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Climate-related loss and damage: IDRC launches new project in vulnerable countries

 
As the world welcomes the creation of a global fund for loss and damage associated with climate change in the most vulnerable countries, new IDRC-supported research will help develop and operationalize strategies to address loss and damage.
A woman in Bangladesh stands waist-deep in water. A metal fence is partially submerged behind her.
UN Women Asia and the Pacific
Aklima Khatun struggled in the 2019 floods in Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a region that was hit hard again in 2022.

The CAD1.5-million, three-year project will strengthen the capacity of researchers and policymakers in the Global South to respond to disasters associated with climate change extremes and climate-related slow-onset events. It supports the development of policy and implementation mechanisms to address irreparable losses (such as land taken over by rising seas) and recoverable damages (such as damaged buildings or roads).

Led by the International Centre for Climate Change and Development in collaboration with the Institute for Study and Development Worldwide, the project was launched in November in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt, during the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) and launched in Canada on May 8. The research will initially focus on Bangladesh, Nepal, Senegal and Vanuatu. Another five countries — Antigua and Barbuda, Burkina Faso, Maldives, Mozambique and Pakistan — will benefit from secondary data, policy review and opportunities for training and policy workshops about loss and damage.

Generating local evidence to inform global negotiations

Alongside mitigation and adaptation, loss and damage has emerged as a key pillar for tackling the human-induced climate crisis. At COP27, the world’s governments took the ground-breaking decision to establish new funding arrangements and a dedicated fund to assist developing countries in responding to loss and damage. Governments also agreed to establish a transitional committee to make recommendations at COP28 next year on how to operationalize both the new funding arrangements and the fund.

In the Global South, research investments on loss and damage have been limited, resulting in a lack of evidence to support national policy development and a lack of clarity on how vulnerable countries can formulate responses. This new IDRC-supported project will help address the knowledge and capacity gaps among vulnerable countries so they are better equipped to respond to loss and damage, using national and international financing opportunities. The evidence emerging from the project’s local case studies and participatory research in the Global South will also inform and enrich international loss-and-damage policy processes.

Learn more about the project