PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION
| Title of Proposed Course | Climate Change and Legislative Drafting (CCLD) |
| Credential to be Awarded | NILDS-AGNES Certificate |
| Intakes | September, 2025 |
| Year of First Intake | 2025 |
| Number of Students in First Intake | 20 |
| Duration of Programme | 12 months (2 Semesters) |
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges of our time, with far-reaching consequences for the environment, human health, economic development, and national security. As the impacts of climate change intensify, it is critical for governments and institutions to implement robust legal frameworks that support mitigation, adaptation, and resilience-building efforts. Legislation plays a pivotal role in shaping national responses, aligning policies with international commitments such as the Paris Agreement, and ensuring accountability and equity in climate action. Despite increasing awareness, there remains a significant gap in the capacity of legislative drafters, policymakers, climate experts and environmental practitioners to draft effective climate-related legislation.
The few existing climate change legislations often lack coherence and are not aligned with scientific evidence or international standards failing to adequately address the multifaceted nature of climate change. Some climate change legislations exhibit overlapping and conflicting mandates significantly impeding the implementation of the legislation’s provisions and objects. Recognizing the critical role of legislation in combating climate change, the Programme is conceptualized to bridge the gap by equipping participants with the interdisciplinary knowledge and practical skills required to craft well-informed and enforceable legislations. It provides a platform for building capacity in legislative drafting specifically tailored to climate change challenges by focusing on the practical aspects of translating climate change policies into legal texts, ensuring that laws are clear, concise, and effective, drawing expertise from law, environmental science, and public policy, providing a holistic understanding of climate change and its legal implications.
Mission
To bridge the gap between climate science, policy, and law by fostering a multidisciplinary understanding of climate change, enhancing technical capacity in legislative drafting, and promoting legal frameworks that support climate resilience.
Rationale
Effective legal instruments are crucial for implementing mitigation and adaptation measures. Sound climate legislation and policies require much research and preparation, and priorities and opportunities which take very different forms in different parts of the world. The pre-existing legal framework, relevant development indicators, population density, among other factors, are all important factors in shaping law-making requirements and opportunities. Capacity-building for government officials and legislators is also worth investing in, and parliaments should consider engaging specialist focal points to monitor the technical aspects. In this regard, there is a growing need for specialized legal professionals who can effectively translate climate change policies into effective legal frameworks with competence in legislative drafting.
Target Group
The target audience for the course include professionals, students, and stakeholders interested in the intersection of climate policy and legislative processes which include:
- Environmental lawyers and legal practitioners
- Legislative Drafters
- Public policy experts
- Government officials and legislators
- Climate Scientists, researchers and environmental consultants
- NGO Workers involved in environmental advocacy
- Academics and students in environmental studies or law
- Private sector professionals
- International development professionals
Aims of the Course
To equip participants and strengthen legal capacity in addressing climate change through well-crafted legislation through interdisciplinary knowledge that integrates climate policy and legislative drafting.
Goal
To provide well-grounded foundation about the concepts of drafting and the role of law in climate governance, develop capacity on the principles and techniques of legislative drafting with a focus on climate-related laws and regulations, and promote good legislative practices that are coherence, and inclusive, in the context of climate change.
Learning Objectives
- Participants to demonstrate improved legislative drafting skills and understanding of principles and best practices in legislative drafting.
- Trained participants to contribute and participate in the development, formulation and amendment of climate laws, policies and regulations
- Trained participants to apply learned analytical and drafting skills in legislative drafts or policy proposals.
Expected Outcomes
By the end of the course, participants will be expected to:
- Demonstrate understanding of climate change science, policy, and legal frameworks.
- Display skills in legislative drafting that promotes sustainability, climate justice, and resilience.
- Illustrate knowledge of comparative legislative approaches from different jurisdictions.
- Exemplify skills in the alignment national laws with international environmental obligations
Content
The content of the CCLD course is organised in eight (8) Units that will be delivered in 2 semesters as indicated:
Unit 1: Introduction to Climate Change
Unit 2: Policy and Legal Frameworks of Climate Change
Unit 3: Comparative Legislative Studies
Unit 4: Legislative Drafting 1 (Fundamentals and Principles)
Unit 5: Legislative Drafting 2 (Common errors in drafting and best practices)
Unit 6: Legislative Processes and Public Consultation
Unit 7: Legal Research Methods
Unit 8: Legal Dissertation (at least 20,000 words)
Admission Requirements
The course will admit practitioners or professionals in the area of environmental law, legal practice, climate policy, and public policy. These include:
- Postgraduate and graduates in relevant field
- Qualified corporate employees who want to expand their career opportunities in climate change legislation and drafting.
Mode of Delivery
The certificate course programme will be accessed through on-campus (in-person) mode of delivery. Candidates are expected to attend scheduled lectures, workshops, seminars with hands-on learning, peer interaction, and networking opportunities, in-person.
Assessment
The CCLD course will have three levels of assessment as described:
- Continuous Assessment Test (CAT)
- Oral presentation – 20%
- Essay Writing – 20%
- Final Examination – 60%
The overall total assessment grade will be 100%.