Incorporating Climate Change Mitigation Obligations from the Paris Agreement into Zambia’s Environmental Management Act No. 12 of 2011: A Critical Legal Analysis

Abstract

This dissertation examines the extent to which Zambia’s Environmental Management Act No. 12 of 2011 incorporates climate change mitigation obligations arising from the Paris Agreement. Zambia ratified the Paris Agreement in 2016 and is thereby obligated to undertake domestic measures aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting global temperature increases. However, the Environmental Management Act No 12 of 2011, which serves as Zambia’s principal environmental statute, was enacted prior to the adoption of the Paris Agreement and does not expressly address climate change mitigation obligations. This raises a fundamental question as to whether the Act adequately implements Zambia’s international climate commitments. The research employs a doctrinal legal methodology through desktop analysis of primary and secondary legal materials, including the Environmental Management Act, the Paris Agreement, the Green Economy and Climate Change Act No. 18 of 2024, and relevant academic literature on international climate law and domestic environmental regulation. The study analyses provisions of the Environmental Management Act relating to pollution control, environmental impact assessment, institutional regulation and environmental standards, and evaluates their adequacy in implementing mitigation obligations under the Paris Agreement. The study finds that while the Environmental Management Act contains provisions that indirectly support climate mitigation through environmental protection, pollution control and environmental impact assessment mechanisms, it lacks express provisions addressing greenhouse gas emissions, carbon reduction obligations, and implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions. Consequently, the Act does not constitute a comprehensive legal framework for implementing Zambia’s mitigation obligations under the Paris Agreement. The study further finds that institutional fragmentation, limited financial resources and inadequate technical capacity continue to weaken effective implementation of climate mitigation obligations in Zambia. The enactment of the Green Economy and Climate Change Act No. 18 of 2024 represents a significant legislative development that addresses many of the gaps identified within the Environmental Management Act by expressly domesticating obligations under the Paris Agreement. Notwithstanding this development, this dissertation concludes that Zambia requires comprehensive legal reforms, institutional strengthening, financing mechanisms and dedicated climate legislation that explicitly integrates mitigation targets, monitoring mechanisms and enforceable compliance standards in order to fully implement its obligations under the Paris Agreement.