relation: https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/4541/
title: Environmental Assessment (EA) follow-up in energy infrastructures: a comparative study of practice in the Netherlands, Iceland, and Denmark
creator: Muspitasari, Yulita
description: There has been a significant emphasis in planning practice on conducting pre-project impact assessments, however, there has been a reluctance to conduct ex-post impact assessments, such as Environmental Assessment (EA) Follow-up. This assessment is performed after the main consent decision to evaluate how actual impacts compare to predicted impacts. The increasing energy crisis in Europe has led to a growing number of projects related to energy infrastructure, which requires further assessment of the environmental impact. This study aims to conduct a comparative analysis of EA Follow-up in the Netherlands, Iceland, and Denmark to understand how it is practised across different countries with different contexts, including the physical-geographical and island contexts. This qualitative research utilises document analysis, interviews comprising 22 interviews with stakeholders such as EA experts, professionals in the energy sector, academics, and government officials from the Netherlands, Iceland, and Denmark, followed by a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with experts. The findings of this study observed that in the Netherlands, Iceland, and Denmark, EA Follow-up aligns with the EU EIA-Directives and SEA Directives and is integrated into national policies. However, it is not commonly executed in practice, except for some projects with significant impacts and major uncertainty or for knowledge-acquisition purposes, as seen in case studies. The lesson to be learned from investigating the process of EA Follow-up in three countries is that the process should consider the complete practice of the EA Follow-up. This should be generally applied as a valuable step to "close the loop" in evaluation and learning for environmentally effective energy policymaking. A more generally applied EA Follow-up promotes continuous learning, a better understanding of different types and sizes of uncertainty, and bridging the gaps in implementation within the process.
date: 2024
type: Thesis
type: NonPeerReviewed
format: text
language: en
identifier: https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/4541/1/Yulita-Muspitasari---MSc-thesis-RUG-Submission---26-June-2024.pdf
identifier:   Muspitasari, Yulita  (2024) Environmental Assessment (EA) follow-up in energy infrastructures: a comparative study of practice in the Netherlands, Iceland, and Denmark.  Master thesis.