The intractability of loss and damage issues in climate negotiations

Soundings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 78 (78) ◽  
pp. 38-49
Author(s):  
Md Fahad Hossain ◽  
Saleemul Huq ◽  
Mizan R. Khan
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Climate Regime ◽  
Climate Negotiations ◽  
Loss And Damage ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
The Face ◽  
History Of ◽  
Key Issues

The impacts of human-induced climate change are manifested through losses and damages incurred due to the increasing frequency and intensity of climatic disasters all over the world. Low-income countries who have contributed the least in causing climate change, and have low financial capability, are the worst victims of this. However, since the inception of the international climate regime under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), loss and damage has been a politically charged issue. It took about two decades of pushing by the vulnerable developing countries for the agenda to formally anchor in the climate negotiations text. This was further solidified through establishment of the Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM) and inclusion of stand-alone Article 8 on loss and damage in the Paris Agreement. Its institutionalisation has only done the groundwork of addressing loss and damage however - the key issue of finance for loss and damage and other matters has remained largely unresolved to date – particularly since Article 8 does not have any provision for finance. This has been due to the climate change-causing wealthy developed nations' utter disregard for their formal obligations in the climate regime as well as their moral obligation. In this article, we tease out the central controversies that underpin the intractability of this agenda at the negotiations of the UNFCCC. We begin by giving a walk-through of the concept and history of loss and damage in the climate regime. Then we present a brief account of losses and damages occurring in the face of rising temperature, and highlight the key issues of contention, focusing on the more recent developments. Finally, we conclude by suggesting some way forward for the twenty-sixth session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP26) taking place in Glasgow, UK in November 2021.

Can ‘poor’ cities breathe: Responses to climate change in low-income countries

Urban Climate ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 403-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bikramaditya K. Choudhary ◽  
Arun Kumar Tripathi ◽  
Jeetesh Rai
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Low Income Countries

Climate Change And Food Security In Nepal

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 9-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krishna Prasad Pant
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Farm Production ◽  
Agriculture And Environment ◽  
Policy Measures ◽  
The Government

Climate change is posing a threat on present and future food security in low income countries. But, the actual effect of the climate change on food security is not known. Using secondary data reported by the government, the paper examines the effects of climate change on food security in Nepal in the context of policies of commercialization of farm production. Statistical analysis is used to delineate the situation of food security in the country and regression analysis for exploring the effects of global warming on domestic production of major cereals. The results are discussed at global, national, household and individual levels empirically and qualitatively. The results suggest that a rise in minimum temperature decreases the productivity of rice increasing threat of food insecurity. The paper suggests some policy measures for improving food security situation in the country and open up some areas for further research. The Journal of Agriculture and Environment Vol:13, Jun.2012, Page 9-19 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/aej.v13i0.7582

scholarly journals The Paris Agreement: Historic Breakthrough or High Stakes Experiment?

Climate Law ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meinhard Doelle
Keyword(s):  
Kyoto Protocol ◽  
Paris Agreement ◽  
Climate Regime ◽  
Top Down ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Flexible Approach ◽  
Climate Negotiations ◽  
Loss And Damage ◽  
Self Differentiation

This article offers an overview of the two key outcomes of the 2015 Paris climate negotiations, the Paris cop decision, and the Paris Agreement. Collectively, they chart a new course for the un climate regime that started in earnest in Copenhagen in 2009. The Paris Agreement represents a path away from the top-down approach and rigid differentiation among parties reflected in the Kyoto Protocol, toward a bottom-up and flexible approach focused on collective long-term goals and principles. It represents an approach to reaching these long-term goals that is focused on self-differentiation, support, transparency, and review. The article highlights the key elements of the agreement reached in Paris, including its approach to mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, finance, transparency, and compliance.

scholarly journals Nutrition from a climate change perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 380-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. I. Macdiarmid ◽  
S. Whybrow
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Food System ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Food And Nutrition Security ◽  
Sustainable Diets ◽  
Nutrition Security ◽  
Nutrient Density ◽  
Food And Nutrition

Climate change is threatening future global food and nutrition security. Limiting the increase in global temperature to 1·5 °C set out in The Paris Agreement (2015) while achieving nutrient security means overhauling the current food system to create one that can deliver healthy and sustainable diets. To attain this, it is critical to understand the implications for nutrition of actions to mitigate climate change as well as the impacts of climate change on food production and the nutrient composition of foods. It is widely recognised that livestock production has a much greater environmental burden than crop production, and therefore advice is to reduce meat consumption. This has triggered concern in some sectors about a lack of protein in diets, which hence is driving efforts to find protein replacements. However, in most high- and middle-income countries, protein intakes far exceed dietary requirements and it would even if all meat were removed from diets. Reduction in micronutrients should be given more attention when reducing meat. Simply eating less meat does not guarantee healthier or more sustainable diets. Climate change will also affect the type, amount and nutrient quality of food that can be produced. Studies have shown that increased temperature and elevated CO2 levels can reduce the nutrient density of some staple crops, which is of particular concern in low-income countries. Nutrition from a climate change perspective means considering the potential consequences of any climate action on food and nutrition security. In this paper, we discuss these issues from an interdisciplinary perspective.

scholarly journals Moving Birds in Hawai'i: Assisted Colonisation in a Colonised Land

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-64
Author(s):  
Thom Van Dooren
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Endangered Species ◽  
Native Hawaiian ◽  
Avian Species ◽  
Kanaka Maoli ◽  
The World ◽  
The Face ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Many

In September 2011, a delicate cargo of 24 Nihoa Millerbirds was carefully loaded by conservationists onto a ship for a three-day voyage to Laysan Island in the remote Northwest Hawaiian Islands. The goal of this effort was to establish a second population of this endangered species, an “insurance population” in the face of the mounting pressures of climate change and potential new biotic arrivals. But the millerbird, or ulūlu in Hawaiian, is just one of the many avian species to become the subject of this kind of “assisted colonisation.” In Hawai'i, and around the world, recent years have seen a broad range of efforts to safeguard species by finding them homes in new places. Thinking through the ulūlu project, this article explores the challenges and possibilities of assisted colonisation in this colonised land. What does it mean to move birds in the context of the long, and ongoing, history of dispossession of the Kānaka Maoli, the Native Hawaiian people? How are distinct but entangled process of colonisation, of unworlding, at work in the lives of both people and birds? Ultimately, this article explores how these diverse colonisations might be understood and told responsibly in an era of escalating loss and extinction.

scholarly journals Therapies Out of Reach: Anticancer Drugs and Global Trade Regimes

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 371-387
Author(s):  
Dwaipayan Banerjee ◽  
James Sargent
Keyword(s):  
Anticancer Drugs ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
High Price ◽  
Global Trade ◽  
Trade Regimes ◽  
History Of ◽  
Policy Analysts ◽  
The Cost ◽  
New Generation

Medical policy analysts and oncologists have cautioned against the high price of anticancer drugs. They argue that the current drug development model that relies on patents and short-term shareholder value is proving unsustainable, since the cost of the new generation of drugs puts many of them out of reach for the average consumer. The high price of cancer drugs is especially troubling in the context of middle- and low-income countries, where the burden of cancer carries disproportionate impact. To analyse the pricing of anticancer drugs, we examined legal controversies, regulatory treaties and documents, as well as the history of pricing data in India. We also conducted interviews with policy consultants and surveyed financial data filings of major global and Indian pharmaceutical corporations. Our research revealed that global trade agreements have become key barriers to lowering anticancer drug prices. This article argues that in the shadow of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and with Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) imminent, serious policy changes are necessary to ensure the survival of generic production in the market for anticancer drugs.

scholarly journals Species-wide whole genome sequencing reveals historical global spread and recent local persistence in Shigella flexneri

eLife ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas R Connor ◽  
Clare R Barker ◽  
Kate S Baker ◽  
François-Xavier Weill ◽  
Kaisar Ali Talukder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Whole Genome Sequencing ◽  
Genome Sequencing ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Shigella Flexneri ◽  
Virulence Gene ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Whole Genome ◽  
Phylogenetic Groups ◽  
Gene Acquisition ◽  
History Of

Shigella flexneri is the most common cause of bacterial dysentery in low-income countries. Despite this, S. flexneri remains largely unexplored from a genomic standpoint and is still described using a vocabulary based on serotyping reactions developed over half-a-century ago. Here we combine whole genome sequencing with geographical and temporal data to examine the natural history of the species. Our analysis subdivides S. flexneri into seven phylogenetic groups (PGs); each containing two-or-more serotypes and characterised by distinct virulence gene complement and geographic range. Within the S. flexneri PGs we identify geographically restricted sub-lineages that appear to have persistently colonised regions for many decades to over 100 years. Although we found abundant evidence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) determinant acquisition, our dataset shows no evidence of subsequent intercontinental spread of antimicrobial resistant strains. The pattern of colonisation and AMR gene acquisition suggest that S. flexneri has a distinct life-cycle involving local persistence.

Managing Global Growth Risks and Commodity Price Shocks - Vulnerabilities and Policy Challenges for Low-Income Countries

Policy Papers ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (76) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Commodity Prices ◽  
Commodity Price ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Price Shocks ◽  
Commodity Price Shocks ◽  
The Face ◽  
Global Growth

As part of its work to help low-income countries (LICs) manage volatility, the IMF has recently developed an analytical framework to assess vulnerabilities and emerging risks that arise from changes in the external environment (see IMF, 2011a). This report draws on the results of the first Vulnerability Exercise for LICs (VE-LIC) conducted by IMF staff using this new framework. The report focuses on the risks of a downturn in global growth and of further global commodity price shocks, and discusses related policy challenges. The report is organized as follows: Chapter I reviews recent macroeconomic developments, including the spike in global commodity prices earlier this year. Chapter II assesses current risks and vulnerabilities, including how a sharp downturn in global growth and further commodity price shocks would affect LICs. Chapter III discusses policy challenges in the face of these risks and vulnerabilities.

ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE IN LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES: LESSONS FROM CURRENT RESEARCH AND NEEDS FROM FUTURE RESEARCH

2012 ◽  
Vol 03 (02) ◽  
pp. 1250005 ◽  
Author(s):  
ARUN S. MALIK ◽  
STEPHEN C. SMITH
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Adaptation To Climate Change ◽  
Autonomous Adaptation ◽  
Adaptation Decision ◽  
Planned Adaptation ◽  
The Relationship

We put in perspective the papers in this special issue by characterizing different forms of adaptation to climate change and discussing the role of adaptation in a developing country context. We highlight adaptation decision-making under uncertainty, empirics of autonomous adaptation, and data and methodological challenges. We identify unresolved questions, emphasizing interactions between autonomous and planned adaptation, adaptation externalities, and the relationship between adaptation and conflict.

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