The 2002 Act forms the basis of environmental legislation in Vanuatu andfocuses on four main areas:
- Administration
- Environmental impact assessments
- Biodiversity
- Bio-prospecting laws and community conservation areas (CCAs)

The Amendment Act makes a number of important changes directly relevant to climate change.It includes a definition of climate change ('a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods', page 3), adds the concept of ecosystem services and processes to the Act, and applies the precautionary principle to any decision made regarding the environment that may risk human health or threaten damage to the environment. It also specifies that any decision made under the terms of the Act must be guided by consideration of climate change adaptation and mitigation issues.

The Act requires that the director of the department responsible for the environment must include in their Environmental Registry a climate change database in joint co-ordination with the National Advisory Committee on Climate Change. It also requires that the National State of the Environment Report, published at least once every 10 years, must include a description of national climate change activities, impacts and issues. It requires that climatic considerations and issues be incorporated into any National Policy for the conservation, sustainable development and management of the environment. Further, it specifically identifies climate mitigation as a critical ecosystem service that may be provided by sites of national biodiversity significance and enables the Minister to make any regulations necessary to uphold Vanuatu's obligations under the UNFCCC for climate change adaptation and mitigation.

It establishes an Environmental Trust Fund, funded by penalties and bonds, which is to fund research, environmental rehabilitation, monitoring and analysis, management of community conservation areas, and as required for the protection and conservation of the environment.It also makes several amendments to enforcement provisions, environmental impact assessment procedures, bio-prospecting processes, and details of what constitutes an offence (and the associated punishments) under the 2002 Act.

The Environmental Management and Conservation Act No. 12 as amended by The Environmental Management and Conservation (Amendment) Act No. 28

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Environmental Management and Conservation Act No.12 of 2002 (Consolidated Edition 2004)

Passed/Approved

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Compulsory, required payments to the government that are levied more-or-less in proportion to the services provided. Fees and charges range from entrance fees to national parks, charges on land-based sewage discharge.

Zoning and spatial planning are both methods for guiding the distribution of people and activities in a space, and are regulatory restriction.

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Actions to reduce emissions in energy generation and supply.

Terrestrial means "of the earth" and relates to the risks to ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions within land-based environments, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts.

Heat extracted from the ground, usually in the form of hot water or steam and typically referred to as hydrothermal fluid.

People with different national or cultural traditions from the dominant population

Social and cultural groups that share collective ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources where they live, occupy or from which they have been displaced

This sector involves managing waste treatment, sanitation, pollution control and environmental cleanup.

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

This sector involves the wholesale and retail selling of goods.

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

Activities of businesses and institutions that provide financial services and products to individuals and organisations.

the fair distribution of risks and opportunities of climate change and the transition to a regenerative economy, cognisant in particular of disproportionate impacts on vulnerable communities and the working class

Procedural justice means ensuring that decision making is safe, transparent and inclusive, emphasizing the agency and influence of vulnerable groups and those most impacted.

Climate change can have a range of impacts on technological system. Extreme weather events can cause infrastructure failures like power outages or damage to roads and bridges, as well as the impacts from waste following natural disasters. Human activities also cause technological impacts, such as the risks posed by oil spillage and leaks.

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

Environmental Management and Conservation Act No.12 of 2002 (Consolidated Edition 2004)

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Climate justice

Renewable energy

Economic sector

Finance