Climate change-related laws and policies refer to legal documents related to reducing energy demand, promoting low carbon energy supply, low-carbon buildings, carbon pricing, lower industry emissions, tackling deforestation and promoting sustainable land use, other mitigation efforts, research and development, sustainable transportation, enhancing adaptation capabilities, and natural disaster risk management. The dataset only included laws and policies that have been passed by legislative branches or published by executive branches, and that are no longer in draft form. The dataset also captures major amendments to legislation. Laws that are outdated, either because they have been repealed, replaced, or reversed, are not included.
The database distinguishes between Laws or legislative acts (e.g. acts, laws, decree-laws), which were passed by a parliament or equivalent legislative authority, and Policies, or other executive provisions (e.g. presidential decrees, executive orders, regulations, government policies, strategies, or plans), which were published or decreed by the government, president, or equivalent executive authority.