Climate Change and Development: The Fundamental Role of Law

Climate Change is a major geo-political challenge. In December 2009, an unprecedented number of heads of state met at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Despite this personal attention and the resulting Copenhagen Accord, the divide between developed and developing nations has grown. It is critical that, through the next year on the road to Mexico, this divide be bridged.

Potential donor and recipient countries have confirmed that an enabling legal environment, underpinned by good governance, is a prerequisite for the vital contribution of developing countries to adopting a sustainable development pathway. Without the rule of law and good governance, developing countries will not realize the benefits of the international climate regime such as funding for adaptation or the development of a low-carbon economy by full participation in the carbon market. While donor countries contribute to a plethora of disparate climate initiatives, they note that insufficient attention is being given to the legal and governance foundations that link and support existing initiatives. More attention must be given to providing such support so that the promised climate change assistance can be absorbed.

The IDLO Legal Preparedness for Climate Change Initiative (LPCCI) aims to ensure the meaningful participation of developing countries in the mechanisms created by the international regime while supporting the development of a legal environment that promotes adaptation.

The LPCCI is a unique methodology that will systematically identify legal and governance barriers, recommend, and implement consensus-based solutions tailored uniquely for each recipient country for: adaptation, mitigation by participation in international mitigation schemes, and access to international climate funding.

IDLO is working towards the creation of the LPCCI Trust Fund, a multi-donor trust fund established with the express purpose of funding LPCCI activities.

Download the Legal Preparedness for Climate Initiative Flyer

Natural Resources
The current climate and energy crises are inducing important changes in the management of natural resources, which could have significant implications on the livelihoods of indigenous and local communities in developing countries.

Avoiding Deforestation in Aceh: Land, Resource Rights and Local Communities
This project is strengthening the institutional, policy, legal and regulatory framework relating to natural resource management, land use change and forestry, as well as protecting indigenous and local communities’ land and resource access and rights.

Water
Access to clean water is a human right. Yet more than 2.6 billion people—some 40 percent of the world’s population—lack basic sanitation facilities and more than 1.1 billion people have no access to a safe water supply.
IDLO conducts Water Resource Management Programs, exploring the legal status of water as a fundamental resource for human life, agriculture, social, economic and ecologically sustainable development.