Guidelines in the Conduct of Climate and Disaster Risk Assessment (CDRA) as Part of the Requirements to be Included in the Environmental Impact Statement of Offshore Wind (OSW) Energy Projects and Floating Photovoltaic (FPV) Plants

DENR Administrative Order No. 2025-25

Subject: Guidelines in the Conduct of Climate and Disaster Risk Assessment (CDRA) as Part of the EIS Requirements for Offshore Wind (OSW) Energy Projects and Floating Photovoltaic (FPV) Plants

Signed: July 18, 2025 . Pages: 8

Legal Basis

Pursuant to DAO 2024-02 (Interim Guidelines for ECC under PEISS for OSW Energy Projects) and DAO 2023-08 (Guidelines for ECC under PEISS for FPV Plants within Laguna Lake), in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030).

Section 1. Basic Policy

State recognizes the need to integrate climate and disaster risk assessment in the environmental impact evaluation of renewable energy projects, particularly offshore wind and floating solar.

Section 2. Objectives

Provide comprehensive guidelines for CDRA of OSW and FPV plants for assessing climate-related risks and disaster vulnerabilities in EIS. To ensure long-term project reliability:

• A. Natural hazards, climate change, and related risks assessment shall be a fundamental first step in project scoping; findings used to determine whether further detail in other components of project appraisal is needed
• B. Systematic analysis of potential disaster/climate risk consequences shall be a central component of assessment, especially in hazard-prone areas (per geohazard maps issued by MGB or DOST)
• C. Measures addressing environmental issues including DRR/CCA shall be formulated for incorporation in final design and implementation

Section 3. Scope of CDRA

Climate change risk assessment identifies impact of changes in mean climatic conditions (temperature, precipitation, wind speed) and sea levels, including extreme weather event impacts, to identify climate change adaptation options. Disaster risk assessment analyzes natural hazards (including geophysical) and associated disaster risk in depth and recommends potential disaster risk management actions.

The CDRA involves systematic screening of all OSW and FPV operations and facilities against a wide range of physical climate and natural hazards. CDRA shall be based on:

• Current and projected climate data from PAGASA and international climate models
• Hazard maps from PHIVOLCS and MGB, and funded projects such as the READY Project

Assessment shall be site-specific and conducted during pre-development/pre-construction stage, covering pre-development/exploration, development/construction and operation, and decommissioning stages, under three timeframes: baseline (present-day), 2030, and 2050, following climate change scenarios reflecting ~2.4 C and ~4.3 C temperature increase above pre-industrial levels.

Section 4. Key Considerations

A. Identification of potential climate and disaster risks: Project location vulnerability (low-lying, coastal, seismic, flood zones); current and projected climate impacts; reliance on climate-impacted resources (water, land use); identification of key natural hazards and their intensity, scale, and probability; localized factors (gradient, height, soil) influencing hazard intensity; vulnerable infrastructure or operational components.

B. Impact of climate and disaster risks: Asset/infrastructure/operational integrity impacts from natural disasters (turbines, offshore structures, electrical components); business interruption, construction delays, revenue loss; ability to meet energy production targets; impact on design/siting decisions (flexible foundations for FPV, strengthened OSW turbines, reinforced transmission lines); impact on surrounding communities, businesses, ecosystems; secondary impacts (population displacement, public infrastructure damage); legal/operational standing for permits and licenses; estimated economic impact.

Source: User-uploaded official DENR PDF (DAO-2025-25, 8 pages). Full sections on Risk Review and Risk Management methodology in source PDF.