Loss and Damage

This policy brief published in advance of COP 19 in Warsaw highlights the local needs in developing countries that institutional arrangements to address loss and damage at the global level - issues. The policy brief suggests that negotiators will need to take account of some key issues when determining how to best address loss and damage under the UNFCCC

Climate justice: philosophical ideal, international failure, and cosmopolitan metamorphoses

Climate change raises profound moral problems, among which the issue of justice is paramount due to the severity of inequalities both in vulnerability and causal responsibility. As major philosophical theories turn out to be unsuited to account for global, intergenerational and environmental matters, theories of climate justice have been developed since the early 1990s to address these issues, in parallel with efforts to build international climate governance. With particular focus on interpreting the “common but differentiated responsibilities” norm, philosophers have designed various theoretical frameworks and principles to account for the fair distribution of mitigation and adaptation duties. However, as it has become increasingly obvious, international governance has failed to implement fair and efficient climate policies, and so have theories of climate justice. Still, climate justice ideals are more relevant than ever. In order to further them, theories must go beyond a purely ideal and international conception of climate justice and embrace a non-ideal, cosmopolitan and multiscalar approach. Such a paradigm shift illuminates recent metamorphoses of climate justice narratives to include questions of individual responsibility, fair transition at national and local levels, and loss and damage.

La justice climatique : idéal philosophique, échec international et métamorphoses cosmopolitiques

Le changement climatique soulève de profonds problèmes moraux : celui de la justice est d’une importance primordiale en raison de la sévérité des inégalités dans la vulnérabilité et la responsabilité causale. Les principales théories philosophiques s’avérant inadéquates pour penser les problèmes de justice mondiale, intergénérationnelle et environnementale, des théories de la justice climatique ont été développées depuis le début des années 1990, en parallèle des efforts pour construire une gouvernance climatique internationale. Cherchant en particulier à interpréter la norme des « responsabilités communes mais différenciées », des philosophes ont conçu des cadres théoriques et des principes pour penser la juste distribution des devoirs d’atténuation et d’adaptation. Cependant, il est de plus en plus manifeste que la gouvernance internationale a échoué à mettre en œuvre des politiques climatiques justes et efficaces. Cet échec est également celui des théories de la justice climatique. Les idéaux de justice climatique restent toutefois plus pertinents que jamais. Afin de les promouvoir, les théories doivent aller au-delà d’une conception purement idéale et internationale de la justice climatique et adopter une approche non idéale, cosmopolitique et multiscalaire. Un tel changement de paradigme permet d’éclairer les métamorphoses récentes des récits sur la justice climatique pour inclure les questions de responsabilité individuelle, de transition juste aux niveaux national et local, et de pertes et préjudices.

It is increasingly likely that, due to the impacts of climate change, entire populations of low-lying States – Tuvalu, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands and the Maldives – will need to relocate to other States' territories. Such en masse relocations would jeopardise these peoples' national identities and manifestations of their ways of life: cultures, languages, customs, and social, political and economic systems.  Legal writers analysing this topic focus mainly on maritime boundaries and statehood questions. This thesis examines the right to self-determination. The principal finding is that the peoples of low-lying States are entitled to enjoy self-determination in climate change-related relocation and that there are practical ways this can occur.  After explaining the factual scenario and the approach to this research, the analysis has four key components. First, it defines the right to self-determination in context of the low-lying States, including entitlements flowing from...

Climate induced calamities around the world is an alarming threat to mankind due to the unpredictable and uncontrollable loss and damage issues. Although the disputes regarding loss and damage has caused irrecoverable destruction to the socio-economic condition, the issue was officially unaddressed until 2010. After developing some implements at the COP19 in 2013, the Warsaw mechanism was established to address the adverse consequences of loss and damage when mitigation and adaptation measures are insufficient. Included among the most vulnerable countries for climate change effects, Bangladesh’s efforts to combat loss and damage are very limited.
Geographical position, socio-economic condition, lack of resources are some of the main reasons Bangladesh is suffering from severe loss and damage resulted from climate disasters. While the economic loss devours the country’s development, non-economic loss and damage puts the country in an irretrievable situation stricken with loss of life, health, biodiversity, human mobility, ecosystem services along with damage in infrastructure, cultural heritage etc. Bangladesh was hit by several deadly disasters (e.g. cyclones, floods etc.) over the past few decades causing severe NELD and none of them included a loss and damage criteria, and thus this study focuses on the NELD scenario of a recent cyclone event named ‘Roanu.’
The study followed the guidelines of the NELD framework by UNFCC (2013) to analyze the loss and damage issues with the support of government data, Key Informant Interview (KII), Focus Group Discussion (FGD), Case Studies, research papers, UNFCCC documents, Joint Needs Assessment (JNA) reports, news clips from national and local newspapers, legal documents and other policy papers and Field Observation.
NELD assessed for Roanu has been found as very high, compare to conventional concept of the extent of economic loss from a similar disaster. Total NELD caused by Roanu is US$ 508.83 million. About half of the NELD has been found in Ecosystem services sector. Estimating losses in human life sector is very difficult, but has been estimated as US$ 0.80 million. NELD in human mobility, cultural heritage, loss of biodiversity and health sectors have been calculated as US$ 104.08 million, US$ 94.04 million, US$ 52.87 million,  and US$ 4.26 million, respectively.
Although there are some mitigation and adaptation schemes ongoing, the uncertainty of impacts by a climatic event makes it very difficult for Bangladesh to address loss and damage issues. Therefore, it takes indeterminate amount of time for Bangladesh to cope with the loss and damage issues, while recovery is next to impossible with continuous natural calamities.
In order to address loss and damage, following steps are recommended.
A). Risk transfer is the biggest solution for loss and damage. Risk transfer through i) Catastrophe bonds, ii) Insurance, iii) Insurance-credit, iv) Compensation, v) Microfinance, and vi) Social Protection offer a wide range of adjustment to recover the losses and damages burdened from a disaster.
B). A reliable dissemination of EWS needed. There are enormous opportunity for an improved dissemination and developing community confidence in EWS. An effective communication through the existing early warning system is very necessary in order to reduce loss and damage.
C). Stronger construction needed. Substandard construction of houses, road and other infrastructures are major cause of greater loss. Stronger construction of shelter will reduce loss from cyclone or any other disaster.

It is increasingly likely that, due to the impacts of climate change, entire populations of low-lying States – Tuvalu, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands and the Maldives – will need to relocate to other States' territories. Such en masse relocations would jeopardise these peoples' national identities and manifestations of their ways of life: cultures, languages, customs, and social, political and economic systems.

Legal writers analysing this topic focus mainly on maritime boundaries and statehood questions. This thesis examines the right to self determination. The principal finding is that the peoples of low-lying States are entitled to enjoy self determination in climate change-related relocation and that there are practical ways this can occur.

After explaining the factual scenario and the approach to this research, the analysis has four key components. First, it defines the right to self-determination in context of the low-lying States, including entitlements flowing from this collective right. The populations of low lying States' are "peoples" entitled to self-determination, including in relocation. Self determination comprises various elements, resembling a bundle of rights. A framework is devised for unpacking this bundle and understanding what self determination entails. The framework divides the right into strategic and operational elements. The strategic elements are the right's objectives of peace and human rights, as well as its classic expressions; external and internal self determination. The operational elements seek to secure the right's objectives through substantive and procedural entitlements. Substantive entitlements include the right of peoples to continuity of their States, to be different, to freely-determined political statuses, and to freely-pursued economic, social and cultural development. Procedural aspects include processes for determining the substantive elements, plus democratic governance, and some degree of autonomy from other political units.

The second major component of this thesis examines potential duty-bearers, and the nature of their duties. Low-lying States are the principal duty-bearers regarding their peoples' right to self-determination. Third-party States and the United Nations have relevant duties, but these are vague and do not anticipate proactive involvement in supporting low-lying peoples' endeavours to maintain self-determination ex situ. The duties become clearer for a third-party State that partners in a low-lying people's relocation, but there are no obligations to become such a partner.

The third part of the legal analysis re-examines the issue of whether statehood can be maintained without inhabitable territory, but in light of the self-determination analysis. There is a presumption of continuity of statehood in international law and it applies to low lying States. There is no legal basis to argue that statehood would be terminated in this relocation scenario. The presumption of continuity is bolstered by self determination, which gives the peoples of low lying States exclusive competence to determine their political statuses. Prior analyses of statehood have focused on the Montevideo Convention indicia. However, these indicia only apply to the creation of States, not termination. Consequently, there is far reaching flexibility for extant States to decide how, or whether, the indicia are satisfied.

Finally, options for enabling ex situ self determination are presented concerning key questions of legal personality (since statehood is only one option), land and international frameworks. The final section also proposes ways of incorporating self determination into the emerging human rights-based approach to climate change adaptation.

This report was triggered from the recent unprecedented unseasonal rain and hailstorms in early 2015 that devastated crops across the country clearly shows that our farming community is highly vulnerable to such events.

Agriculture in many parts of India is passing through a difficult phase because of the increasing frequency and intensity of unseasonal and extreme weather events. These events are wiping out hard-earned gains of economic development and poverty alleviation in our country.Degree of vulnerability is so high that many farmers committed suicide or died due to shock because they were unable to withstand sudden crop loss. Our assessment report delves into the issues related to crop loss estimation, relief and compensation.

This handbook aspires to become a key instrument and reference for future studies and action on loss and damage from climate change. It provides hands-on tools for gathering data in the field. A proper assessment of loss and damage from climate-related disasters includes measuring what is measurable and understanding what is not measurable. A key principle of this book is that understanding loss and damage, with the aim of eventually minimizing it, is more important than just measuring it. We define loss and damage as adverse effects of climate-related stressors that occur despite mitigation and adaptation. Hence, assessing loss and damage is not just about measuring and evaluating what is lost or damaged, but also about understanding how and why actors incur loss and damage. This requires a better understanding of adaptation costs, limits and constraints, which this handbook provides the tools for. An early version of this methodological handbook has been tested in Nepal, Pakistan and India in 2015. The final version has been refined and enriched with examples from this last round of fieldwork. The handbook provides a conceptual introduction, followed by chapters on research design, research instruments, data entry, analysis and reporting, and finally a chapter with practical information about the financial, human and material resources needed for a loss and damage assessment.

Loss and damage from the impacts of climate change affect many countries and communities across the world. In 2013, the Warsaw Mechanism on Loss and Damage, created through the United Nations Framework on Climate Change, established an institutional process to respond to such impacts. This paper aims to contribute to the growing literature on climate liability by outlining a normative framework based on international law that can be used as a guiding path for the mechanism. It is argued that addressing loss and damage in line with these core principles and international law is required to develop a robust and legitimate mechanism. This framework is then used to answer critical questions regarding an international loss and damage mechanism for climate change.

Flood mapping is still rare in the large cities South of Sahara. The lack of information on the characteristics of floods, the orography of the sites and the receptors hampers its production. However, even with scant information, it is possible to create preliminary risk mapping. This tool can be used by local administrations in decision making on emergency plans or on climate change (CC) action plans. From 2010 onwards, the River Niger at Niamey (1.1 million inhabitants, 123 km 2 in 2014) swelled at unseasonal times. This new river flood pattern can be linked to CC. Each flooding event affected thousands of people and homes. The steady development of areas that did not appear to be flood prone in the past is the main cause of these impacts. These areas require special measures if further impact is to be avoided in the future. This chapter presents the preliminary flood risk map of Niamey 1:20,000. The map was built up using an historic approach (flooded area derived from satellite images) and considering risk (R) as the result of hazard (H) and damage (D), R = H * D. Risk was measured according to two scenarios: medium and high probability of flooding. The inverse of the return period of river and pluvial flooding (H) and the potential damage to buildings and crops according the water depth were used. Information to measure risk components was sourced by daily rainfall and daily discharge of the River Niger from 1946 to 2014, and from high-resolution satellite images (2014). The risk map id entifies hot spots for emergency and CC action planning. The fifth district alone contains 52% of the potential damage. Ninety-nine percent of the potential damage is concentrated within 225 hectars. Reinforcing existing embankments and constructing new ones to protect these areas seems more appropriate than resettlement.

The 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP23) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was convened in Bonn, Germany from 6th to 17th November 2017 under the Fiji Presidency to build upon the pledge of action established at COP22 Marrakech, and to emphasize the need for solid progress toward a 1.5-degree Celsius scenario, the goal of the Paris Agreement on climate change (COP21 Paris). Find analysis on Major outcomes of the conference and way forward for Global Community and Message for the Government of Tanzania.

The Tillabéri region (population 2.7 million, 97,250 km 2) is the hinterland of the Niger's capital city and the second most susceptible region to flooding in the country, with 416 settlements hit from 2008 to 2013. This chapter aims to present the potential benefits of flood risk assessment at the municipal scale, a tool that can help local authorities in disaster risk reduction. Risk (R) is considered a function of Hazard (H), Exposure (E) and Damages (D) according the equation R = H * E * D. Risk is measured using six indicators. The probability of rain causing settlement flooding each year is measured for each municipality using daily rainfall from meteorological stations (1981-2010) and three-hourly Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), data-sets by NOAA (1998-2011). Settlements flooded (E), people affected, homes destroyed, fields flooded and livestock killed (D) are sourced from Niger's early warning system and disaster prevention unit (EWS DP), all errors corrected and units of measurement standardised. From the results, it emerged that 765 settlements were flooded between 1998 and 2013. Contrary to what one might expect, the floods caused by the swelling of the River Niger hit few settlements. Most of the areas susceptible to flooding were located in the vast Bosso and Maouri dallols, two fossil rivers that run from Mali towards Niger for over 300 km. The right-bank tributaries of the Niger and along the minor hydrographic network were the next most affected areas. Ninety-five settlements were hit more than once and 19 flooded in two or more consecutive years. Seven municipalities out of 41 were at very high or high risk of being flooded. These are crossed by the River Niger or by its main tributaries on the right bank, by the Ouallam intermittent creek or the Bosso dallol. Seven municipalities showed damage in three areas (people, dwellings, fields).

Nepal is severely flood-prone and ranks 20th worldwide in terms of flood-affected population. Although it is widely acknowledged that both national and community-based early warning systems (EWS) can reduce the impact of floods, studies quantifying the cost-benefits remain scarce. This study analyzes the costs and benefits of the EWS in the Lower Karnali River Basin in Nepal through 453 household surveys, 30 focus group discussions and 40 key informant interviews. The results show that households found the EWS to be beneficial and reliable, allowing them to save movable property, livestock and vehicles and health costs equivalent to NPR 117,027 (USD 1083) per household during the flood. The benefit-cost ratio is between 24 and 73 depending on different scenarios. 98% of the respondents would be willing to pay an annual fee of NPR 79 (USD 0.70) for five years if the existing flood EWS was to be managed by the community disaster committees. This can generate NPR 694,426 (USD 6430) annually, which would cover the annual maintenance and operating cost of the system. EWS gradually changes behaviors of communities over time as they start to trust the system and lead times are increased, resulting in more social capital and a wider range of early actions that reduce avoidable loss and damage. Improving the forecast lead time by 1 h can increase the current savings by 1.83 times. The results of the cost-benefit analysis can inform the policy-making of state and non-state actors and contribute to securing further funding.

This contribution explores how climate-vulnerable states can effectively use the law to force action in order to address loss and damage from climate change, taking the Pacific Island state of Vanuatu as an example. Vanuatu made headlines when its Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and External Trade, the Hon. Ralph Regenvanu, announced his government’s intention to explore legal action as
a tool to address climate loss and damage suffered in Vanuatu. Our contribution places this announcement in the context of Vanuatu’s own experience with climate loss and damage, and the state’s ongoing efforts to secure compensation for loss and damage through the multilateral climate change regime. We then discuss the possibilities for legal action to seek redress for climate loss and damage, focusing on two types of action highlighted in Minister Regenvanu’s statement: action against states under international law, and action against fossil fuel companies
under domestic law. After concluding that the issue of compensation for climate loss and damage is best addressed at the multilateral level, we offer proposals on how the two processes of litigation and negotiation could interact with each other and inspire more far-reaching action to address loss and damage from climate change.

This report contains the flood risk reduction plan of Guéchémé, capital of the municipality of the same name, in Niger. Guechémé is a rural local government with 108 778 inhabitants (2012) and a territory of 1075 km2. The jurisdiction is crossed by the dallol (valley) Maouri: a very long intermittent watercourse tributary of the Niger River and one of the most important wetlands in the country. Guéchémé town (8412 inhabitants in 2012) is growing fast. The town is not threatened by the overflow of the dallol Maouri but by the intense rains that generate on a deeply degraded catchment area, catastrophic floods. The risk reduction plan is organized according to the international standard ISO 31010. The flood risk is identified and analyzed. Risk reduction measures are identified and evaluated. The participatory monitoring and evaluation system is described. The plan consists of the flood zone regulations, zoning map, and action description sheets. The analysis and evaluation integrate local and scientific knowledge. The methodology and implementation are fully participatory. Flood zones are identified according to two flood probability scenarios through 2D hydraulic modeling. Floodable assets are identified through visual photointerpretation of very high resolution open access satellite imagery complemented by ground-based asset recognition. The assessment uses residual risk and treatment benefit/cost analyses.

The discourse on vulnerability to climate change presents many complexities. Among these are the constant tension between policy makers and academics. This paper unpacks these complexities in order to analyze how Small Island Developing States (SIDS) deal with the notion of vulnerability at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The lack of a clear definition of vulnerability at the UNFCCC has created many tensions among developing countries because the notion of vulnerability is associated with financial and technical resource distribution. However, on a strategic level SIDS have had to demonstrate their vulnerabilities within the UNFCCC in order to remain relevant and compete with other groups for these resources. This paper highlights some of these tensions, especially among developing countries, through an in-depth analysis of vulnerability within academia and foreign policy through the UNFCCC. We argue that competing definitions of vulnerability by academics and policymakers evoke different methodologies for understanding and measuring vulnerability. Further, we find that within the UNFCCC, prioritizing mitigation policies over adaptation has increased SIDS' vulnerability.

Capítulo XVI: "Daños y pérdidas: el contencioso tercer pilar del Acuerdo de París, pp  237-248
En el presente trabajo se hace una revisión conceptual de las pérdidas y daños en el contexto del cambio climático, y un análisis de los principales conflictos suscitados en las negociaciones a raíz del tema, para después abordar los puntos acordados durante la COP 21 así como una perspectiva a futuro  con respecto a las pérdidas y daños.

Although the international community repetitively pledged considerable amounts of adaptation finance to the global South, only little has been provided so far. Different instruments have been proposed to generate more funding and this paper aims at identifying those that are most suitable to raise adaptation finance in a just way. The instrument assessment is based on the following main criteria: fairness, effectiveness and feasibility. The criteria are applied to four instruments: contributions from domestic budgets, international carbon taxes collected at the national level, border tax adjustments as well as selling emissions allowances in domestic trading schemes. Domestic emission trading schemes and border tax adjustments achieve the best-or rather, the least bad-results. Two further findings are that (feasible) instruments are unable make agents pay for past excessive emissions and that all instruments generate rather small amounts of funding. As a consequence of the latter, adaptation finance will continue to be highly insufficient in all likelihood.

Loss and damage (L&D) associated with the adverse impacts of climate change has now become a harsh reality in many parts of the world, especially in the low income developing countries. The consistent rise of global average temperature and inadequate mitigation pledges to limit Earth’s average temperature rise well below 2 degree Centigrade from the pre-industrial era would further aggravate the situation causing L&D inevitable and irreversible. There are already many evidences of irreversible L&D resulting from the localized and unusual extreme and slow onset events. Back in 1991 the Alliance of the Small Island States (AOSIS)-who feared to be drowned by the rise of sea levels-argued for addressing climate change induced L&D; however the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) adopted in 1992 didn’t formally recognize this. Over the years, the developed country group denied any discussion despite the L&D has started to manifest given the context of feeble mitigation effort and inadequate adaptation support to the developing countries. Against the persistent demand of the AOSIS and the developing country groups for addressing climate change induced L&D, the developed country group has long been able to hinder any progress in L&D negotiations as they feared to be liable for causing L&D and compensate those. Over the years, the developed country group not only hindered L&D negotiations but also distracted the entire UNFCCC negotiation process with their structured policy shifting, which caused proliferation of ‘manifest climate injustice’ to the developing counties. It is only in 2007, the COP 13 (Conference of the Parties) held in Bali in 2007 included L&D as an issue for further negotiations, and the COP 16 held in Cancun in 2010 decided to establish a ‘Work Programme’ for addressing L&D. However, the major progress in L&D negotiations achieved at COP 21 held in Paris in 2015 that included a stand-alone article in the Paris Agreement with the provision of enhanced action and support for addressing L&D on the ground. While inclusion of a standalone ‘loss and damage’ Article (Article 8) in the Paris Agreement is being considered a big step forward of correcting ‘manifest climate injustice’, yet there are major disagreements among the Parties on the key L&D issues, which might cause proliferation of ‘manifest climate injustice’ putting the climate vulnerable countries under more aggravated L&D situation. To correct ‘manifest climate injustice’ this paper analyses the policy shifts of the climate change negotiations, provides an overview how L&D evolved in negotiation process, discusses the current debate and disagreement on L&D emerged in the post Paris COP negotiations, and finally concludes with five policy recommendations directed to the COP and to the national stakeholders. The recommendations are: a) a standalone L&D agenda item under the SBI, b) a standalone L&D financing mechanism with multiple windows, c) strengthened institutional arrangement-global to national, d) new and additional L&D financingnot blending with the humanitarian assistance, e) separate governance and fund management mechanism under the COP. The recommended policy positions may also guide the border policy stakeholders and CSOs to advocate for a justice-based response for addressing L&D on the ground.

Climate justice has until now focused on the fair distribution of the burden of mitigation and adaptation. However, the evident failure of climate governance raises the new issue of loss and damage, as well as the question of what our obligations are towards the victims of the adverse effects of climate change. In this quite recent field of research, compensation is generally brought forward as the remedy to loss and damage. It nevertheless fails to provide an adequate response to some of the effects of climate change such as cultural devastation. An alternative approach, policies for hope, is therefore sketched here.

La justice climatique s'est jusqu'ici concentrée sur le partage équitable de l'effort d'atténuation et d'adaptation. Toutefois, l'échec manifeste de la gouvernance climatique soulève l'enjeu nouveau des pertes et préjudices, et avec lui la question de savoir quelles sont nos obligations vis-à-vis des victimes des dommages effectifs du changement climatique. Dans ce champ de réflexion encore jeune, c'est généralement la compensation qui est mise en avant comme remède aux pertes et préjudices. Elle échoue cependant à fournir une réponse adéquate à certains effets du changement climatique tels que la dévastation culturelle. Une approche alternative, les politiques de l'espoir, est donc esquissée ici.

Climate change results recurrent natural disasters which cause an enormous loss in the
household as well as in the community levels. This study is designed to meet two major
objectives. Firstly, assessment of the household level loss and damage incurred from super
cyclones Sidr and Aila and tropical storm Mahasen in three districts namely Khulna,
Patuakhali and Satkhira. Secondly, coping strategies adopted by the affected households in
the post-cyclone situation and the role of microfinance in the process of adaptation. The
itinerary of the catastrophic cyclone Sidr and storm Mahsen includes Patuakhali district,
whereas super cyclone Aila has gone through the districts Khulna and Satkhira. As expected,
highest proportions of households of these areas were affected by the respective cyclones
and storm and their total amount of loss and damage was higher compared to others. The
average size of loss and damage studied in terms of loss of assets, from direct income,
reconstruction expenses or increased expenditure are also evident to be larger by the itinerary
of the disasters. However, the amount of loss and damage in all forms and average size per
households resulted from Aila was substantially higher than that resulted from Sidr and
Mahasen.
In focusing the second major objective, the adopted coping strategies are broadly classified as
current income or savings, sale of assets, informal loan and government support. It is evident
from the bivariate analysis that more of the program households choose current income or
savings for adaptation purpose than their counterpart. Conversely, the percentage of
households taken loan from informal market among control households was higher than that
of program group households. In most of the cases higher percentage of program households
received government support than control households. The variation in the percentage of
households adopted different coping strategies over household characteristics is observed.
Endogenous switching regression models with full sample and samples with counterfactual
evaluate that the expected amount of coping from current income or savings was significantly
higher for program group households than their counterpart in three cyclone cases and on the
contrary, informal loan was significantly lower than that of control group households in the
cases of Sidr and Aila, but reverse in case of Mahsen. The model of government support is
only convergent

This paper chronicles the history of the rise of loss and damage in negotiations under the United Nations Framework on Climate Change and the role of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in bringing about this paradigm shift. Over the past two decades, the global climate change regime has shifted from a focus primarily on mitigation, to both mitigation and adaptation and finally to the current era in which loss and damage has emerged as a key fixture on the agenda with the establishment of the Warsaw international mechanism on loss and damage at the 19th Conference of the Parties in November 2013. This shift can be attributed to the realisation that mitigation and adaptation efforts have been insufficient to avoid the impacts of climate change.

In the rural Tropics, the participatory risk assessment, based on local knowledge only, is very widespread. This practice is appropriate for hazard identification and for raising the awareness of local communities in relation to the importance of risk reduction, but it is still imprecise in determining risk level, ranking and treatment in a context of climate change, activities in which technical knowledge is unavoidable. Integration of local and technical-scientific knowledge within the framework of an encoded risk assessment method (ISO 31010), could favour more effective decision making with regard to risk reduction. The aim of this chapter is to verify the applicability of a multi-risk local assessment-MLA which combines local knowledge (participatory workshop, transect walk, hazard and resource mapping, disaster historical profile) and scientific knowledge (climate downscaling modelling, hazard probability and scenarios, potential damages, residual risk). The test is carried out in two villages of the Western Niger, particularly exposed to flooding and agricultural drought. The risk (hazard probability * potential damages) is identified, analysed (level of risk) and evaluated (residual risk, adaptation measures compared with potential damage costs). The MLA is feasible. The two villages, while bordering on one another, have a different risk ranking. Depending on the village, the risk treatment could reduce the risk level to 17 and to 41% of the current risk, with costs equating to 34 and 28% of the respective potential damages.

International aid for climate change adaptation in West Africa is increasing exponentially, but our understanding of hydroclimatic risks is not keeping pace with that increase. The aim of this article is to develop a multihazard risk assessment on a regional scale based on existing information that can be repeated over time and space and that will be useful during decision-making processes. This assessment was conducted in Dosso (Niger), the region most hit by flooding in the country, with the highest hydroclimatic risk in West Africa. The assessment characterizes the climate, identifies hazards, and analyzes multihazard risk over the 2011–2017 period for each of the region’s 43 municipalities. Hazards and risk level are compared to the intervention areas and actions of 6 municipal development plans and 12 adaptation and resilience projects. Over the past seven years, heavy precipitation and dry spells in the Dosso region have been more frequent than during the previous 30-year peri...

In the wake of the Paris climate conference which inscribes loss and damage as a permanent feature of the global climate regime, this paper examines the relevance of the global Loss and Damage agenda for national climate change policies. Through a structured review of the emerging policy and academic literature two primary challenges are highlighted: first, the difficulty in establishing formal attribution of loss and damage to anthropogenic climate change, and second in determining with clarity the limits to adaptation beyond which loss and damage can be described as unavoidable. In examining these two challenges, we arrive at a framework for national level policy that emphasises the underlying developmental potential of Loss and Damage. In offering this viewpoint, the narrative arc on Loss and Damage is expanded from a technical agenda towards one more attuned to existing policy and mechanisms at the local and national levels. A Comprehensive Risk Management approach is proposed as a practical framing for national and local policies to address loss and damage which could lead to addressing both the underlying and accumulating development failures and risk management capacities that shape loss and damage outcomes. This moves Loss and Damage from a reactive to a proactive responsibility and enables action now – not only once attribution and the limits to adaptation are derived.

Authors: Ilan Stavi , Anastasia Paschalidou , Apostolos P. Kyriazopoulos , Rares Halbac-Cotoara-Zamfir, Si Mokrane Siad, Malgorzata Suska-Malawska, Dragisa Savic, Joana Roque de Pinho, Lisa Thalheimer, David Samuel Williams, Nurit Hashimshony-Yaffe, Kees van der Geest, Claudia M. d. S. Cordovil,  ORCID and Andrej Ficko

Hyperarid, arid, semiarid, and dry subhumid areas cover approximately 41% of the global land area. The human population in drylands, currently estimated at 2.7 billion, faces limited access to sufficient, affordable, and nutritious food. We discuss the interlinkages among water security, environmental security, energy security, economic security, health security, and food security governance, and how they affect food security in drylands. Reliable and adequate water supply, and the prevention of water contamination, increase the potential for ample food, fodder, and fiber production. Protecting woodlands and rangelands increases food security by buffering the slow onset effects of climate change, including biodiversity loss, desertification, salinization, and land degradation. The protection of natural lands is expected to decrease environmental contamination, and simultaneously, reduce the transfer of diseases from wildlife to humans. Biofuel production and hydroelectric power plants increase energy security but generate land-use conflicts, deforestation, and ecosystem degradation. Economic security generally positively correlates with food security. However, economic growth often degrades the environment, changes tenure rights over natural resources, and stimulates migration to urban areas, resulting in lower food and health security. Moreover, civil unrest, political instability, and armed conflicts disrupt local economies in drylands. Maintaining food security is crucial for health security; conversely, malnourished populations and unresponsive health systems decrease economic security, and adversely affect environmental, energy, and food security. Climate change is expected to deteriorate health security by spreading vector-borne diseases. Effective governance and timely interventions can substantially shorten periods of food insecurity, lower their intensities, and accelerate recovery from inevitable crises, and are therefore crucial in preventing humanitarian crises. Since global drylands population will nearly double by 2050, and since drylands are among the most susceptible areas to climate change, integrated multi-hazard approaches to food security are needed.

Loss and Damage studies have tended to focus on rapid-onset events with lesser attention to slow-onset events such as drought. Even when discussed, narratives around droughts emphasize implications on rural populations and there remain empirical and conceptual gaps on drought impacts in urban areas. We focus on losses and damages associated with urban drought and water insecurity through a review of interventions and policies in seven Asian countries. We find evidence of urban droughts leading to tangible losses (e.g. groundwater over-extraction, economic impacts) and intangible losses (e.g. conflict, increased drudgery). We highlight examples of Asian cities minimizing urban drought-related losses and damages through nature-based, institutional, technological, and behavioral adaptation interventions. We argue that water management policies that take into account current and projected L&D of urban droughts as well as beyond-urban dynamics of water availability and sharing are essential for effective climate adaptation.

This discussion paper traces the inclusion of human mobility under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It is guided by the following questions: Why is human mobility included under the adaptation and under the loss and damage frameworks? Why was such a narrow focus chosen for the task force on displacement, given that most recommended policies on displacement overlap with those on migration? Consequently, what does it mean to “address” displacement? A review of the relevant research shows that science provides a basis for both framing mobility as an adaptive strategy and as a form of loss, and thus it provides no direct answers to these questions. An analysis of the broader negotiations process yields further insights. It shows that the mandate “to avert, minimize and address” is an outcome of the negotiations process. It constitutes the result of the broadening of the scope of approaches to loss and damage to include anticipatory, preventive measures. As is further shown, the implications of such a broadened scope are a shift away from questions of international responsibilities and collective loss-sharing. The narrow focus on displacement, understood as involuntary movement, is thus interpreted as an effort to bring these issues back into focus. Policy recommendations are provided and specified according to whether climate change is seen as morally relevant for assigning rights and duties in the context of human mobility.

Loss and damage refers to the adverse effects of climate-related stressors on natural and human systems that cannot be, or have not been, avoided through mitigation or managed through adaptation efforts. To date, studies of loss and damage have focused primarily on human systems and tended to overlook the mediating role of ecosystems and the services ecosystems provide to society. This results in a serious knowledge gap. Climate-induced loss and damage to human systems may result from permanent or temporary effects of climatic stressors on ecosystems and the services they provide. More information is needed. Indeed, the Paris Agreement urges Parties to enhance understanding, action and support in areas such as, “Resilience of communities, livelihoods and ecosystems”. Therefore this report tries to advance understanding of climatic stressor effects on ecosystems and possible correlations and implications for societal losses and damages. Five case studies from Asia, Africa, Europe, an...

This chapter examines the numerous forms of “loss and damage” experienced by poor and racialized communities who reside in the sacrifice zones of the fossil fuel-based world economy (carbon capitalism), including displacement, dispossession, and poisoning of land, air, and water. It argues that the Paris Agreement, despite its references to human rights and climate justice, contributes to the structural violence of carbon capitalism by failing to curtail fossil fuel extraction, promoting a variety of highly profitable false solutions to climate change (including the commodification of carbon), and neglecting to require high-emitting, affluent states to provide compensation for the climate change-induced disasters that continue to inflict disproportionate harm on racialized frontline communities all over the world. The Paris Agreement thereby eviscerates the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.  It also perpetuates the climate crisis that displaces racialized, climate-vulnerable people, who are then demonized by right-wing authoritarian social movements in the name of national security. These right-wing “populists” deploy racism to create cross-class alliances in support of extractive industries and carbon-intensive models of economic development. The article offers an expansive interpretation of loss and damage that articulates the links among racism, extractivism, and economic inequality in order to promote solidarity among diverse social movements and collective opposition to carbon capitalism.

As dangerous climate change becomes more and more likely, a consensus has been reached on the importance of addressing Loss and Damage (L&D) residual to mitigation (i.e., preventing climate change) and adaptation (i.e., adjusting in order to avert adverse impacts). In spite of sharp divisions in terms of how to understand and operationalize L&D, most approaches draw on classic environmental governance, with discrete analogic interventions implemented by States and international actors. L&D is mainly envisioned as an "international court of climate justice" that identifies the culprits (emit-ters), quantifies harm, and compensates victims. While digital technologies and algorithmic governance have colonized many germane policy fields and virtually all economic sectors, in the L&D field a substantive discussion on the use of information and communication technologies, algorithms, and user-generated data has been conspicuously absent. By taking the prospect of a "digitalization" of L&D seriously, this advanced review identifies the seeds of emerging digitalized approaches to L&D through an overview of literature. We focus on examples in three key domains associated with L&D-insurance, disaster responses and risk management, and human displacement. These empirical cases are used to investigate the modes of governance that accompany the digital tools through which L&D could be implemented, and the profound changes in climate politics and justice that would accompany a digi-talization/algorithmization of L&D.

This report contains the Flood Risk Reduction Plan for Touré, an administrative village of the rural municipality of Gothèye, Tillabéri region, Niger. Touré (4065 inhabitants in 2012, 0.6 km2 of built up area in 2018) is located along the Sirba River, one of the main tributaries of the middle Niger River. The village is threatened by fluvial and pluvial floods. The plan is structured according to the international standard ISO 31010. The analysis integrates local and scientific knowledge. The planning process is fully participatory. Flood risk is identified and analyzed. Flood-prone zones are identified according to three river flood probability scenarios through a 1D hydraulic modeling. Floodable assets are identified through visual photointerpretation of very high resolution imagery captured by an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in September 2018. Two scenarios of pluvial flood are considered. Ten risk reduction measures are selected and prioritized. Benefit/cost analysis is used to asses...

En Afrique tropicale la réduction du risque hydro-climatique peine à devenir une politique publique.
La Région de Dosso au Niger (31 000 km2, deux millions d’habitants) a été inondée et frappée par la sécheresse à plusieurs reprises durant les dernières 10 années. Alors, pour mieux comprendre et maîtriser ces aléas les changements climatiques d’ici au 2030 sont caractérisées à l’échelle locale. La base de données sur les inondations est transférée dans une archive ouverte. La dynamique spatiale des localités rurale est observée durant les 20 dernières années, L’analyse-évaluation du risque d’inondation et de sécheresse est développée à l’échelle régionale, communale et de localité rurale. Des services climatologiques sont offerts aux petits producteurs ruraux.  Les méthodes proposées utilisent des informations en libre accès et sont donc aisément reproductibles dans d’autres régions du Pays et d’Afrique francophone. Ce livre présente des outils pour connaître et gérer le risque hydro-climatique à l’échelle locale.