigation and adaptation. Renewable energy projects are part of the efforts to mitigate climate change, replacing the use of fossil fuel with CO2-neutral energy sources. A variety of these projects are subject to environmental impact assessment (EIA), which raises the following questions: What role does an impact assessment play? When is the project environmentally friendly? How are climate change-related impacts assessed in projects with inherent positive effects on climate change? This paper reviews practice, and takes up these questions based on a document study of 19 EIA reports of renewable energy projects in Denmark. The results show that climate change mitigation is included in 18 of the EIA reports reviewed, while adaptation is absent. Also, the results show an emphasis on positive impacts in the reports, and in a few cases discussions of enhancements. Identification and assessment of negative climate change impacts are less apparent. This leads to a discussion of the results in the light of the purpose of EIA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can public agencies efficient facilitate sustainable energy strategies that can be used to increase the efficiency of global climate policy? We focus on the specific case of climate partnership between Denmark, a global leader within wind power, and China, the world's largest CO2 emitter. Based on theory and empirical data, we argue that the strategy of climate partnership can help both partners obtain a more sustainable energy policy with a larger positive effect on climate change as well as increase the income of both state and businesses through an increased level of green exports. The climate partnership model between Denmark and China, as facilitated by the Danish Energy Agency, creates such a win-win situation supported by the main stakeholders. This low-cost policy suggests that public agencies worldwide such as the European External Action Service (EEAS) should expand the number of such efficient climate partnerships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]