By the end of 2024, interested Parties can include information on loss and damage in their Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). However, information on financial loss and damage needs of developing countries remains scarce. Including national data to provide a bottom-up evidence base of such needs could contribute substantially to closing this information gap in the context of climate finance.

Calculating financing needs to respond to loss and damage requires response activities to be costed. For example, how much will it cost to relocate people in response to sea level rise? How much will it cost to rebuild all schools, hospitals and bridges after unprecedented storms? These are separate to the economic losses incurred due to climate change, which simply describe the value of lost assets (e.g. of houses, foregone income, lives lost).

However, countries are only just starting to articulate their loss and damage priorities – a logical first step before costing such priorities. Comprehensive financial needs assessments are therefore largely unavailable. Nevertheless, in their BTRs, developing countries can use existing data on observed climate-related disaster losses (both economic and non-economic) and associated recovery costs, which can serve as useful proxies until more comprehensive assessments become available. To date, only Vanuatu and Haiti have included specifically costed loss and damage activities.

Observed losses are also a useful starting point to determine cost of response. For example, knowing the value of destroyed hospitals, schools and bridges is a good basis to determine what it will cost to rebuild them. Observed climate-related disaster losses have already been used to highlight loss and damage burdens shouldered by developing countries in other reporting contexts under the UNFCCC.

This briefing proposes using climate-related disaster loss data from the EM-DAT and DesInventar databases (the two major global disaster databases that are publicly accessible) for BTR reporting. Similarly, Post-Disaster Needs Assessments (which often include estimates of recovery costs) could also be used to extract numbers on observed losses and associated recovery costs.

Further, developing countries may wish to consider national disaster loss databases as viable sources of information to be included under the loss and damage section of their BTRs. Given how scarce reporting of economic losses in developing countries is in global databases, such national reports can be particularly useful.

This briefing complements chapter 8 of the Training Material issued by the Consultative Group of Experts, which is more strongly focussed on assessment methods and gives less weight to the sources of information which are the main focus of this briefing.

This briefing also considers the distinction between climate-related events and other disasters to guide which disaster-related costs can reasonably be reported as climate-related loss and damage.

Article 6.4 progress update: work of the Supervisory Body on the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism

The Article 6.4 mechanism, now known as the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism, allows countries to trade reductions in carbon emissions in a manner that goes beyond zero-sum offsetting, to achieve their commitments under the Paris Agreement. This briefing aims to update Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries on the standards and procedures that have been adopted by the supervising body (Article 6.4) to inform the design of projects.

A review of loss and damage in the Caribbean (1994 to 2024)

Loss and damage from climate change has been the lived reality of Caribbean small island developing states (SIDS) for decades. Despite efforts to adapt, it is reversing development gains, leaving lasting financial stress, and causing irreparable damage, including the loss of cultural heritage. This report is the first to provide a systematic overview of how Caribbean countries are framing and reporting on loss and damage.

The 1.5°C limit and risks of overshoot

This briefing looks at what the 1.5°C limit means in terms of adaptation and loss and damage for the most vulnerable countries and regions. It finds that slowing down warming is critical to buy us time to adapt and also to avoid irreversible loss and damage. Even if warming rises above 1.5°C (overshoot) we can bring it down again with ambitious emissions reductions.

Le seuil de +1,5°C et le risque de dépassement de ce seuil

Ce rapport examine ce que la limite de 1,5 °C signifie en termes d'adaptation et de pertes et dommages pour les pays et régions les plus vulnérables. Il constate qu'il est essentiel de ralentir le réchauffement pour nous donner le temps de nous adapter et pour éviter des pertes et des dommages irréversibles. Même si le réchauffement dépasse 1,5 °C, nous pouvons le faire baisser à nouveau en réduisant les émissions de manière ambitieuse.

About us

Decarbonisation targets and 1.5℃ pathways

Comment

Using existing databases to report on loss and damage in Biennial Transparency Reports under the UNFCCC

Publications

Article 6.4 progress update: work of the Supervisory Body on the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism

A review of loss and damage in the Caribbean (1994 to 2024)

The impacts of multiple tropical cyclone events and associated precipitation on household income and expenditures

What good looks like: G7 climate policy 2024 update

The 1.5°C limit and risks of overshoot

Le seuil de +1,5°C et le risque de dépassement de ce seuil

Climate justice and loss and damage: perspectives from the global south

Tripling renewables by 2030: interpreting the global goal at the regional level

Carbon majors’ trillion dollar damages

Coastal loss and damage for small islands

The effects of political knowledge use by developing country negotiators in Loss and Damage negotiations

Risks of synchronised low yields are underestimated in climate and crop model projections