Publication Series ADDRESSING LOSS AND DAMAGE FROM SLOW-ONSET PROCESSES Slow-onset Processes and Resulting Loss and Damage – An introduction Table of contents L 4 22 ist of a bbre Summary of Loss and damage via tio key facts and due to slow-onset ns definitions processes AR4 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report 6 22 What is loss and damage? Introduction AR5 IPCC Fifth Assessment Report COP Conference of the Parties to the 23 United Nations Framework Convention on 9 What losses and damages IMPRINT Climate Change can result from slow-onset Slow-onset ENDA Environment Development Action Energy, processes? Authors Environment and Development Programme processes and their Laura Schäfer, Pia Jorks, Emmanuel Seck, Energy key characteristics 26 Oumou Koulibaly, Aliou Diouf ESL Extreme Sea Level What losses and damages Contributors GDP Gross Domestic Product 9 can result from sea level rise? Idy Niang, Bounama Dieye, Omar Sow, Vera GMSL Global mean sea level What is a slow-onset process? Künzel, Rixa Schwarz, Erin Roberts, Roxana 31 Baldrich, Nathalie Koffi Nguessan GMSLR Global mean sea level rise 10 IOM International Organization on Migration What are key characteristics Loss and damage Editing Adam Goulston – Scize Group LLC of slow-onset processes? in Senegal due to IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change sea level rise Layout and graphics LECZ Low-elevation coastal zone 14 Karin Roth – Wissen in Worten OCHA Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs What are other relevant January 2021 terms for the terminology on 35 RCP Representative (Emission) Concentration Pathway/Scenario slow-onset processes? Outlook SIDS Small Island Developing States The authors thank Denis Mombauer, Vositha SLR Sea level rise 14 36 Wijenayake, Kairos Dela Cruz, Imran Hasan, Which phenomena fall under Faizal Cader, Anjatiana Radoharinirina, Martina SR1.5 IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C the category of slow-onset Bibliography Solofofiaviantsoa, Vitu Chinoko, Khampha above pre-industrial levels Keomanichanh, Senashia Ekanayake and Boucar processes? Diouf for their valuable input and feedback SRCCL IPCC Special Report on climate change, desertification, land during the preparation and review of this paper degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and 16 or during interviews. We extend our acknowl- greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems Box: Sea level rise edgments to Flora Hartmann who supported the SREX IPCC Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and literature review for this paper. The authors are Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation 17 also grateful to their colleagues Carolin Becher, Janina Longwitz und Hanna Fuhrmann for their SROCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Box: Slow-onset processes in support. Climate IPCC reports UNCLOS United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Publisher UNDRR United Nations Office on Disaster Risk Reduction Germanwatch e.V. – Office Bonn Kaiserstr. 201, D-53113 Bonn, Germany UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Phone +49 (0)228 / 60 492-0, Fax -19 UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change www.germanwatch.org UNHRC United Nations Human Rights Council Contact UNU United Nations University Laura Schäfer – [email protected] USAID United States Agency for International Development This publication is supported by Engagement Global with funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic USD US Dollar Cooperation and Development. Germanwatch is responsible for WIM Warsaw International Mechanism for the content of this publication. Loss & Damage Supported by With funding from the List of tables and figures Lis 11 t of ab 13 bre Table 1: Key characteristics Figure 1: Slow-onset vi of climate related slow-onset ati processes’ chain of effects for on processes and rapid-onset sea level rise s events 15 AR4 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report 18 Figure 2: The continuum of Table 2: Slow-onset-related slow-onset processes and AR5 IPCC Fifth Assessment Report terminology used in relevant sudden-onset events COP Conference of the Parties to the IPCC reports since 2007 United Nations Framework Convention on 16 Climate Change 27 Figure 3: Historical and ENDA Environment Development Action Energy, Table 3: Loss and damage projected global average sea Energy Environment and Development Programme from sea level rise level rise ESL Extreme Sea Level 19 GDP Gross Domestic Product Figure 4: Total number of GMSL Global mean sea level mentions of slow-onset GMSLR Global mean sea level rise processes, extreme weather events, and drought in IPCC IOM International Organization on Migration AR5, WG II IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 19 LECZ Low-elevation coastal zone Figure 5: Total number of OCHA Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs mentions of slow-onset RCP Representative (Emission) Concentration Pathway/Scenario processes, extreme weather events, and drought in IPCC SIDS Small Island Developing States SR 1.5 °C SLR Sea level rise SR1.5 IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C 20 above pre-industrial levels Figure 6: Mentions of specific slow-onset processes in the SRCCL IPCC Special Report on climate change, desertification, land IPCC AR5, WG II degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems 20 SREX IPCC Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Figure 7: Mentions of specific Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation slow-onset processes in IPCC SROCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing SR 1.5 °C Climate UNCLOS United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 24 Figure 8: Overview of loss UNDRR United Nations Office on Disaster Risk Reduction and damage due to slow- UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization onset processes UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNHRC United Nations Human Rights Council UNU United Nations University USAID United States Agency for International Development USD US Dollar WIM Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss & Damage 4 | Summary of key facts and definitions SUMMARY OF KEY FACTS AND DEFINITIONS What is a The effects of climate change can all levels up to the global scale. Slow- slow-onset be divided into two categories onset processes’ characteristics can according to the temporal scale be well understood when compared process? over which they occur and the with rapid onset events, in the climate differing speed of manifestation of their context typically referred to as extreme impacts: slow-onset processes and rap- weather events. Rapid-onset events are id-onset events. To date, in the climate single, discrete events with a clearly context, no officially acknowledged identifiable beginning and/or end and definition of slow-onset processes that occur or reoccur in a matter of days has been established. For this paper, or even hours at a local, national, or slow-onset processes are understood region scale (UNHCR 2018). as phenomena caused or intensified by anthropogenic climate change that This paper considers increasing Which take place over prolonged periods of mean temperatures, sea level phenomena time – typically years, decades, or even rise, ocean acidification, glacial fall under the centuries – without a clear start or end retreat, permafrost degradation, point (see UNFCCC 2012, UNU 2017, salinisation, land and forest deg- category of UNHRC 2018, IPCC 2007 and 2012). radation, and desertification, slow-onset Slow-onset processes evolve through as well as loss of biodiversity, processes? gradual transformations - creeping or as slow-onset processes (see incremental changes that can generate UNFCCC 2017, UNU 2017). The paper severe, cumulative and potentially puts a special emphasis on the distinct irreversible impacts on ecological and slow-onset process of sea level rise, human systems. Impacts take place at which is one of the most urgent such Summary of key facts and definitions | 5 processes in Senegal, our case study a higher number of non-economic than country. Droughts are a special case economic losses and damages. and not included in the list of these processes. Droughts result from a pat- Slow-onset processes are interlinked tern of extreme weather that persists for and mutually reinforcing. They all lead some time (e.g. a season) and can be to a damage and/or loss of ecosystems classified as an extreme climate event and their services, leading to a decrease (IPCC 2014c). and loss of biodiversity. Slow-onset pro- cesses and the losses and damages they What losses Loss and damage is under- cause can be drivers of human mobility and damages stood as “adverse impacts of (Rigaud et al. 2017). Migration as an do slow-onset human-induced climate change adaptation strategy or way of dealing that cannot be avoided by with loss and damage, however, can lead processes cause? mitigation or adaptation, or to further non-economic losses, such as that will not be avoided in the loss of culture and traditions, language, future by adaptation due to insuffi- social networks, identity and commu- cient resources” (Mace/Verheyen 2016: nity cohesion (Campbell/Warrick 2014). 198). A main distinction can be made Research showed that slow-onset cli- between economic loss and damage mate changes are more likely to induce (including [a] physical assets and [b] increased migration and displacement income) and non-economic loss and than rapid-onset changes (Kaczan / damage (including [a] material and Orgill-Meyer 2020). Research also hints [b] non-material forms). The analysis that, similar to rapid-onset events, slow- for this paper (see section 3) showed onset processes and resulting losses that all slow-onset processes cause a and damages particularly affect vulner- high number of different losses and able people in countries of the Global damages; sea level rise and land and South (Warner/van der Geest 2013, Zorn forest degradation lead to the greatest 2018). This is also partially due to the number of losses and damages.