Loss and damage: from the global to the local

At the 18th Conference of the Parties (COP18) in Doha a landmark decision on loss and damage was reached to establish institutional arrangements to address loss and damage at COP19. Though the form these arrangements will take is still being debated, a consensus is developing. Research in Bangladesh, for example, has highlighted the need to address loss and damage in comprehensive risk management frameworks, facilitate crosssectoral collaboration and integrate disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation agendas. Local-level research in nine developing countries suggests targeting adaptation support better, providing policymakers with signals about the limits to adaptation and involving communities in decisionmaking processes. At COP19 in Warsaw, parties must have these and other needs in mind if they are to establish institutional arrangements to mobilise the necessary action and support.