Check out the latest enews, sent 18 September
Abstract submissions now open
IAIA24, “Impact Assessment for a Just Transformation,” will be held 24-27 April 2024 in Dublin, Ireland.
Abstract submission is open now through 31 October. More than 80 sessions invite abstracts, so there is something for everyone!
Registration opens in October, but take an early look at the training courses that will be held in conjunction with the conference.
Interested in increasing your company’s profile at IAIA24? Check out the sponsorship opportunities brochure to learn about the various benefits available for the in-person event in Dublin. Bridget would be happy to answer your questions and help you find a sponsorship that works best for your organization.
Online training opportunities
Register today and learn from the experts in these live, virtual training courses starting soon:
• Effective Engagement in Impact Assessment
• Conflict Management and Resolution in EIA Projects
• Smarter Monitoring and Auditing for More Effective Implementation
Free webinar: Digitalization of EA to promote sustainability
Register today for this free webinar on 27 September at 08:00 UTC to hear selected results of the Danish innovation project DREAMS (Digitally suppoRted Environmental Assessment for Sustainable development goals). The DREAMS project adds to the impressive lists of digital solutions being developed worldwide within EA with a focus on common societal solutions and sustainability. (Part of IAIA’s Digital IA Webinar series.)
Request for Round 2 Reviewers
The full draft of IAIA’s "Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Guidance for Improving Decision-making in the Energy Transition” is available online and ready for another round of peer review. In addition to some intro chapters on SEA, there are chapters on individual renewable energy sectors. Please consider reviewing one (or more!) chapters – due 31 October 2023.
IAIA welcomes new staff member
Please join IAIA HQ in welcoming Kiesha Blaser to the team. Kiesha is taking on the position of Training Program Specialist. She started with IAIA on 21 August and is looking forward to helping IAIA expand our programs and serve our members.
Compliance and enforcement best practice principles released
Compliance and enforcement relate to every stage in the EsIA processing, including screening. “Environmental/social impact assessment compliance and enforcement: Requirements, commitments, and related permits” best practice principles are now available. IAIA’s best practice principles series offers best practices for practitioners on a variety of topics.
The importance of human resource departments
See this guest post from IAIA Corporate Member ECO Canada, sharing why HR departments are so important. ECO Canada runs environmental employment programs and services—from job creation and wage funding, to training and labor market research, they champion the environmental professional career path.
District cooling: A better alternative to air conditioning?
As energy-intensive air conditioners are increasingly being installed to combat global heating, district cooling networks offer an alternative. Numerous major cities such as Paris, Munich, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and Toronto are building large, efficient central cooling systems that consume less electricity. But what are the pros and cons?
The Faroe Islands is doing tourism on its own terms
Once a year the Faroe Islands closes to tourists – except those willing to roll up their sleeves and help fix the place. The scheme is heavily oversubscribed, with only around 3 percent of those who apply are accepted. When it launched in 2019, the World Economic Forum named it one of the world’s most innovative initiatives for tourism. Since then it has won multiple tourism and communications awards.
What is the world's first “global stocktake” on climate change?
Nearly 200 countries meeting at this year's United Nations COP28 climate change summit will assess just how far off track they are from meeting promises to stop global warming as part of a process called the "global stocktake.” Nearly 200 countries agreed under the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial times, and aim for 1.5. Countries already know what the global stocktake will say: they are not on track.
Stability inspection for West Antarctica: marine ice sheet not destabilized yet, but possibly on tipping path
Antarctica’s vast ice masses seem far away, yet they store enough water to raise global sea levels by several meters. A team of experts from European research institutes has now provided the first systematic stability inspection of the ice sheet’s current state. Their diagnosis: While they found no indication of irreversible, self-reinforcing retreat of the ice sheet in West Antarctica yet, global warming to date could already be enough to trigger the slow but certain loss of ice over the next hundreds to thousands of years.
AEIAN: Impact assessment: Climate resilience, financing and environmental sustainability. 7th AEIAN national annual conference/AGM. 17-20 October 2023. Abuja, Nigeria.
IAIA-WNC: Solving the Streamlining Paradox: The Future of Environmental Assessment. 25 October. 1-hour webinar.
AQÉI: Energy transition at the time of major projects. AQÉI annual conference. 26-27 October 2023. Drummondville, QC, Canada.
