Assessment of Malawi Legislation through the Urban Law Module of the Law and Climate Change Toolkit SUMMARY REPORT

UN-Habitat, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Regional Programme Energy Security and Climate Change in Sub-Saharan Africa (KAS), and the University of Michigan (United States of America), through the project on Urban Law for Resilient and Low Carbon Urban Development in Malawi, Namibia, and Zimbabwe, were able to assess the capacity of climate laws and policies in Malawi to adapt to climate change.

The assessment was done through the UN-Habitat Urban Law Module of the Law and Climate Change Toolkit – an innovative online tool designed to help countries establish legal frameworks necessary for the effective domestic implementation of the Paris Agreement. This was based on the five key performance indicators namely: i) governance framework for urban and climate planning; ii) urban and territorial planning; iii) urban planning and design for adaptation; iv) urban planning and design for mitigation; and v) economic and non-economic instruments for climate-friendly urban planning. It is hoped that this assessment and the impending climate law reform will be instrumental in fulfilling the potential of urban areas in Malawi to lead the way and be truly transformative spaces for climate action.