Financing loss and damage: a look at governance and implementation options
In 2013 countries agreed to establish the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage (WIM) and agreed that it would do three things: a) enhance knowledge; b) strengthen dialogue and coordination and c) enhance action and support, including finance for loss and damage. This third element of its mandate has been sorely neglected. Almost no work has been done on how to fund loss and damage, how it fits with other streams of finance, and how loss and damage finance should be channeled to vulnerable countries. We are no closer now than we were in 2013 to vulnerable people and countries receiving loss and damage finance. This report explores a number of elements that urgently need to be addressed: When it comes to implementation loss and damage overlaps with adaptation, humanitarian disaster recovery, disaster risk reduction, migration programs and so on. It’s important that loss and damage strategies and programmes are as impactful as possible for people on the ground. To avoid duplication and unnecessary complication, political and institutional coordination in these various areas will be needed.