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2 TheEthicalChallenges in theContextofClimateLossandDamage 43
Table2.1 Difference inpolicyprioritydependingonhowadaptationandL&Daredistinguished
Beyondadaptation Risk tolerance
1stpolicy
priority Implementing themost efficient and
effectivemeasures todealwith
unavoidedandunavoidableL&D Fosteringcollectivedecision-making
andcapacitybuilding toassess
climate risksasacceptable, tolerable
or intolerable
2ndpolicy
priority Involving localcommunities tosecure
efficient andeffective implementation
ofmeasures tobe taken Implementing thosemeasures
understood tobemost efficient and
effective todealwith the threats as
evaluated
moreeffectiveandefficient ifaccompaniedbycapacitybuildingandinvolvementof
localcommunitiesindecisionsandmanagement(cf.Kaswan2016).Responsibilities
for capacity building and fostering involvement thus also followas important con-
cernswhen distributing responsibilities from the “beyond adaptation” perspective
todistinguish adaptation andL&D.Even though the twoapproaches todistinguish
adaptation andL&Dtend to set different priorities, the foci they suggest regarding
themeasures tobe takencomplement eachother.
This is so, because, regardless of the approach used to distinguish L&D from
adaptation, in theendL&Dconcerns impacts thatare infactexpectedtomaterialise.
Thus,L&Dmeasuresareexpected to respond toorminimise the socio-economicor
humaneffectsof these impacts,but thesemeasuresarenotexpected toprevent these
impactsaltogether. Inpractical terms, theyareexpected toe.g. enhance transforma-
tivecapacities tocomprehensivelydealwithclimate-relatedrisksbeyondtraditional
adaptationor toenhance trust and respectbetweencountries facingL&Dand those
contributing to it.1 Consequently, preventing climate impacts frommaterialising is
agoal only tobeascribed tomitigationandadaptation—butnot toL&Dmeasures.
Thereareavarietyofmeasureswhichcanbeused toaddressL&Ddemandingdif-
ferentkindsof responsibilities,whichweclassifybelow(Sects.2.3and2.4).Before
it ispossibletocometothisclassification,however,wemustfirstbecleareraboutthe
natureofmeasuresthatcanfallwithinthecategoryofL&D.Inthisregardandasdis-
cussedbelow,paragraph52ofdecision1/CP.21accompanying theParis agreement
becomeshighly relevant.
2.3 NeitherCompensationNorLiabilityUnder
theUNFCCC
When a damage or a loss occurs, it seems natural to ask who is liable for that
harm and to demand repair or compensation of the damage or loss (Shue 1999,
2017). This is why themost natural way to investigate the ethical implications of
1Fordiscussionof this latterpoint seeCohen (2016),O’Neill (2017),ThompsonandOtto (2015).
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