Publications & resources
Law & Climate Atlas - United States
As the world’s largest economy and second largest emitter, the United States has significant impact on global greenhouse gas emissions and trends in climate change science and policy. US commitment to effective climate regulation is critical to international environmental efforts, considering its capacity to foster innovation and growth in green technologies and decarbonization.
View allLaw and Climate Atlas - Brazil
Brazil is at the heart of the fight against climate change. Climate change poses a significant risk to the Amazon Rainforest, threatening its biodiversity and the communities which it supports. Brazil can play a unique role in mitigating climate change through deploying nature-based solutions, but must also address emissions from key economic sectors driven by land use and extraction.
View allLaw & Climate Atlas - European Union
The European Union has long played a leading role in the development of climate law and policy, with an increasingly comprehensive legal framework supporting the transition to a climate-neutral economy. Its climate objectives now shape a wide range of areas of law and regulation, with implications both within and beyond the EU.
View allLaw and Climate Atlas - United Kingdom
Historically, the United Kingdom has been regarded as a leader in climate legislation, as exemplified by the commitments set out in the Climate Change Act 2008. In 2019, the UK was the first major economy to pass laws to end its contribution to global warming by 2050. With climate action reflected in the government agenda, developments in climate law continue to help the UK deliver its climate commitments.
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Transitioning Laws: Accounting for the Impact of Climate-Related Laws
The Transitioning Laws report aims to support greater compliance with the IFRS Accounting Standards and the delivery of financial statements that provide a complete picture of how Transition Laws affect a company’s balance sheet.
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Event Recording: Corporate responsibility - Business and human rights in climate disputes
This session will examine the evolving legal landscape where climate-related claims intersect with human rights and corporate responsibilities. Speakers include Dr. Ekaterina Aristova (University of Oxford), Gabrielle Galdino-Glaeser (Baker McKenzie), Roger Leese (Clifford Chance), and Ernst Müller (Herbert Smith Freehills).
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Explainer - Carbon Markets and the Paris Agreement
Everything you need to know about Article 6 of the Paris Agreement — including how it underpins compliance and voluntary carbon markets, and why it matters for international cooperation, emissions trading, and high-integrity climate action.
View allThe Climate Change Legal Knowledge Hub
The Climate Change Legal Knowledge Hub provides access to 160+ resources that firms can use to build the climate change capability of all staff, including lawyers and professional support teams . To explore this resource, please click on the link below.
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National Climate Law Explainer
Many countries around the world have instituted legal frameworks to help them achieve their climate change targets (domestic and international) and transition their economies to net zero. This explainer, “Credible Climate Governance”, breaks down the core components that are critical to a framework’s success.
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Failure to act on climate change violates human rights: the KlimaSeniorinnen case
On 9 April 2024 the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) handed down its judgment in Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz v Switzerland (KlimaSeniorinnen), finding that Switzerland violated the applicants' rights under Articles 6 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention) by failing to take adequate measures to mitigate climate change and the effect of global warming.
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Framework for Net Zero Alignment
The Framework for Net Zero Alignment (“Framework”) provides guidance on the steps that commercial law firms (“firms”) can take to reduce their own greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions, manage firm climate-related risks and unlock opportunities to facilitate the global transition to net zero. The Framework recognises the unique skills and positioning of commercial lawyers to accelerate the transition in ways that go far beyond value chain mitigation.
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Explainer - IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report
This explainer is a summary of the IPCC Synthesis Report which is based on the content of the three Working Groups Assessment Reports: WGI – The Physical Science Basis, WGII – Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, WGIII – Mitigation of Climate Change, and the three Special Reports: Global Warming of 1.5°C, Climate Change and Land, The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate.
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Aligning International Trade Law with the Goals of the Paris Agreement
In an increasingly economically interdependent world, robust cross-border legal frameworks facilitate international trade and investment. UNCITRAL plays a vital role in progressing the harmonisation and modernisation of international trade law by preparing and promoting the use and adoption of legislative and non-legislative instruments as key areas of commercial law.
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