Climate Loss and Damage

Under international climate governance, loss and damage refers to the harmful consequences of climate change that are not, or cannot be, fully avoided through mitigation and adaptation. It covers both economic and non-economic losses arising from extreme events and slow-onset processes.

Scope and meaning

The climate regime frames action as averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage. Mitigation helps avert impacts, adaptation helps minimize them, while mechanisms for addressing loss and damage respond to consequences that nevertheless occur.

• Economic loss includes damage to infrastructure, property and livelihoods that can generally be assigned a monetary value.
• Non-economic loss includes harm to human life, health, culture, ecosystems and biodiversity, which may be difficult or impossible to value monetarily.
• Relevant hazards include sudden extreme events and slow-onset events such as sea-level rise, desertification and glacial retreat.

Institutional framework

The Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage, established at COP19 in 2013, promotes knowledge, coordination and support, including finance, technology and capacity-building.

• The Santiago Network, established in 2019, catalyses technical assistance for developing countries particularly vulnerable to climate impacts.
• COP27 in 2022 established funding arrangements and a dedicated fund for assisting particularly vulnerable developing countries in responding to loss and damage.
• COP28 in 2023 operationalized the new funding arrangements and the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage.

Position under the Paris Agreement

Article 8 of the Paris Agreement recognizes the importance of averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage. It identifies cooperation in areas such as early-warning systems, emergency preparedness, risk assessment, insurance solutions, non-economic losses and resilience.

• The decision adopting the Paris Agreement states that Article 8 does not provide a basis for liability or compensation.
• Loss and damage therefore complements, rather than replaces, stronger mitigation and adaptation.