This presentation, prepared by LRI in the context of an ecbi workshop in March 2025, introduces the role of international law in the UNFCCC process, explaining the treaty-making process, sources and characteristics of international environmental law, the legal nature of climate treaties, and the mechanisms for compliance under the UN climate regime.
11 March 2025
All reasonable efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of this information at the time the advice was produced (please refer to the date produced below). However, the materials have been prepared for informational purposes only and may have been superseded by more recent developments. They do not constitute formal legal advice or create a lawyer-client relationship. You should seek legal advice to take account of your own interests. To the extent permitted any liability is excluded. Those consulting the database may wish to contact LRI for clarifications and an updated analysis.
Explore similar content
The UNFCCC and Paris Agreement and the question of lex specialis
This advice considers the advisory opinions on climate change and how they have dealt with the question of whether the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement are lex specialis. It provides the arguments of the courts and tribunals in concluding that international legal obligations with respect to climate change must be drawn from different sources of international law, and that the most directly relevant applicable law consists of most directly relevant applicable law consists of various treaties, customary duties and principles.
20 March 2026
Legal bindingness of "Nationally determined contributions"
1. Are there examples of international agreements that "meld not legally binding at the international level with an approach that emphasizes...
4 April 2014
Enforceability of US NDC in US courts
What legal standing does the US INDC/NDC, and in particular the overall economy-wide target of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 26%-...
24 January 2017