It is widely acknowledged that the impacts of climate change are likely to be far worse than
some people believe possible. Research has shown that our current approach and
intervention to combat climate change is hopelessly inadequate. Climate change is a global
environmental phenomenon which is not adequately addressed by integrated environmental
management and more particularly by environmental impact assessment (EIA). In order to
effectively address this challenge, adaptation and mitigation actions at individual, local,
national, and international levels are critical. It is argued that EIA is one of the most valuable
tools to integrate climate change issues into pre- and post-development decision-making
processes. The aim of this research was to critically review the consideration of climate
change risks and opportunities in EIAs for housing development in two of Gauteng’s
metropolitan areas. The results reveal that climate change risks and opportunities are not
considered during EIA. It is evident that there are a number of challenges, and the sternest
one is the serious lack of a regulatory framework to mandate a compulsory consideration of
climate change issues in the process of EIA. On the other hand, there is a lack of awareness
and drive by key stakeholders to ensure that the EIA process identifies, considers, and
evaluate the risks and opportunities related to climate change.