The implications of withdrawal are more intricate than what people have been fixating on so far.

In the wake of the decision by the Trump administration to withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate agreement, several questions have emerged about what withdrawal means for environmental policy, research and innovation.

A new online database is tracking climate change legislation around the world. The tool was launched this week in a joint effort by the Sabin Center for Change Law and the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.

Climate change is a destabilizing force that touches all sectors of society, whether agriculture, forestry, infrastructure, energy, water or health. The inherently intertwined and complex nature of climate change impacts means that strong institutions, laws and policies are critical to ensuring that these impacts don’t impinge on the rights of local populations. Key among these institutions, laws and policies are those that deal with land and resource governance.

The Paris Climate Agreement officially goes into effect Nov. 4. But it will take much more to achieve its goals. Legal challenges could well provide one way for individuals, civil society and governments to support and reinforce global action on climate change.

The Paris Climate Agreement officially goes into effect Nov. 4. But it will take much more to achieve its goals. Legal mechanisms could well provide one way for individuals, civil society and governments to support and reinforce global action on climate change.

“We can and should develop other agreements that ask countries to coordinate their actions rather than to reduce their emissions voluntarily. Countries are good at coordination, and not so good at volunteering to act in their collective interests.”

On Oct. 5, several small mountain countries with glaciers—Austria, Bolivia, and Nepal—undertook an important step in advancing global action on climate change. They helped the Paris Climate Agreement reach the threshold to enter into force and become legally binding.

The need to adapt to the current impact of climate change is already obvious in many cities and work is already underway to make cities more resilient to extreme weather events. New York City has begun to implement a resiliency plan that will cost at least $20 billion over the next decade.