ADB Publishes Series of Knowledge-Sharing Reports on Climate Change Law and Policy

Judicial knowledge about climate change, legal frameworks, and relevant legal principles are fundamental to a strong rule of law. Many core principles in climate law stem from environmental law, a field that few judges in Asia and the Pacific have studied or practiced in the past. Resource limitations, the ad hoc publication of laws, and language barriers in Asia and the Pacific also make it difficult for judges to maintain current knowledge about climate law, science, and local climate change impacts. 

To address this, ADB published a four-part series of knowledge-sharing reports in December 2020 titled Climate Change, Coming Soon to a Court Near You. The report series aims to overcome some of these barriers and support judiciaries and legal professionals by sharing knowledge and ideas and showcasing judicial climate and environmental success stories from Asia and the Pacific. 

Report 1 explains how judges from Asia and the Pacific contribute to climate governance, along with ADB's rationale for producing this report series. It guides readers through foundational information about climate change including the cause of climate change, the evidence to back it, and how we can tackle the issue, head on. 

Report 2 is a comprehensive review of the growing number and variety of climate lawsuits in Asia and the Pacific. It underscores the unique voice of regional jurisprudence and compares it with global approaches. No one can solve climate change alone and neither can one judiciary. However, judges can learn from each other, taking judicial excellence and applying these best practices to future cases. 

Report 3 provides a comprehensive summary of the climate legal and policy frameworks of 32 countries in Asia and the Pacific and discusses key legislative trends and climate-relevant constitutional rights. 

Finally, Report 4 explores the nature of the Paris Agreement, its history, and the framework of international instruments and international legal principles that support global and domestic climate action. 

Speaking about the success of the reports, Justice Antonio Herman Benjamin of the National High Court of Brazil said the initiative was “a component of the broader series of successful ADB endeavors in the Environmental Rule of Law universe.” He added: As the first publication of its kind, with a focus on judges, this report series will greatly benefit those who already know the subject and particularly those for whom climate change is (until now) a remote area of law. On behalf of the Global Judicial Institute on the Environment, I offer my effusive congratulations to ADB’s extraordinary team and the distinguished co-authors of this innovative report series.” 

The success of these reports was widespread across the Asia-Pacific region and ADB received multiple requests to translate the report series into various Asian languages. The reports are currently being translated into Bengali, Mandarin, and Khmer and due to be published soon.