Law of the Republic of Armenia No. HO-17-N on Climate.

The Law establishes the national legal framework for climate change mitigation and adaptation, aligning domestic policy with the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement. Governance is centralized through a high-level Climate Change Council, chaired by a Deputy Prime Minister, while the Ministry of Environment is designated as the authorized body for strategic development and international representation. The law mandates a decentralized approach, requiring regional governors and local self-government bodies to integrate climate actions into territorial strategies and five-year community development plans. The law grounds policy implementation in the principles of intergenerational justice and the "best interests of the child," requiring impact assessments for children at all stages of policy development.
Strategic planning is governed by the principle of increasing ambition, where each update of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) must reflect higher targets. The law mandates the creation of a long-term strategy for a net-zero (climate-neutral) economy and a National Adaptation Program prioritizing vulnerable sectors, including water resources, agriculture, energy, and health. To ensure fiscal transparency, the law introduces "climate budget marking," a mandatory system for identifying and classifying climate-related expenditures within state and municipal budgets to track the allocation of sustainable financial flows. Regulatory and economic control is exercised through a mandatory greenhouse gas (GHG) emission permit system for legal entities and entrepreneurs exceeding government-defined thresholds.
The law provides the legal basis for carbon pricing mechanisms, including carbon taxes and emissions trading systems, and specifically authorizes participation in international carbon markets through the transfer of mitigation results. To support this, a Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) system is instituted, comprising a biennial National GHG Inventory and a cadastre updated every two years. Compliance is enforced through mandatory annual reporting for large-scale emitters, with all data subject to quality validation and verification by accredited independent bodies. The law guarantees public access to climate information and mandates annual public reporting of results via national broadcasters. It establishes administrative liability for violations of monitoring and reporting requirements and sets a phased implementation schedule.