A new blog from CASA partner Climate Analytics gives an overview of the loss and damage negotiations at COP25.

Loss and damage has been a topic of discussion at the annual UN climate change conferences (COPs) since a work programme on loss and damage was established nearly a decade ago, with successes such as the 2013 establishment of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage (WIM), the inclusion of loss and damage in the Paris Agreement (Article 8) in 2015 and its integration into the Paris Agreement’s transparency framework and global stocktake (2018).

COP25 provided substantial room for loss and damage discussions due to the second scheduled review of the WIM. The review of the WIM provided an opportunity for a stronger commitment for action and support, including new and additional finance, capacity building and technical support. Long intense negotiations and a united position among developing countries of G77 and China, lead to an acceptable outcome.

Overall the decision text, as agreed at COP25, reflects many requests made by countries in the G77 and China, which maintained a unified position on loss and damage throughout the Madrid session. However, the road to reaching consensus on a final document was long and far from smooth. From the outset, there were clear differences in developed and developing countries’ vision of the future of the WIM.

In a detailed summary of the loss and damage negotiations at COP 25, Climate Analytics provides a background to the WIM, a description of its key outcomes and outstanding governance questions, and suggestions for a way forward.

Read the full blog: Loss and Damage at COP25 – a hard fought step in the right direction

Find out more about loss and damage in the UNFCCC.

Photo: Kiara Worth/IISD