From Law to Carbon: How Legal Origin Influences Environmental Policy and CO2 Emissions?

Abstract

This study examines whether historical legal traditions continue to influence contemporary environmental policy and carbon emission outcomes. Using data from the OECD Climate Actions and Policies Measurement Framework (CAPMF) and the World Bank’s World Development Indicators for 50 countries over 1990–2023, this analysis applies ANOVA and post hoc tests to assess differences in climate policy stringency and CO2 emissions across four major legal families: Common Law, French Civil Law, German Civil Law, and Scandinavian Law. The findings reveal that legal origin significantly affects the stringency of sectoral and cross-sectoral climate policies, particularly after 2006, when international climate commitments intensified. Scandinavian and German Law countries demonstrate stronger adoption of market-based instruments and achieve substantially lower emissions, while Common Law systems display weaker policy stringency and higher CO2 levels. Differences in non-market regulations and international policy measures are statistically insignificant, indicating convergence driven by global governance frameworks. Overall, the results confirm that legal origin remains a meaningful determinant of environmental performance through its impact on institutional design and policy implementation mechanisms. However, in the case of Scandinavian legal origin, it is worth making an adjustment for the composition of the group of countries more than for the legal tradition. This study contributes to the debate on institutional persistence by linking legal heritage to the dynamics of climate governance and decarbonization pathways.