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Loss and Damage in the Paris Agreement's Global Stocktake

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Loss and Damage in the Paris Agreement's Global Stocktake Climate change; Policy and planning Keywords: Least Developed Countries (LDCs), climate change negotiations, UNFCCC, Briefing Paris Agreement, loss and damage Issue date November 2018 Policy Loss and damage in the Paris pointers Agreement’s global stocktake Negotiators must ensure Loss and damage from climate change is a reality for many poor and the global stocktake (GST) systematically vulnerable countries, and will worsen as global temperatures rise. It is considers ‘loss and essential that it be considered systematically within the global stocktake, damage’ (L&D) to effectively take stock of which is to take stock of the implementation of the UNFCCC’s Paris the Paris Agreement’s implementation. Agreement. This briefing sets out the reasons for ensuring loss and damage is specifically and adequately addressed and how this can be Negotiators should push done. Giving due attention to loss and damage is a fundamental test of for the GST’s ‘sources of input’ to explicitly include countries’ commitment to achieving the aims and purpose of the Paris information on L&D experienced, as well as Agreement and will be a crucial outcome for the upcoming Conference of actions taken and support the Parties (COP24, December 2018). needed, provided and received to address L&D. Negotiators should push Under the UNFCCC’s1 Paris Agreement, the vulnerable countries, a key priority will be ensuring for L&D to be a distinct international community set an aim of limiting that the issue of ‘loss and damage’ is specifically workstream of the GST the global average temperature increase to and adequately addressed within the GST. that identifies gaps in addressing L&D and 1.5°C and addressing climate change impacts, recommends how these including the loss and damage climate change A recognised reality gaps can be closed. inflicts. Yet countries’ current mitigation pledges, Climate change loss and damage is a recognised even if fully realised, put the world on a path to reality for many developing countries. The Negotiators must ensure 3°C of warming. This lack of global ambition will Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change the GST’s output offers bring on impacts that grossly exceed vulnerable (IPCC) states that “poverty and disadvantage have solutions for addressing countries’ ability to cope. increased with recent warming”.4 Even with global L&D, which is rising as a warming of 1.5°C, vulnerable regions, including consequence of low The Paris Agreement established a global small islands and Least Developed Countries mitigation ambition and stocktake (GST) to “periodically take stock of insufficient adaptive (LDCs), will continue to suffer loss and damage the implementation of this Agreement to assess capacity. Solutions must and will run up against the limits of their adaptive the collective progress towards achieving the be underpinned by equity capacities. And with warming above 1.5°C, risks and the ‘best available purpose of this Agreement and its long-term and impacts will become even more pronounced.5 science’. goals”.2 Countries are now developing implementation guidelines for the Agreement, Vulnerable countries have no choice but to take including identifying information sources for the action on loss and damage. Some have been GST and planning how it will operate in practice.3 paying into regional risk pools to prepare for expected droughts or tropical cyclones, others The 24th session of the Conference of the Parties are setting aside dedicated funds. To some (COP24) in December 2018 is expected to extent, developed countries are providing conclude negotiations on the implementation support to address loss and damage — through guidelines. But various contentious issues will subsidies to insurance premiums, supporting need to be resolved at COP24. For poor and Download the pdf at http://pubs.iied.org/17490IIED IIED Briefing assessments of impending risks, or assisting climate system and reduce potential adverse during recovery and reconstruction phases. effects,10 which include loss and damage. However, recognition of vulnerable countries’ • The Agreement states that limiting actions and needs, and of developed countries’ temperature increase to 1.5°C “would support, is scattered at significantly reduce the risks and impacts of best. There is currently no It is high time for the climate change”. Assessing progress towards process for systematically this goal therefore requires consideration of UNFCCC to reflect the collecting and recording risks and impacts, which logically include loss and damage those relating to loss and damage. reality of loss and damage information under the as a fundamental element UNFCCC. It is high time • Taking stock of loss and damage is a measure for the UNFCCC to reflect of the limits to adaptation, and should be an of the global response the reality of loss and element of reviewing the global goal on damage as a fundamental adaptation of “enhancing adaptive capacity, to climate change element of the global strengthening resilience and reducing response to climate change, and to recognise the vulnerability to climate change”11 and urgent need to step up action. reviewing “the adequacy and effectiveness of adaptation and support provided for Ensuring the GST assesses efforts to address adaptation”.12 Further, assessing progress on loss and damage is essential for it to fulfil its “increasing the ability to adapt… and foster purpose, as provided in the Paris Agreement. climate resilience” without “threaten[ing] food This is the view of many developing countries, production”13 requires consideration of the including the LDC Group, the Alliance of Small nature and scale of loss and damage. Island States (AOSIS) and the African Group of Negotiators (AGN).6 Indeed, loss and damage is • Loss and damage is connected to efforts on incorporated throughout the latest ‘textual ‘means of implementation’. Developed country proposals’7 released ahead of COP24 — Parties are requested to provide developing documents that could become the starting point country Parties with finance, technology and for decisions taken on the GST, including under capacity building14 for coping with loss and ‘sources of input’ for information gathering and damage. Under the Paris Agreement, Parties ‘modalities’, that is, how the GST will work. have agreed this support should be enhanced with respect to loss and damage.9 Assessing Scope of the GST how this support on loss and damage is The GST requires Parties to “take stock of the provided falls within the GST’s mandate to implementation of the Paris Agreement”. It is to “take into account the relevant information consider mitigation of greenhouse gas provided by developed country Parties… on emissions, adaptation to climate change and the efforts related to climate finance”.15 means of implementation and support — • It is also essential to consider loss and however, this should be interpreted as a damage when taking stock of implementation non-exhaustive list. It is also to be “in light of equity and the best available “comprehensive” and inform Parties in “updating science”.2 It would be manifestly inequitable and enhancing… their actions and support”.8 To not to consider impacts that disproportionately do this, it will need to take stock of how affect the poor and vulnerable in the GST, and obligations under each article of the Agreement irrational to exclude the best available science are being implemented, including Article 8, on loss and damage. which sets out the collective obligation of Parties to “enhance understanding, action and ‘Sources of input’ support… with respect to loss and damage”.9 It will be important to gather information that This standalone article brings loss and damage reflects the full scope of issues the GST covers directly within the scope of the GST. and to draw from a broad range of sources — Additionally, assessing loss and damage from from expert bodies to local communities. climate change is inextricably linked to taking The latest textual proposals for COP24 set stock of other elements and assessing out options for the information to be covered collective progress towards achieving the Paris in the GST’s ‘sources of input’, including Agreement’s purpose and long-term goals: information on loss and damage as well as • The purpose of the Agreement includes information on impacts, support, food security “enhancing implementation of the and displaced people. Convention”, which itself seeks to avoid To effectively take stock of loss and damage, a dangerous human interference with the range of information will be required, including on: IIED Briefing • Loss and damage actually experienced. International Mechanism for Loss and Damage, How many people have died, how many were and from Parties), as well as other UN agencies displaced, what assets are lost because of and international organisations, the IPCC and climate-related extreme events and slow- non-Party stakeholders. These sources are also onset processes? This kind of information will covered in the textual proposals. help show how well the Paris Agreement is achieving its purpose and whether countries A three-step approach have enhanced their capacity to adapt to Information collection phase. The COP24 climate change. textual proposals suggest the first component of the GST would gather, compile and • Actions taken. How much of their GDP (gross synthesise information identified in the ‘sources domestic product) did countries spend on of input’ (see Figure 1). The UNFCCC reconstruction after climate-related disasters? secretariat will likely be mandated to prepare How much are countries investing into synthesis reports under the guidance of sovereign risk insurance? This type of appropriate expert bodies. The latest proposals information provides a measure of collective include a request to the secretariat to prepare action taken to tackle the adverse effects of synthesis reports on averting, minimising and climate change — and will reveal the scale of addressing loss and damage under the loss and damage suffered by particularly guidance of the Excom, which is well placed to vulnerable countries.
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