Overview of loss and damage

Outline of Presentation

1. Defining L&D and Related Concepts

2. History of L&D in International Negotiations

3. Details of the Warsaw International Mechanism on L&D

4. Evidence from Nine Country Case Study (UNU-EHS)

5. Conceptualizing L&D (avoiding vs. addressing)

6. How to Address L&D

7. Challenges in Measuring L&D

8. Completed/Ongoing/Upcoming Research

9. Next Steps

Defining Loss and Damage

Loss and Damage (working definitions):

“Effects that would not have happened in a world without climate change, which have not been mitigated, and which

cannot be (or have not been) adapted to” (ActionAid, 2010)

“The actual and/or potential manifestation of impacts associated with climate change in developing countries that negatively affect human and natural systems” (UNFCCC, 2012)

“Representing the actual and/or potential manifestation of

climate impacts that negatively affect human and natural systems” (CDKN, 2012)

“The impacts of climate change that people cannot cope with or

adapt to” (Warner and van der Geest, 2013)

Limits to Adaptation

“The impacts of climate change that people cannot cope with or adapt to” (Warner and van der Geest, 2013)

“[T]he point at which an actor’s objectives (or system

needs) cannot be secured from intolerable risks through adaptive actions” (Dow et al., 2013)

See: Warner, K., and van der Geest, K., (2013) Loss and damage from climate change: Local-level evidence from nine vulnerable countries. International Journal of Global Warming 5(4), 1-20.

Dow, K., Berkhout, F., Preston, B., Klein, R.J.T., Midley, G., Shaw, R., (2013) Commentary: Limits to adaptation. Nature Climate Change 3, 305–307

Other Definitions

Loss vs. Damage Loss: impacts of climate change that cannot be recovered Damage: impacts that can be recovered

Hard vs. Soft Limit Hard Limit: adaptation is no longer possible Soft Limit: adaptation strategies to avoid intolerable risk are

not available

Economic vs. Non-Economic L&D Economic L&D: items for which market values can be assigned Non-Economic L&D: items for which market values cannot

(easily) be assigned (ie. indirect use values or symbolic values)

Economic L&D Impacts

Use Value (measured with economic means and the generation of profit)

Structural Impacts Buildings Homes/Shelters Roads Factories Machinery

Livelihood Impacts Crop loss Land use for production Employment Rent

Challenges with Measuring

The biggest issue with using markets to measure L&D is that markets (Morrissey and Oliver-Smith, 2013):

1. Do not value public goods2. Tend to ignore symbolic values needed to forge

identify and come together to problem solve3. Fail to value knowledge systems

Formal qualitative accounts of L&D tend to undervalue the real costs of climate change.

See: Morrissy, J. and Oliver-Smith, A. (2013) Perspectives on Non-Economic Loss and Damage: Understanding Values at risk due to climate change. CDKN Research. Available at: www.lossanddamage.net/download/7213.pdf

Non-Economic Impacts

Non-economic losses and damages go beyond the quantifiable

Human lives Health Psychological Impacts Education Traditions/Religious Symbolic Assets Cultural Heritage Biodiversity Ecosystem services

History of L&D in Int’l Negotiations1991

• Vanatu proposal to include an insurance mechanism for the cost of climate change in the convention

2007

• COP13 in Bali called for understanding of risk management, reduction sharing and transfer

2010

• COP16 in Cancun launched a work programme for enhanced understanding of L&D

2012

• COP18 in Doha called for the establishment of institutional arrangements on L&D at COP19

2013

• COP19 in Warsaw established the Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM) on L&D

Warsaw Int’l Mechanism (WIM)

Highlights from the work plan of the Executive Committee of the WIM: Identify tools, technologies, lessons learned and best practices to

facilitate comprehensive risk management Assess and develop recommendations to enhance knowledge and

capacity to address slow onset processes Invite relevant risk management and humanitarian organizations to

develop country specific analyses of the risk of loss and damage and develop institutional arrangements to prevent and manage loss and damage

Establish an expert group to develop recommendations for reducing the risk of and addressing non-economic losses

Need to enhance understanding of: how loss and damage impacts vulnerable people and countries, slow onset processes and approaches to address them, human mobility and non-economic losses

See: http://unfccc.int/files/adaptation/cancun_adaptation_framework/loss_and_damage/application/pdf workplan_18sept_11am.pdf

Nine Country Case Study

Found L&D occurs in four different cases:

1. Coping and adaptation measures are not sufficient

2. Coping and adaptation measures have costs that are not recovered (both economic and non-economic)

3. Coping and adaptation measures are erosive and increase vulnerability

4. No coping or adaptation measures are implemented because of a lack of capacity or resources or because the hard limits of adaptation have been reached

See: Warner, K., and van der Geest, K., (2013) Loss and damage from climate change: Local-level evidence from nine vulnerable countries. International Journal of Global Warming 5(4), 1-20.

Conceptualizing L&D

Avoiding L&D:

Mitigation, adaptation, risk management and sustainable development

Addressing Residual L&D:

Risk management (risk transfer, risk retention, relief and reconstruction)

Addressing Residual L&D

Risk Reduction: Structural measures such as embankments, cyclone shelters, etc. Non-structural measures such as the use of indigenous knowledge,

early earning systems, etc.

Risk Transfer: Insurance, micro-insurance, risk pooling, catastrophe bonds

Risk Retention: Social safety nets/social protection measures, contingency

funds/loans

Other: Sustainable development, livelihood diversification, migration

policies, national frameworks and policies and regional agreements

Challenges

Attribution

Data collection

Spatial/temporal scales

Differentiating direct/indirect impacts

Perceptions/physical characteristics

Quantitative/qualitative assessments

Completed Research

Loss and Damage in Vulnerable Country Initiative

Compendium project with ICCCAD, GermanWatch, MCII and UNU-EHS

All publications are available at:

www.lossanddamage.net

Key Findings from Bangladesh

Transformational approaches are needed to address L&D

Comprehensive approaches are necessary to effectively address L&D

Capacity building is required to effectively design and implement approaches to L&D

Enhance collaboration and communication within as well as between government agencies and external research organizations

Enhance public awareness about climate change

Linking national, regional and international processes

Finance and technology transfer will be required to undertake research

Establishment of a national-level L&D mechanism

See: Roberts, E. et al. (2013) Early Lessons from the Process to Enhance Understanding of Loss and Damage in Bangladesh. CDKN Research. Available at: www.lossanddamage.net/4945

Ongoing Research

Asia-Pacific Network on Global Change Research (APN-GCR) 14 Project initiative on DRR, CCD and L&D research

Enhanced Understanding on: The risk of slow onset events Economic and non-economic L&D Impacts on the most vulnerable Approaches to slow onset and extreme events into climate-

resilient development processes How climate change is affecting patterns of mitigation,

displacement and human mobility

All research will be available at:

www.lossanddamageforum.org

Next Steps

Explore and expand synergies with existing policy agendas on DRR, CCA and sustainable development

Identify limits to adaptation and understand who is particularly vulnerable to experiencing loss and damage

Understand how different value systems can help avoid/reduce future losses and damages

Enhance understanding of how transformative adaptation can play a role in avoiding and reducing loss and damage

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