{"id":22365,"date":"2019-12-18T13:08:38","date_gmt":"2019-12-18T12:08:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.iiasa.ac.at\/?p=22365"},"modified":"2019-12-19T09:38:30","modified_gmt":"2019-12-19T08:38:30","slug":"towards-a-step-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.iiasa.ac.at\/2019\/12\/18\/towards-a-step-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Towards a step-change for dealing with critical risks \u2018beyond\u2019 adaptation and the Loss and Damage policy debate."},"content":{"rendered":"

Making use of <\/strong>mutuality-solidarity-accountability-transparency principles<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Teresa M. Deubelli, researcher in the IIASA Risk and Resilience Program and Reinhard Mechler, Deputy Program Director IIASA Risk and Resilience Program
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

The Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM) for Loss and Damage and its ongoing review were hot topics at COP25. Hopes for a step-change on the issue of finance to scale up action and support have not been translated into action. Negotiating Parties remain divided over the way forward and the question of what kind of finance and for whom. We suggest to build on principles of risk governance, including insurance, and international cooperation\u00a0 \u2013 mutuality, solidarity, accountability and transparency \u2013 and to combine these in novel ways in order to upscale action on both averting and minimizing as well as addressing loss and damage under the WIM in a manner that truly shows responsibility for responding to the climate crisis.<\/p>\n

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COP25 Madrid, Spain \u00a9 Reinhard Mechler | IIASA<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0Why do we need a step-change on Loss and Damage finance?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hard limits to adaptation are creating situations beyond adaptation; think for example of communities fleeing desertification or sea-level rise that can only retreat so far. The WIM has made substantial strides on its objectives to advance knowledge and exchange since its creation, but now the time is ripe to take the necessary steps to also move forward on addressing loss and damage from climate change.<\/p>\n

So far, this third WIM priority has mostly been addressed through insurance approaches, such as the Fiji Clearing House. While there is value in scaling up risk transfer options, insurance comes with drawbacks: insurance premium costs often exceed financial capacities of vulnerable groups or may result in a false sense of protection that undermines further resilience-building action. Additionally, risk transfer options remain focused on sudden onset events.<\/p>\n

Loss and damage from climate change is not just linked to sudden events; sea-level rise, desertification, and glacial melting take years to unfold, but once these tipping points are reached, recovery and reconstruction, and thus the typical logic of humanitarian assistance, are out of the question. As the climate crisis spirals forward tipping points may be reached sooner than expected, also challenging the sustainability of resilience building actions within the framework of development cooperation<\/p>\n

How to make a principled case to generate support for addressing loss and damage?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most vulnerable countries agree that the WIM needs to advance on enhancing action and support for addressing loss and damage from climate change. Discussions at COP25 focused heavily on the issue of mobilizing finance for addressing loss and damage, but little headway was made, as views on the exact modalities of finance and its access differ vastly amongst Parties. Unfortunately, this means that the ongoing WIM review faces a certain risk of replicating the stalemate that characterised the Paris Agreement negotiations on the question of liability, when notions of compensatory justice were crossed out from Article 8 at the request of several developed, high emitting countries.<\/p>\n

In order to propel the discourse forward in future rounds of climate talks and in the WIM review, We suggest to build on principles of risk governance, including insurance, and\u00a0 international cooperation\u00a0 \u2013 mutuality, solidarity, accountability and transparency \u2013 and to combine these in novel ways in order to upscale action on both averting and minimizing as well as addressing losses and damages under the WIM:<\/p>\n