Many countries have adopted legal provisions that prioritise mitigation through long term greenhouse gas emissions targets, often a commitment to reach net zero emissions in or around mid-century. Such targets act as an important reference point for action internally, in addition to demonstrating alignment to global climate goals. In some cases, countries may aim for related but distinct goals such as climate neutrality or carbon neutrality .

Some countries have introduced narratives that connect climate change to broader national agendas, for example commitments to switching the socioeconomic environment toward a low carbon development model and prioritising green growth.

Legislation can also recognise and set principles to maximise local socioeconomic co-benefits of mitigation actions, particularly improvements in public health due to improved air quality.

Many countries have legislation that recognises the need for climate change adaptation, and identifies this as a key national priority. Some legislation may require the development of national adaptation goals and policy processes to meet these.

This can include provisions identifying climate resilience as a key national priority, and imposing duties relating to Disaster Risk Management (DRM) or Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).

The need to protect public health and the right to a healthy environment are sometimes explicitly identified as a core element of the broader resilience agenda.

Laws may recognise the role of healthy ecosystems and biodiversity in increasing resilience to climate impacts, placing the protection of these systems as a top priority.

On top of provisions centering adaptation and resilience, legislation should be explicit about how it seeks to combine adaptation and mitigation strategies. Such integration creates synergies, may avoid mitigation actions that exacerbate vulnerabilities, and may help advance sustainable development for everyone.

Legislation may recognise that climate action is necessary for the protection and promotion of human rights, and that such action must be aligned with human rights principles.

Many countries include recognise the need to prioritise the protection of groups in vulnerable situations, notably women and girls, youth and indigenous communities, within the context of climate change and in the development of climate change responses.

It is increasingly critical that legislation includes principles relating to the just transition , ensuring the inclusion of political and policy imperatives to minimise the harmful impacts and maximize the positive benefits of industrial and economic transitions on communities and societies. Some countries do this through the explicit recongition of labour rights , i.e the protection of workers and the right to a decent job, in the context of climate action.

Lawmakers often explicitly identify the protection of future generations as one goal of climate action, on the moral basis of intergenerational justice.

In country contexts where policies regarding the land use sector will be a critical part of the climate response, policymakers should recognise the importance of land rights. This may include protections for community land tenure , and indigenous land rights , as well as other forms of legal protection for rural communities.

Particularly in dualist countries it is important that national legislation explicitly aligns with the Paris Agreement and UNFCCC processes, incorporating these into domestic legal systems. This sends important signals to the international community about a country's commitment to climate action.

Countries may explicitly context the climate action agenda to the broader goal of advancing the Sustainable Development Goals in their national climate laws.

Many countries' climate laws include provisions mandating the creation of inter-agency bodies on climate change, or requiring regular meetings on climate issues by sectoral authorities. In some cases bodies and meetings may be chaired by the president or head of state, while in others the ministry of environment or climate change may be designated the convening body.

Framework laws may establish a national climate change authority or climate change department, with a mandate to coordinate climate action in national policy-processes.

In order to enable effective coordination between state entities, some legislation creates provisions requiring the sharing climate-relevant information and data between institutions. This can be horizontal information sharing between secotral ministeries and vertical information sharing between national and sub-national levels. Such data sharing can also help create mutual accountability between entities, and may be accompanied by requirements to publish the data more broadly.

Multi-level governance is critical to addressing the climate challenge. Laws often contain provisions to define the role of subnational levels of government in developing and implementing climate policy. In some cases subnational levels may require a mandate to act on climate issues, or provisions may focus on support to be received from central government. Processes for coordinating between actions at the national and subnational level may also be created.

Laws may create dedicated climate funds, and specifying domestic and international sources of finance, and setting out criteria for the governance of and access to the funds.

Ministries of finance have a key role to play in climate action. Laws can create the mandates needed for such ministries to factor climate action into core activities, as well as introducing processes for integrating climate issues into national budgets

Some laws contain new mandates imposing climate-related obligations on exisiting sectoral government departments or agencies, with the goal of mainstreaming climate action throughout the economy.

Legislation may require the amendment of sectoral or environmental laws, including Environmental Impact Assessments, to take into account climate-related issues.

Laws can mainstream climate change into the daily business of government officials by requiring government bodies to reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions or to consider climate change issues when making decisions on procurement and spending.

Many countries have created independent advisory bodies to provide scientific advice and scrutiny of climate policy processes. Membership of these bodies is often controlled by the legislation, and requirements may comprise scientists and academics, traditional knowledge holders, and representatives of other key stakeholder groups.

To better understand the impacts of climate change, laws frequently mandate the regular assessment of climate risk and vulnerability. Risk and vulnerability assessments may be national or subnational in scope and may require engagement with the private sector.

Many climate laws provide for the creation of a national greenhouse gas emissions inventory, to provide the necessary baselines for monitoring progress on mitigation action.

Some laws introduce provisions aimed at capacity-building for public sector actors to ensure they are well equipped to consider climate issues in decision-making.

Public participation is key to successful climate policy. Some countries have created new institutions related to participation, such as citizens assemblies or other deliberative processes. These mechanisms should ensure inclusivity and accessibility, e.g. stable mechanisms like advisory bodies. The ILO has also called for insitutions dedicated to tripartite social dialogue , to ensure just transitions. To date such bodies have been created in parallel to climate framework laws but lawmakers may wish to consider introducing them within or alongside framework laws.

In addition to new institutions, laws may specify processes and timelines with regard to stakeholder consultations and inclusive policy processes. In some instances, this may also include processes for consulting with indigenous groups.

Laws should ensure access to information, which should be effective and time-constrained, and specify recourse for stakeholders where access is withheld.

Binding long term emissions targets or a duty to set binding emissions reduction targets, can be used to build confidence in long term visions for governmental action as well as making sure national climate policy is aligned with objectives set out in the NDCs.

Interim emissions targets for 2030, 2035 or 2040, or a duty to set such targets, help to improve the credibility of long term mitigation targets by making sure that governments set out the necessary policies over realistic policy cycles. They are also crucial to meeting UNFCCC requirements with regard to the urgency of taking action.

Sectoral emissions targets, or a duty to set targets, help to operationalise climate action across the economy.

The creation of carbon budgets, often set on a five-yearly basis, are a helpful benchmark to disaggregate longer-term targets and allocate efforts to specific sectors explicitly.

Emissions reductions and emissions removals are complementary but distinct solutions. In order to effectively mitigate climate change, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions should be prioritised and removals used only where absolutely necessary. Setting a fixed cap on the degree to which removals can be used to meet climate targets can prevent overreliance on removals.

Most emissions reduction targets are expressed in terms of carbon dioxide equivalent, however countries with diverse sources of greenhouse gas emissions, particulaly those with economies that are highly reliant on the land use sector, can create separate targets for different types of greenhouse gases. This may be particularly helpful for countries that have high methane emissions.

Long-term (10 years+) economy-wide plans and strategies should be created in order to set the goals and operationalise mitigation and resilience agendas.

Specific strategies should also be created to enshrine mitigation and resilience policies into key areas/sectors, for example energy, transport and the environment.

Strategies should also be developed to cover reductions or limitations on non-CO2 GHGs including methane, short-lived climate pollutants, HFCs, PFCs, N2O and SF6. These gases all represent a non-negligible share of anthropogenic GHG emissions, and their mitigation would help mitigate climate change more quickly, and for some of them, generate local-cobenefits such as improved air quality. Some countries have separate strategies under development to account for the different impacts of different gases.

To be effective, long-term planning must be complemented by the regular production/revision of short-term economy-wide climate plans. These will often be designed to ensure that carbon budgets and short term emissions reduction targets are met. Plans should be transparent about any assumptions made around whether policies will be sufficient to achieve the targets.

Short-term planning and adaptive management of policy processes should be aligned with UNFCCC cycles including Nationally Determined Contributions.

Carbon pricing systems, including carbon taxes/levies and emissions trading schemes, can incentivise private entities to mitigate their emissions efficiently.

Well-calibrated climate-related fiscal incentives and subsidies, as well as disincentives and tariffs, are also effective at perauading companies and individuals to reduce their emissions.

Innovative climate solutions, and new technologies in particular, often need to be granted dedicated financial support to faciliate research and development (R&D). Policymakers should note that some countries have introdued a broader suite of measures to promote the development and uptake of new technologies, including at their most ambitious mandates to phase out the sale of certain technologies such as internal combusion enginge vehicles (sometimes called zero emission vehicle mandates). Such measures are not typically introduced through framework laws.

Some laws impose obligations on financial market actors regarding the assessment of climate risk and the allocation of capital.

Countries may wish to introduce legal provisions to ensure the integrity of innovative finance instruments such as green bonds.

Research has shown that stopping the extraction of fossil fuels is paramount to attain the warming objectives of the Paris Agremeent. Curbing the production of fossil fuels can notably be decided ex ante by instituting moratoria and bans.

Regulatory agencies may develop limits and caps on greenhouse gases from certain forms of activity.

Some countries have adopted requirements for large companies to take specific action on climate change, including alinging corporate transition plans with national and international climate goals.

Marine and terrestrial protected areas play (or could play) an essential role with regard to adaptation and mitigation, for example by hampering coastal erosion or by storing carbon. To maximise these benefits, their creation or enhancement should be linked to climate objectives.

Legislation should also tackle degraded land through the creation of ecosystem restoration programmes, which can be designed to enhance the carbon sink capacity of eco-systems. In some cases legislation may include systems of payment for ecosystem services and associated property rights.

Climate-related topics should be integrated into school curricula and/or public education programmes.

Climate laws may include provisions aimed at developing green skills among the aspiring and existing workforce.

Climate-related information could be diffused to wider audiences to expand climate-conscious behaviours. The law can for example mandate the creation of dedicated labelling on products such as food and consumer goods.

Early warning systems play a key role in avoiding losses and fatalities from extreme events. There could be provisions to create such systems.

To help stakeholders future proof their decisions, legal provisions could mandate the diffusion of information about climate-related risks, including climate-related financial risks.Such provisions are often introduced through separate legislation but may be included in framework laws.

Laws may include provisions relating to Article 6.8 of the Paris Agreement, i.e. regarding the pursuance of voluntary cooperation between parties on the implementation of the NDCs to allow for higher ambition.

Laws may also include provisions relating to market-based cooperative approaches of Article 6.2 and Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement.

Lawmakers should require regular monitoring, reporting, and verification of greenhouse gas emissions and other forms of progress reporting by the government actors. This is a critical basis for accountability for climate action

Where obligations are imposed on the private sector as part of the climate law, corresponding monitoring, reporting and verification obligations may be introduced.

Lawmakers should ensure alignment of domestic provisions with the reporting obligations of the Paris Agreement (UNFCCC processes) including the Enhanced Transparency Framework .

Creating independent oversight bodies or granting advisory bodies oversight functions would be an effective way of enabling oversight. Independence should also be ensured. For example there should be a code of conduct for employees working in these institutions/bodies; accountability, transparency and openness as guiding principles of the public sector action and conduct; public oversight through complaint procedures, and protection against retaliation.

Provisions mandating for parliamentary oversight of government climate policy and commitments could also be created, acknowledging the key checks and balances role that the legislative power can play with regard to climate policy. Various tools can be used by parliaments to exercise oversight, such as hearings, interpellation, committees of inquiry and audit institutions.

In parallel, lawmakers could set the framework around judicial oversight of government action to meet targets set out in legislation. Legal avenues for climate litigation could also be defined.

Lawmakers may wish to consider setting a system to resolve disputes without trial, including through Alternative Dispute Resolution processes. Such processes may be helpful in ensuring access to justice.

Laws may specify corrective actions to be taken in the event that a government body is found to have failed to meet targets or comply with legislative requirements.

Enforcement agencies and bodies may be granted with the responsibility to enforce climate action obligations, and investigate any alleged breach. A range of financial and non-financial sanctions could also be defined.