During COP28, a landmark agreement was reached with funding pledges to help countries at the frontline of climate change and with limited capacities pay the costs of the irreversible impacts of climate change. But what constitutes loss and damage continues to be highly debated, both at a conceptual level and in practice.
To provide insights and reflections on current conversations around loss and damage, TOWARDS organized a seminar in collaboration with C-Hub (Learning Hub for Climate Change Adaptation in Development) on climate loss and damage in January at Litteraturhuset in Oslo.
The seminar presentations and discussions reflected on the different dimensions to consider, on-going funds negotiations and the role of countries such as Norway in these debates. Speaking at the event were Fahad Hossain (ICCCAD – online), Douwe van Schie (Bonn university – online), Thea Erfjord (NMBU, Spire – in person) and Ida Strømsø (Save the Children – in person).
Understanding and addressing “loss and damage”
As Fahad Hossain from the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) explained, ‘loss and damage’ is generally understood to refer to the negative effects of climate variability and climate change from both slow onset or extreme events that people have not been able to adapt to or cope with. Written with uppercases, ‘Loss and Damage’ refers to the policies and plans negotiated through the UNFCCC processes to address loss and damage.
Douwe van Schie, a researcher at UNU-EHS and a PhD candidate at Bonn University working on non-economic loss and damage emphasized the importance of context and local values in both assessing and addressing loss and damage.
Loss and damage are both economic and non-economic, the latter referring to items that cannot be commonly traded in markets, for instance the impacts of extreme events on health as well as a loss of cultural identity or sense of place caused by migration due to climate change. However, dichotomies between economic and non-economic are difficult to uphold.
As research conducted in Durgapur Upazila in northern Bangladesh showed, the loss of livestock can be categorized as an economic asset, but it also leads to a loss of income which can create mental health issues. Livestock are also of great cultural importance in many contexts.
The research conducted in northern Bangladesh also highlighted the importance of understanding the perceived usefulness of responses to loss and damage at the local level. Cash compensation and interventions targeted at non-economic loss and damage were for instance not ranked high in Durgapur Upazila compared to other measures that are more commonly classified as development or adaptation. This raises questions as to what addressing loss and damage means.
Negotiating Loss and Damage
As Mr Hossain explained, Loss and Damage’s history under the UNFCCC regime dates to 1991 but agreements for operationalizing support and funding are more recent. Major milestones for Loss and Damage include its inclusion under Article 8 of the 2015 Paris Agreement and the establishment of the Glasgow dialogue during COP26 in 2021. The Loss and Damage Fund was finally established during COP27 with the modalities finalized on the first day of the most recent COP28 in Dubai.
Thea Erfjord, currently researching on measurements of loss and damage for her master thesis at NMBU and involved in Spire – a Norwegian youth sustainability organization, recently went to COP28 and as a civil society member of the Norwegian delegation in the negotiations. She noted that the fund was welcomed after several years of negotiations for it, but several concerns had been raised by civil society organizations and key questions remain to be addressed by the board being constituted to oversee the fund.
Some of the key criticisms point out at the lack of human rights language and the low attention paid to climate justice in the text, notably to stress the responsibility of the biggest historical polluters. The finance obligations are currently not binding and not planned for scale. With the choice of the World Bank as fund manager being heavily criticized, the attention is also on how to facilitate direct access to finance without redirecting finance flows from adaptation or increasing the debt burdens of highly indebted countries. The board will also need to ensure the meaningful participation of communities at the forefront of climatic risks, including within the board itself.
Finally, Ida Strømsø from Save the Children stressed the continuing difficulties for countries and communities most in need to access climate funds. Moreover, support towards addressing loss and damage should address differentiated and unique needs such as children’s ones.
"One out of three children in the world faces the dual threat of poverty and climate change"
Ida Strømsø
Children also present particular vulnerability characteristics, being uniquely physically and mentally at risk and living different lives than adults. Children’s rights to survive, to health, protection, clean water and food, but also to cultural heritage should be protected but are insufficiently accounted for in finance flows. Loss and damage may present a unique opportunity to learn from past experiences, notably to prioritize locally led approaches from the start.
The role of countries such as Norway
Norway may not directly face as strongly irreversible climatic impacts in the short term as other countries at the frontline are, but the country has contributed and continues to contribute heavily to greenhouse gas emissions. During the panel discussions and Q&A, speakers emphasized that debates have been polarized, often opposing polluting countries, civil society organizations and those most affected by climate change in the Global South. However, it is important that polluting countries show solidarity and for all to continue addressing difficult questions to advance climate justice.
One of the key recommendations from the panelists towards donor countries such as Norway included the need to be less risk-averse and to have less laborious and strict requirements in order for the funding to be accessible by those at the frontline of increasing climatic risks. Previous experience, for instance from the GEF, show that current procedures make it impossible for smaller organizations to access climate funds. Norway is also currently seeking a seat in the Loss and damage Fund board, which could allow the country to have more of a say in the management of the fund.
However, some panelists and attendees also pointed out that addressing loss and damage is not only about money, and compensation will fall short – i.e. in addressing loss of cultural heritage for instance. Addressing loss and damage could also mean empowering people at the frontline of climatic risks through providing access to training, technology, or strengthening existing capacities to enable meaningful participating in decision-making, monitoring, and implementation.
Finally, a tribute was paid to the late Dr Saleemul Huq’s legacy and his tireless work for climate justice and for Loss and Damage in particular. Mr. Hossain, a close collaborator of Dr Huq, noted that his work was first and foremost guided by his deep understanding of injustice and his ability to articulate the moral dimensions of climate change.
"Justice is an ideal that we want to get to, injustice is something that stares you in the face. So, my question is how are you going to deal with that?"
In the words of Dr Saleemul Huq
As climate change accelerates and its impacts are disproportionately felt across the globe, this question will continue to be one to return to.