Page - 24 - in Loss and Damage from Climate Change - Concepts, Methods and Policy Options

24 R.Mechler et al. damages(NELD)suchastohumanhealthandlives,butalsolossesofculturalidentity andsacredplaces.TheissueofNELD,whichhasgarneredsubstantialattentioninthe discourse, but is generally not accounted for in standardDRRapproaches, implies a need for well considering its twomain characteristics, context-dependence and incommensurability (Serdeczny2018). Understandingandactingonclimate risks is intricately linked to justiceandeth- ical considerations. Justiceand fairness issueshaveplayedakey role in theclimate change policy and academic discourse since the beginning of the UNFCCC pro- cess–most prominently through the distributive justice principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities” (UNFCCC 1992). These considerations also come intoplaywhencontemplatingissuesofcompensatory justiceduetotheunequaldis- tributionofhistoricalandcurrentgreenhousegasemissions, theadversedistribution of impactsbetween theglobalNorth andSouth, and theunderstanding that climate change is projected to lead to unavoidable andpotentially irrecoverable losses and damages (chapter byWallimann-Helmer et al. 2018). Building on risk and justice principles, Schinkoet al. 2018proposeadistinctL&Dpolicyaction space that can be identified by aligning a needs-based, distributive justice perspective, proposing support for transformativeclimateriskmanagementbeyondadaptationpossibilities, with a compensatory justice perspectivewhich upholds considerations for curative optionsfor liabilitiesattributable toanthropogenicclimatechange(seealsoMechler andSchinko2016). Interestingly,bothtypesofprinciplesandpolicyactionsarealreadyseeingsome, ifincipient,attentiontoday.Transformativeriskmanagement isincreasinglydebated in theL&Ddiscourse,and involves issuessuchasofferingalternative livelihoods to thosethatarebeingaffected(e.g.,switchingfromsmallholderfarmingtoservicesec- toremployment)andassistingwithvoluntarymigrationwhereneeded.Optionsunder this rubric exhibit substantial overlapwith interventions of disaster risk reduction and adaptation, yetmaybe focussed further on avoiding andmanaging intolerable risks that touchonhardandsoft limits. Insuranceapplications, amainstayofpolicy attention,e.g., throughtheG20/V20InsuResilienceinitiative(InsuResilience2017), caninprinciplebeausefulentrypoint for tacklingtransformation;yet,cautionmust beexercisedabout commercial insuranceproducts that place the full burdenon the mostvulnerable.Premiumsupport in the formofsubsidiesand technical assistance canpotentially transform insurance into amechanism thatmeets the aspirations of the L&D discussions. Insurance options furthermore hold additional potential by serving as a concept and tool for exploring themagnitude and locations of adapta- tion frontiers, “socio-ecological system’s transitional…operating spaces between safe andunsafedomains” (Prestonet al. 2014) (see chapters bySchäfer et al. 2018 andLinnerooth-Bayeret al. 2018). Complementingtransformativeriskmanagement, largelyappropriateforsudden- onset impactsandrisks,witheffortsfordealingwithslow-onsetevents, thespacefor curativemeasures overlaps to someextentwith demands for compensation,which have been ruled out by the Paris Agreement, but not from the debate in general (see chapters by Simlinger andMayer 2018; Schinko et al. 2018). In addition to policyproposalsinthedomainofinsurance,essentiallyapre-arrangedcompensation