As a financing method providing financial support for environmental protection, debt-for-nature swaps (DFNS) have been implemented for nearly forty years. DFNS have covered marine protected areas (MPAs) in four countries since 2015. Although extensive literature discusses the various issues surrounding DFNS, only some researchers have connected the topics of DFNS and MPAs to evaluate the performance of implementing DFNS for financing MPAs. This paper contributes to filling this gap by analyzing the performance of the DFNS for financing MPAs from economic, legal, and environmental aspects by case studies from Seychelles and Belize. It aims to find an answer to the research question of whether the implementation of DFNS is a viable option for financing MPAs by exploring the current performance and discussing the future development of implementing the DFNS for MPAs. The DFNS has played a positive role in establishing MPAs in Seychelles and Belize by providing stable financial support for MPAs and improving the debt sustainability of debtor countries to some extent. However, there are various barriers from a legal perspective in reaching a swap agreement, ensuring the effective implementation of the agreement, and improving the transparency construction. With the trend of increasing scale and amount of debt relief and funding, the DFNS is expected to play an important role in promoting the establishment of MPAs, realizing the economic benefits, and having a satisfactory performance by legal measures. It concludes that with the transparency construction of information disclosure, special legislation on DFNS, an appropriate scale of debt for conversion determined by considering the debt sustainability, an adaptation to the innovation of the contractual approach of sovereign debt restructuring, and complementary assistance from different levels, the implementation of DFNS can be a viable option for financing MPAs.

The carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS) has become one of the most important and universal measures adopted to mitigate climate change. As the largest emitter and a major developing country, China is also preparing for the introduction of a mandatory cap-and-trade pilot scheme. This article takes a close look at the ETS for China from a legal perspective. If China is to have a new carbon market, that market will undoubtedly need to have a legal basis. The following three central pillars of the legal basis for a cap-and-trade programme are analysed under China's legislative framework: first, the government should have power to set limits on the total amount of certain greenhouse gas (GHG); second, the regulated entities must be under obligation to reduce emissions; and third, the participating entities should have legitimate interests of legal right to emit certain amounts of GHG. It can be found that policy and principle of carbon trading in China are clear and definite, but the legal basis and legal support for operating the carbon market are quite obscure. Without explicit legal provisions and prudent regulatory authority, it is doubtful that emissions trading can be successfully applied to address climate change.

Purpose: Legislation plays an essential role in addressing climate change in China. However, many barriers to formulating national legislation to address climate change have so far prevented its enactment. The bottom-up approach adopted in the international climate regime sets a good example. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the regional legislation to address climate change in China through exploring the following two questions: whether it is necessary to enact climate change legislation at regional level first and whether it is feasible to develop such regional legislation in the absence of national climate change law. Design/methodology/approach: This paper analyses the necessity and feasibility of regional legislation to address climate change. Section 2 introduces the current legislative framework on climate change in China. Section 3 investigates whether it is better to push the legislative agenda at regional, rather than national level. Section 4 analyses the feasibility of establishing regional legislative systems. Section 5 explores the key issues in formulating and promoting regional legislation. Findings: This paper concludes that it is necessary and feasible to pilot regional legislation before enacting national legislation. Under these circumstances, local governments can take the initiative to begin formulating regional legislation. Originality/value: Addressing climate change needs immediate action and effective measures. It is, thus, necessary to reconsider the approach that China should adopt when developing legislation on climate change. This paper contributes to broadening current knowledge of regional climate change legislation in China.