Legal Opinion: International Legal Obligations of Multilateral Development Banks and their Member States in relation to Climate Change

APCEL’s Director, Dr. Jolene Lin, together with Dr. Johanna Aleria Lorenzo, recently published a legal opinion on the international legal obligations of international financial institutions financing development projects, including development banks like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, as well as the states who are major shareholders of these banks. This is the first legal opinion of its kind, and it reflects on the duties of multilateral development banks and their major shareholders to support efforts towards climate change mitigation, in making project funding decisions. Drs. Lorenzo and Lin conclude that these parties have duties under customary international law and treaties to refrain from supporting projects that do not support decarbonization or the goals of the Paris Agreement. (Note: The opinion reflects the professional views of the writers in their personal capacity.)

Read the legal opinion here.