Loss and Damage
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| Loss and Damage | |
|---|---|
| Name | Loss and Damage |
| Region | Global |
| Related | Climate change, Disaster risk |
| Established | 1991 (international mention) |
Loss and Damage
Loss and Damage is a term used in international climate discourse describing harms from climate-related events and processes, addressed by negotiators, scholars, and practitioners across forums such as United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Conference of the Parties, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Green Climate Fund, and Warsaw International Mechanism. Advocates including representatives from Alliance of Small Island States, Least Developed Countries, Group of 77, Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America, and civil society organizations such as Greenpeace, Oxfam International, and World Wildlife Fund have sought finance, technical support, and legal recognition through venues like COP19, COP21, and COP27. Policymakers from United States Department of State, European Commission, Government of India, Government of China, and regional bodies such as African Union and Association of Southeast Asian Nations engage scientists, insurers, and development banks including World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and European Investment Bank to operationalize responses.
Definition and Scope
Loss and Damage pertains to measurable and non‑measurable impacts from climate hazards discussed by actors including Antonio Guterres, Christiana Figueres, Patricia Espinosa, Nicholas Stern, and institutions like Stockholm Environment Institute, World Resources Institute, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and United Nations Development Programme. The scope spans sudden events such as Hurricane Katrina, Typhoon Haiyan, Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami and slow‑onset processes exemplified by Sahel droughts, Aral Sea desiccation, and Greenland ice sheet melt, with ramifications for communities represented by Pacific Islands Forum, Caribbean Community, and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change authors. Definitions draw on legal and policy texts from Paris Agreement, UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, and analyses by International Law Commission, International Monetary Fund, and International Labour Organization.
Historical Development and International Negotiations
Negotiations trace through milestones involving negotiators from Brazil, South Africa, China, United States, and European Union delegates at events such as UNFCCC COP3, Marrakesh Accords, COP19 Warsaw, and the establishment of the Warsaw International Mechanism in 2013, later reaffirmed at COP21 Paris and expanded at COP28. Key moments featured interventions by figures like Sergio Vieira de Mello, Mary Robinson, Ban Ki‑moon, and national delegations from Tuvalu, Maldives, Bangladesh, and Vanuatu advocating for loss recognition and finance. Institutions including the Climate Vulnerable Forum, Global Environment Facility, UN Secretary‑General's office, International Court of Justice (in advisory discussions), and climate research centers such as Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research influenced evolving treaty language and modalities.
Causes and Types of Loss and Damage
Drivers include greenhouse gas emissions traced to entities such as ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Chevron, Saudi Aramco, and nations like United States of America, China, India, and Russia; physical processes involve sea level rise, permafrost thaw, glacier retreat, desertification, and extreme events like Super Typhoon Haiyan and Hurricane Maria. Types of loss encompass economic losses documented by International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development; non‑economic losses involve cultural heritage sites such as Machu Picchu, Great Barrier Reef, and Nabta Playa and human impacts recognized by International Committee of the Red Cross, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and scholars at University of Oxford and Columbia University.
Assessment and Measurement Methods
Assessment methods draw on models and tools developed by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC Special Report on Extremes, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, European Space Agency, Copernicus Programme, and academic centers such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. Techniques include attribution science advanced by researchers at University of Oxford, London School of Economics, Stanford University, and University of Cambridge, economic accounting used by World Bank, OECD, and Asian Development Bank, and participatory assessment approaches promoted by IIED, CARE International, and Practical Action for community‑level loss inventories.
Finance, Insurance, and Compensation Mechanisms
Financial responses involve mechanisms overseen by entities including the Green Climate Fund, Adaptation Fund, Global Environment Facility, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and national funds in Germany, United Kingdom, and Norway. Insurance and risk‑transfer solutions are provided by markets and institutions such as Munich Re, Swiss Re, World Bank Group's CCRIF SPC, African Risk Capacity, and parametric insurance pilots in collaboration with International Finance Corporation and UNDP. Discussions on liability and compensation invoke legal scholars from Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, and courts including International Court of Justice and tribunals addressing transboundary harm.
Policy Responses and Risk Reduction Strategies
Strategies integrate frameworks from Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, Paris Agreement, Sustainable Development Goals, and regional plans by European Union, African Union, and Pacific Islands Forum. Measures include ecosystem‑based approaches championed by Convention on Biological Diversity, infrastructure resilience projects financed by World Bank and Asian Development Bank, managed retreat exemplified in policies in New Zealand, Maldives, and Kiribati, and social protection schemes implemented by Government of Bangladesh, Brazil, and South Africa.
Controversies and Equity Considerations
Controversies center on responsibility and historical emissions debates involving United Kingdom, United States of America, Germany, China, India, and fossil‑fuel corporations like ExxonMobil and Shell, equity frameworks advanced by Vulnerable Twenty Group (V20), Alliance of Small Island States, and academics at University of Nairobi and University of the South Pacific. Contentious issues include legal liability explored by International Law Commission, allocation of finance through Green Climate Fund and Global Environment Facility, and the tension between loss recognition and development priorities raised by World Bank and International Monetary Fund.