The world is facing existential threats of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. In the face of this triple planetary crisis, climate and environmental rule of law is fundamental to inclusive and sustainable development. Legal frameworks need to be modernized to tackle 21st century challenges including by improving the scientific soundness and technical adequacy of laws and reflecting appropriate governance arrangements that take into account multiple stakeholders. Furthermore, the implementation and enforcement of laws need to be strengthened through capacity building programs.
Our Impact
ADB's Law and Policy Reform Program has been prioritizing its work with legal and judicial systems and other stakeholders to help support low carbon transition, promote and invest in nature and environmental sustainability, and increase disaster resilience. We do this by:
Addressing legal barriers to attracting private finance to tackle climate change and support nature-positive investments
Increasing the capacity of the private sector on climate and nature risks and opportunities
Increasing knowledge about different types of sustainable finance instruments and carbon markets
Assisting with drafting national legal and regulatory framework for carbon markets
Development of a model forest act to serve as a legal blueprint for policymakers, legislators, and other stakeholders in the design or updating of national forest laws
Strengthening Climate and Environmental Legal Education
Mainstreaming climate change and environmental legal education at the national and institutional levels across Asia and the Pacific
Developing model syllabi and innovative teaching methodologies for teaching climate change and environmental laws
Strengthening the capacity and networks of climate and environmental legal educators and institutions
Producing e-learning courses and supporting hybrid and online education
Building the next generation of leaders and workforce to support the green economy
Drafting Transformative Climate Change and Disaster Management Laws
Framework climate change law applying to the whole of economy and providing clear policy direction and net zero targets and setting out clear governance arrangements
Disaster management law setting out coordination mechanisms among national and sub-national entities involved in disaster response and recovery efforts
Sectoral laws and regulations, for example, in energy, transportation and building
Supporting Green Courts and Benches and Judicial Networks
Establishing and operationalizing green courts and benches and drafting environmental rules of procedures
Creating judicial certification programs on climate change and environmental laws
Supporting the Asia and the Pacific Judges Network on the Environment and Global Judicial Institute on the Environment
"If you want to change mindsets, you have to start with the law students, the science students, because they will become politicians someday, they will become officials of government. This [Developing Climate and Environmental Law Champions] technical assistance program is critical."
Gerthie Mayo-Anda Executive Director, Environmental Legal Assistance Center
"As the first publication of its kind, with a focus on judges...I offer my effusive congratulations to ADB’s extraordinary team and the distinguished co-authors of this innovative report series."
Honorable Chief Justice Antonio Herman Benjamin
President of the National High Court of Brazil (STJ) and President of the Global Judicial Institute on the Environment
In July 2025, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) published the seminal Legal Blueprint for Developing and Regulating Carbon Markets to serve as a valuable and timely knowledge resource for law and policymakers in designing national carbon market laws and regulations. Developed under ADB’s Law and Policy Reform (LPR) Program, the legal blueprint focuses on the supply side—what countries hosting carbon crediting projects need to regulate to provide legal clarity to market participants and ensure social and environmental integrity to generate high-integrity carbon credits.
Fiji is drafting a new forestry bill to replace its 1992 Forest Act—modernizing the law to provide more holistic protection to forests. With ADB’s Law and Policy Reform Program, Fijian officials are working to align the draft with domestic and international commitments, including the Climate Change Act 2021 and the Paris Agreement, and with stakeholders’ needs. In May 2025, the Ministry of Forestry and ADB held stakeholders' consultations, allowing affected communities, traditional landowners, and others to inform the final version before it reaches Parliament.
On 3 July 2025, the ADB Law and Policy Reform Program and the ADB Institute hosted a webinar entitled "Strengthening Legal Frameworks for Equitable and Sustainable Carbon Credit Implementation," the second workshop in the 3-part Carbon Markets Webinar Series.
At COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, ADB's Law and Policy Reform Program co-organized key side events on climate change, forest conservation, and judicial action. Highlights included discussions on forest finance, the Model Forest Act Initiative, and judicial perspectives on climate litigation.
The MoFAI is a groundbreaking initiative to provide a comprehensive and innovative legal blueprint for legislators, policymakers, and other stakeholders in designing a modern legal framework for the protection, conservation, restoration, and ecologically sustainable management and use of forests.
This webinar is a lecture on the teaching of Environmental Law in the context of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region by Emeritus Professor Ben Boer.
Report 3 provides holistic syntheses 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.
