1. Outline of Presentation
1. Defining L&D and Related Concepts
2. History of L&D in International Negotiations
3. Details of the Warsaw International Mechanism on L&D
4. Evidence from Nine Country Case Study (UNU-EHS)
5. Conceptualizing L&D (avoiding vs. addressing)
6. How to Address L&D
7. Challenges in Measuring L&D
8. Completed/Ongoing/Upcoming Research
9. Next Steps

2. Defining Loss and Damage
Loss and Damage (working definitions):
“Effects that would not have happened in a world without climate
change, which have not been mitigated, and which cannot be (or
have not been) adapted to” (ActionAid, 2010)

“The actual and/or potential manifestation of impacts associated
with climate change in developing countries that negatively affect
human and natural systems” (UNFCCC, 2012)

“Representing the actual and/or potential manifestation of climate
impacts that negatively affect human and natural systems” (CDKN,
2012)

“The impacts of climate change that people cannot cope with or
adapt to” (Warner and van der Geest, 2013)

3. Limits to Adaptation
“The impacts of climate change that people cannot cope with
or adapt to” (Warner and van der Geest, 2013)

“[T]he point at which an actor’s objectives (or system needs)
cannot be secured from intolerable risks through adaptive
actions” (Dow et al., 2013)
See: Warner, K., and van der Geest, K., (2013) Loss and damage from climate change: Local-level evidence
from nine vulnerable countries. International Journal of Global Warming 5(4), 1-20.
Dow, K., Berkhout, F., Preston, B., Klein, R.J.T., Midley, G., Shaw, R., (2013) Commentary: Limits to adaptation.
Nature Climate Change 3, 305–307

4. Other Definitions
Loss vs. Damage
 Loss: impacts of climate change that cannot be recovered
 Damage: impacts that can be recovered
Hard vs. Soft Limit
 Hard Limit: adaptation is no longer possible
 Soft Limit: adaptation strategies to avoid intolerable risk are not
available
Economic vs. Non-Economic L&D
 Economic L&D: items for which market values can be assigned
 Non-Economic L&D: items for which market values cannot
(easily) be assigned (ie. indirect use values or symbolic values)

5. Economic L&D Impacts
Use Value
(measured with economic means
and the generation of profit)
Structural Impacts
 Buildings
 Homes/Shelters
 Roads
 Factories
 Machinery
Livelihood Impacts
 Crop loss
 Land use for production
 Employment
 Rent

6. Challenges with Measuring
The biggest issue with using markets to measure L&D is that markets
(Morrissey and Oliver-Smith, 2013):
1. Do not value public goods
2. Tend to ignore symbolic values needed to forge identify
and come together to problem solve
3. Fail to value knowledge systems
Formal qualitative accounts of L&D tend to undervalue the
real costs of climate change.
See: Morrissy, J. and Oliver-Smith, A. (2013) Perspectives on Non-Economic Loss and Damage: Understanding
Values at risk due to climate change. CDKN Research. Available at:
www.lossanddamage.net/download/7213.pdf

7. Non-Economic Impacts
Non-economic losses and damages go beyond the
quantifiable
 Human lives
 Health
 Psychological Impacts
 Education
 Traditions/Religious
 Symbolic Assets
 Cultural Heritage
 Biodiversity
 Ecosystem services

8. History of L&D in Int’l Negotiations
1991
•Vanatu proposal to include an insurance mechanism for the
cost of climate change in the convention
2007
•COP13 in Bali called for understanding of risk management,
reduction sharing and transfer
2010
•COP16 in Cancun launched a work programme for
enhanced understanding of L&D
2012
•COP18 in Doha called for the establishment of institutional
arrangements on L&D at COP19
2013
•COP19 in Warsaw established the Warsaw International
Mechanism (WIM) on L&D

9. Warsaw Int’l Mechanism (WIM)
Highlights from the work plan of the Executive Committee of the WIM:
 Identify tools, technologies, lessons learned and best practices to
facilitate comprehensive risk management
 Assess and develop recommendations to enhance knowledge and
capacity to address slow onset processes
 Invite relevant risk management and humanitarian organizations to
develop country specific analyses of the risk of loss and damage and
develop institutional arrangements to prevent and manage loss and
damage
 Establish an expert group to develop recommendations for reducing the
risk of and addressing non-economic losses
 Need to enhance understanding of: how loss and damage impacts
vulnerable people and countries, slow onset processes and approaches
to address them, human mobility and non-economic losses
See: http://unfccc.int/files/adaptation/cancun_adaptation_framework/loss_and_damage/application/pdf
workplan_18sept_11am.pdf

10. Nine Country Case Study
Found L&D occurs in four different cases:
1. Coping and adaptation measures are not sufficient
2. Coping and adaptation measures have costs that are not
recovered (both economic and non-economic)
3. Coping and adaptation measures are erosive and increase
vulnerability
4. No coping or adaptation measures are implemented
because of a lack of capacity or resources or because the
hard limits of adaptation have been reached
See: Warner, K., and van der Geest, K., (2013) Loss and damage from climate change: Local-level evidence from nine
vulnerable countries. International Journal of Global Warming 5(4), 1-20.

11. Conceptualizing L&D
Avoiding L&D:
 Mitigation, adaptation, risk
management and
sustainable development
Addressing Residual L&D:
 Risk management (risk
transfer, risk retention, relief
and reconstruction)

12. Addressing Residual L&D
Risk Reduction:
 Structural measures such as embankments, cyclone shelters, etc.
 Non-structural measures such as the use of indigenous knowledge,
early earning systems, etc.
Risk Transfer:
 Insurance, micro-insurance, risk pooling, catastrophe bonds
Risk Retention:
 Social safety nets/social protection measures, contingency
funds/loans
Other:
 Sustainable development, livelihood diversification, migration
policies, national frameworks and policies and regional agreements

13. Challenges
 Attribution
 Data collection
 Spatial/temporal scales
 Differentiating direct/indirect impacts
 Perceptions/physical characteristics
 Quantitative/qualitative assessments

14. Completed Research
Loss and Damage in Vulnerable Country Initiative
Compendium project with ICCCAD, GermanWatch, MCII and UNU-EHS
All publications are available at:
www.lossanddamage.net

15. Key Findings from Bangladesh
 Transformational approaches are needed to address L&D
 Comprehensive approaches are necessary to effectively address L&D
 Capacity building is required to effectively design and implement approaches to
L&D
 Enhance collaboration and communication within as well as between
government agencies and external research organizations
 Enhance public awareness about climate change
 Linking national, regional and international processes
 Finance and technology transfer will be required to undertake research
 Establishment of a national-level L&D mechanism
See: Roberts, E. et al. (2013) Early Lessons from the Process to Enhance Understanding of Loss
and Damage in Bangladesh. CDKN Research. Available at: www.lossanddamage.net/4945

16. Ongoing Research
Asia-Pacific Network on Global Change Research (APN-
GCR) 14 Project initiative on DRR, CCD and L&D research
Enhanced Understanding on:
 The risk of slow onset events
 Economic and non-economic L&D
 Impacts on the most vulnerable
 Approaches to slow onset and extreme events into climate-
resilient development processes
 How climate change is affecting patterns of mitigation,
displacement and human mobility
All research will be available at:
www.lossanddamageforum.org

17. Next Steps
 Explore and expand synergies with existing policy
agendas on DRR, CCA and sustainable development
 Identify limits to adaptation and understand who is
particularly vulnerable to experiencing loss and damage
 Understand how different value systems can help
avoid/reduce future losses and damages
 Enhance understanding of how
transformative adaptation can
play a role in avoiding and
reducing loss and damage

18. Questions/Feedback