This study covers national laws and policies directly related to climate change mitigation and adaptation, across 99 countries.

It looks at those passed before 1 January 2015 and covers 33 developed and 66 developing countries; 32 Annex-I and 67 non-Annex-I countries. Taken together, the study countries produce 93 per cent of world emissions, including 46 of the world’s top 50 emitters. They are home to 90 per cent of the world’s forests.

The definition of climate and climate-related laws used in the study reflects the relevance of climate policy for a wide range of areas, including energy, transport, land use and climate resilience. The authors focus on climate action at the national level, although they recognise the crucial importance of sub-national initiatives at the state, provincial and municipal level.