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42 I.Wallimann-Helmeret al.
large-scalebeachrenourishmentcanbeconsidered lossesanddamages thatwillnot
beavoided.But itdoesnotfallwithinthecategoryofhardadaptationlimits: impacts
thatcannotbeavoided. Impacts thatcannotbeavoidedare lossesanddamages that
willmaterializewhatevermeasures are taken to adapt. For instance,AOSISgroups
relocatingdue to sea-level rise that leads to lossof theirhomelandsanddamages to
manyoftheirvaluedassets(seechaptersbyHandmerandNalau2018;Heslin2018).
These losses and damages,which comprisemarket and non-market values, cannot
beavoidedbyadapting to thenewconditions regardlessof the leveloffinancialand
other assistance.
This first “beyond adaptation” approach distinguishes L&D from adaptation
by focusing on whether the different impacts can be avoided or will be avoided
by appropriate measures without any assessment by those facing potential L&D.
This is different from the “risk tolerance” approach. This second approach to
distinguishing between adaptation and L&D focuses on how those facing the
risks of L&Devaluate these risks. Risks of climate impacts that are judged to be
intolerable are considered L&D and are contrasted with tolerable risks that are
understood to be avoidable through adaptation (Dowet al. 2013a, b;Mechler and
Schinko2016;Wallimann-Helmer2015).Suchanevaluationof risksas intolerable,
and thus relevant for L&D, presupposes value judgments that can only be taken
by those facing those risks. Thus, according to the “risk tolerance” approach, it is
crucial that those potentially facing climate impacts can assess the risks they are
facing.Sincedifferent communitiesmight assess similar risksdifferently, theywill
demand differentmeasures thatmight fallwithin either the category of adaptation
orL&D(seechapterbySchinkoet al. 2018).
The “risk tolerance” approach primarily relies on the value judgments of those
facingpotentialclimateimpacts.Thisnotonlyshowswhy,accordingtothisapproach,
thedistinctionbetweenadaptationandL&Dtendstobeblurred.Italsoshowswhyitis
mostprobablyassociatedwithaprimaryconcerntofosterappropriatestructuresand
institutions for collectivedecision-makingandcapacitybuildingwithinandamong
potentially impacted communities. The decisions regardingwhatmeasures should
be taken,bywhomandhowtheyshouldbe implementedare relegated tosecondary
importance. Thus, priorities regarding climate L&D tend to differ depending on
theway of distinguishing adaptation fromL&D (see Table 2.1). For the “beyond
adaptation” approach, priority lies with fostering implementation of efficient and
effectiveL&Dmeasures, i.e.measures not beingprone to soft andhard adaptation
limits. For the “risk tolerance” approach, in contrast, priority lieswith supporting
capacitybuilding inorder for communities facingclimate impacts tobebetter able
tocollectivelyassess the risks they face.
Thus, while the first approach to distinguishing adaptation and L&D mainly
focuses on the impacts and themeasures theydemand todifferentiate responsibili-
ties, the second approach primarily derives the responsibilities to be differentiated
fromwhether and towhat extent capacity building is necessary.On the “risk toler-
ance”approach, althoughsupport for implementingL&Dmeasures isof secondary
concern, itmay in fact bemore effective for support to be provided if needed.As
suggestedbyadaptation research, implementationofL&Dmeasures is likely tobe
Loss and Damage from Climate Change
Concepts, Methods and Policy Options
- Title
- Loss and Damage from Climate Change
- Subtitle
- Concepts, Methods and Policy Options
- Authors
- Reinhard Mechler
- Laurens M. Bouwer
- Thomas Schinko
- Swenja Surminski
- JoAnne Linnerooth-Bayer
- Publisher
- Springer Open
- Date
- 2019
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY 4.0
- ISBN
- 978-3-319-72026-5
- Size
- 16.0 x 24.0 cm
- Pages
- 580
- Keywords
- Environment, Climate change, Environmental law, Environmental policy, Risk management
- Categories
- International
- Naturwissenschaften Umwelt und Klima