The Forum on Legal Issues for Adaptation to Climate Change is jointly set up by the University of Malta and the Catholic University of Leuven and is based at the University of Malta. Its mission statement is to serve as a place of discussion, continuing education and advice on developing a legal framework for adaptation to climate change in the EU and beyond. The Forum follows closely the activities of DG CLIMA in its work on adaptation to climate change.

The Forum was officially launched in the Fall 2011.

The Forum, as a legal think tank, focuses primarily on the analysis of the current sectoral EU legislation with links to adaptation. The current EU policy and legal instruments on climate change have until recently largely sidelined adaptation to climate change despite its importance to sectors such as transport, infrastructure and agriculture. The Forum’s major aim is to examine which gaps need to be addressed and where there are potential barriers and inconsistencies on legislative matters, either by revision of the current legislation or through new legislation.

The Forum aims to assisting policymakers formulate adaptation strategies, by building on the rapidly evolving research being done to promote and develop the knowledge base on:

• policy and regulatory instruments, both from horizontal and sectoral perspectives
• economic instruments in relation thereto such as insurance schemes
• institutional capacity-building requirements that secure coordination for adequate policy making and the implementation of regulatory instruments.

We achieve our objects by:

• screening of existing policies and regulatory instruments relating to adaptation to identify compatibility as well as gaps and obstacles
• advising on recommendations on legal and policy instruments to ensure the necessary climate proofing
• publishing reports, academic publications and offer any other support services and advice in relation to  the above.