The project’s objective is to confer legal capacity on the Adaptation Fund Board in Germany. The Adaptation Fund Board (AFB) is the operating entity of the Adaptation Fund, a financial mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol. The Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol decided in 2008 that the Adaptation Fund Board be conferred such legal capacity as necessary for the discharge of certain functions. Ecologic Institute provides legal expertise to the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) regarding the German offer to host the Adaptation Fund Board and the preparation of German legislation to confer legal capacity on it.

The Adaption Fund plays an important role in the UNFCCC Climate Change Convention.  The 4th Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol decided in Poznan in 2008 that the Adaptation Fund Board be conferred such legal capacity as necessary for the discharge of certain functions regarding “direct access” by developing countries to funds. The AFB is to enter into contracts with recipients and ensure compliance with project criteria and fiduciary standards. As a host country for the secretariats of the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol and regular meeting host, Germany offered to host the AFB and to confer the necessary legal capacity on it. This raises legal questions under international law and German law which have to be resolved in a consistent manner. Ecologic Institute provides legal expertise and expert advice for the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development regarding the negotiations with the AFB and the conferral and implementation of legal capacity in German law. Legal questions include  the legal status of the AFB in international law, the relationship between the AFB and Germany, the legal form of conferring legal capacity in Germany, the legal status and the scope of the rights and immunities to be conferred and the measures necessary for implementation.