Rohit, a local leader in Bangladesh, in front of the space where his house once stood (Credit: Douwe van Schie) The loss and damage conversation largely centres around the economics of climate impacts. Losses and damages which are difficult to value on a monetary scale are termed ‘non-economic losses and damages’, often left out of the equation, and often misunderstood. …

Countries and communities are exposed to increasingly harmful effects of climate change, leading to loss and damage. These concerns must be urgently addressed, especially in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). After decades of lobbying by LDCs, SIDS and others, the world has woken up to this situation, and negotiators at the 27th United Nations Climate …

COP after COP, the global climate action community or the ‘Conference of Parties’ as it is officially called, has made endless efforts to define, measure, and attribute Loss and Damage. From Agreement to Protocol, from Mechanism and Network to Conference and Declaration to Dialogue1, we have been only discussing and asserting the need for climate action. Even the science2 of …

Youth call for action to address loss and damage caused by climate change The climate crisis is causing severe damage and irreversible loss to people and the planet. Extreme weather events, including floods, storms, droughts, heat waves and wildfires, are becoming more frequent and more severe every year. The stakes are high for today’s youth – the largest youth generation …

‘Cost of Delay’ shines a light on how oil companies could comfortably compensate developing countries for the damage their products cause A half-year’s profits by six of the biggest fossil fuel companies would cover the cost of climate-related disasters in developing countries, with billions to spare, a new report shows. Oxfam Ireland is among the 100 organisations behind the report which …

NEW YORK (21 October 2022) – Human-induced climate change is the largest, most pervasive threat to the natural environment and societies the world has ever experienced, and the poorest countries are paying the heaviest price, a UN expert said. “Throughout the world, human rights are being negatively impacted and violated as a consequence of climate change. This includes the right …

Negotiations over compensation payments for climate damage in developing countries will become a key test at next month’s COP27 gathering The US has decided to support formal UN negotiations over possible compensation and assistance to countries that suffer devastation from storms, floods and droughts made far worse by climate change, senior administration officials said on Wednesday. The decision adds to a growing focus on what diplomats term …

Small island states will present a proposal for a “response fund” to help climate victims recover from snowballing impacts at next month’s Cop27 climate summit. It is more than 30 years since vulnerable nations first demanded support to address the losses and damages caused by fossil-fueled storms, floods and sea-level rise. Rich countries, wary of endless liabilities, pushed back. But with costs …