COP26: Climate Loss & Damage

The focus of attention in climate negotiations has long been on mitigation and the need for decarbonization, with adaptation and finance receiving increased attention in recent years. Serious attention to loss and damage arising from climate change is long overdue: yet despite efforts by those states and communities that are least responsible and most vulnerable to climate change, loss and damage remains on the margins of climate negotiations rather than at the centre (see UN news story and Sci Dev Net ). From a human rights perspective, this is inexcusable (see ESCR-Net ), especially as other areas of international law addressing interconnected issues such as disaster and displacement struggle to fill the gap.