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A typology of loss and damage perspectives

Nature Climate Change volume 7, pages 723–729 (2017)Cite this article

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Abstract

Loss and Damage (L&D) has been the subject of contentious debate in international climate policy for several decades. Recently, formal mechanisms on L&D have been established, but arguably through unclear language. This ambiguity is politically important, but researchers and practitioners require clearer understandings of L&D. Here we report on the first in-depth empirical study of actor perspectives, including interviews with 38 key stakeholders in research, practice, and policy. We find points of agreement and also important distinctions in terms of: the relationship between L&D and adaptation, the emphasis on avoiding versus addressing L&D, the relevance of anthropogenic climate change, and the role of justice. A typology of four perspectives is identified, with different implications for research priorities and actions to address L&D. This typology enables improved understanding of existing perspectives and so has potential to facilitate more transparent discussion of the options available to address L&D.

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Figure 1: The typology of four perspectives on loss and damage.

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Acknowledgements

The researchers would like to thank all interviewees and stakeholder groups for providing their time and insights, particularly committee members and observers at the third meeting of the WIM ExCom, and participants of the Resilience Academy. We also thank A. Jones and F. Wang for their work transcribing the interviews. The research was facilitated by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)-funded ACE-Africa project, with special contributions from the University of Reading RETF, and Lund University.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6AB, UK

    Emily Boyd

  2. Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies, Lund, SE-221 00, Sweden

    Emily Boyd

  3. Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK

    Rachel A. James & Friederike E. L. Otto

  4. Department of Oceanography, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, 7701, South Africa

    Rachel A. James

  5. Met Office Hadley Centre, Exeter, EX1 3PB, UK

    Richard G. Jones

  6. School of Geography and Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK

    Richard G. Jones

  7. Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 7BE, UK

    Hannah R. Young

Authors
  1. Emily Boyd
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  2. Rachel A. James
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  3. Richard G. Jones
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  4. Hannah R. Young
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  5. Friederike E. L. Otto
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Contributions

E.B., R.A.J. and R.G.J. designed the research project, conducted interviews, analysed interview data, and wrote and revised the text. H.R.Y. conducted interviews, contributed to data handling and developed of codes for analysis, and contributed to the draft text. F.E.L.O. contributed by providing feedback on analysis, and contributed to the draft text.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Emily Boyd or Rachel A. James.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Boyd, E., James, R., Jones, R. et al. A typology of loss and damage perspectives. Nature Clim Change 7, 723–729 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate3389

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