Page - v - in Loss and Damage from Climate Change - Concepts, Methods and Policy Options

Foreword I: Perspective fromSaint Lucia Inhisvaledictory address,myson recentlyquoted apassage fromaDr.Seussbook that I often read to himandhis brother at bedtime: “Youhave brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose”. Words cannot describe howproud I amof both ofmycourageous youngboys and theirwell-earnedaccomplishments andexpectationsof thebright future ahead.And yet, I am concerned that this futuremay not unfold on the small Caribbean island thatmyfamilycallshome. I fear that the feet in those shoeswill soonbesubmerged by rising seas and the direction inwhich theywill be able to steer themselveswill growmore andmore limited, as our small island economycontinues to be battered by theeffects of climatechange.For thoseofus fromsmall islanddevelopingstates climate change threatens our very survival, as sea levels rise, storm surges become evermore devastating, hurricanes become increasingly severe, the ocean acidifies, and rising temperatures lead to aridity and dwindling freshwater resources. This iswhy representatives fromSmall IslandDevelopingStates (SIDS) fought sohard for the1.5°Cglobal temperature limit in theParisAgreement.Forus, it is a matter of survival. While I remain optimistic that concerted global action will achieve the ambitious goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to limit tem- perature rise to 1.5 °C, in the interim, the particularly vulnerable, including our small island populations, will experience impacts from climate change towhich it will be impossible to adapt.The recognition that climate changewill cause loss and damage that is “beyondadaptation”hasbeen acknowledgedby the IPCCas “limits to adaptation” and has further led to the establishment of a dedicated mechanism under the UNFCCC—the Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM)—to address loss and damage associatedwith climate change impacts. It has further resulted in the treatment of loss and damage in a stand-alone article in the Paris Agreement (Article 8).But recognitionmust be followedbyaction. SIDSandother vulnerable countriesmust be supported, as theybear thebrunt of copingwithunavoidable loss and damage associated with changes to the climate that are attributable to others. This is no easy task and theworld needs tomaintain the Parismomentumof 2015 for this global fight. v