ADB, UNEP, and India's National Green Tribunal Build Judicial Capacity for Climate and Ecological Protection

The International Conference on Climate and Environment Dynamics was held in New Delhi, India, on 19–20 September 2026. It was organized by India’s National Green Tribunal (NGT) in partnership with ADB and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). 

Chief Justice Antonio Herman Benjamin of the National High Court of Brazil (STJ) and Patricia Mbote, Director of the Law Division of UNEP, used this platform to showcase the key elements of the Model Framework Forest Act. They outlined the core rationale, purpose, and global partnership underpinning its development, and illuminated pathways toward its preliminary launch at the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP17) in Armenia on 29 October and its practical implementation going forward.

The conference brought together high-level delegates such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, Attorney-General R. Venkataramani, and Supreme Court Chief Justice Surya Kant, alongside more than 1,500 judges, legislators, policymakers, and academic experts to explore the legal dimensions of environmental protection.