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Event

Dealing with losses and damages: field experiences and lessons for a global mechanism

Averting, minimizing and addressing the loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change and supporting vulnerable and poor countries to achieve compensation or reparation is a discussion that is making little progress. Efforts to mobilize funds and establish a proper finance mechanism have not yet fully paid off.

10 November 2022 at 13:15 EET

ending at 14:45 EET

Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt and Online

Tutankhamun, COP27 Venue

Naria Upazila Health Complex building in Shariatpur district goes into the Padma River. Shariatpur, Bangladesh

Naria Upazila Health Complex building in Shariatpur district goes into the Padma River. Shariatpur, Bangladesh. Photo: M Rahman, Alamy / Climate Visuals

Further negotiation at COP27 is critically important for the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement and to ensure justice for the poor and vulnerable countries that are increasingly being affected by the impacts of climate change.

The issue of Loss and Damage (L&D) has been and remains a highly contentious issue in climate negotiations. It has a long history and was first raised by the Alliance of Small Island States in 1991. Since then, the concept has progressively been institutionalized, in particular through the Warsaw International Mechanism at COP19, and then anchored in Article 8 in the Paris Agreement in 2015.

Climate justice demands that countries and people least responsible for climate change must not bear the burden of losses and damages and a financial mechanism for L&D is established on polluter pays principles.

This side event contributes to this important topic with experiences from three continents and from the perspectives of communities, governments, private philanthropy and academia. The experiences will highlight current approaches to deal with losses and damages using different instruments, including innovative finance mechanisms supported and piloted by philanthropic donors, and will address the scale of the challenge and the imperatives for a L&D global mechanism.

Panelists: 

  • Ashish Barua, Program Manager, Climate Change & DRR, Helvetas Bangladesh
  • Karina Barrera, Subsecretary for Climate Change, Ministry for Environment, Water and Ecological Transition of Ecuador
  • Zoha Shawoo, Associate Scientist, Stockholm Environment Institute
  • Fanaye Gebrehiwot, Country Director, Helvetas Ethiopia
  • Ottilie Bälz, Senior Vice President, Robert Bosch Foundation
  • Maria Gracia Aguilar, Consultant, Climate Action Program, Fundación Avina
  • Heather McGray, Director, Climate Justice Resilience Fund

Session moderator – Rupa Mukerji, Advisory Services Director, Helvetas.

Join the event online

This event will take place at the Tutankhamun Room at COP27, Sharm el-Sheikh, but you can also join the event online.

Watch the livestream

SEI participant

Zoha Shawoo
Zoha Shawoo

Scientist

SEI US

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