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144 R.A. Jameset al.
5.5 Conclusions
In this chapterwehavediscussedhowattribution sciencemight beuseful forL&D
policy andpractice.As has beenwidely recognised, the concept ofL&Dfromcli-
mate change is still vague and contestedwith a diverse range of perspectives held
amongststakeholders.Thismakesitchallengingtosayexactlywhatkindofscientific
input is needed.Herewe takeabroadapproach toconsiderhowattribution science
might be relevant to L&D discussions, and a range of possible options for L&D
policy and practice. Thefirst stepwas to examine the discourse surroundingL&D
and existingmentions of, and debates about, attribution in the L&Dpolicy space
(Sect.5.2). If scientists,practitioners, andpolicy-makersare to jointly integrate sci-
ence into actions to address losses and damages, it is important to understand the
baseline understandings and associations held by different stakeholders.We have
followed policy discussions for a number of years, and directly askedmany par-
ticipants in L&D discussions about their views on attribution, including through
stakeholder interviews (Box5.2).This researchhasdemonstrated that attribution is
a controversial but also recurring issue inL&Ddiscussions. In our interviewswith
stakeholders and observations ofmeetings about L&D, attributionwas oftenmen-
tioned. Few stakeholders demonstrated in-depth knowledge of attribution science,
but theyoftenraisedquestionsaboutwhetherlossesanddamagescouldbeattributed
to climate change. These questions relate to practical issues about themandate of
the UNFCCC, but also have important political implications. Attribution is often
mentionedalongside responsibility, blameand liability.
It thereforeappearsthatattributionisakeyissueofrelevancetoL&Ddiscussions,
but it is so far very difficult to discuss in detail how the science might be used,
because it is considered to be a controversial topic. If scientists are to effectively
engage in dialoguewith policy-makers, it would be helpful for them to be aware
of these associations and controversies; and also aware that policy-makers work
in an environmentwhere science is often used for politicalmotives, and clarity is
not always helpful or asked for. In fact, climate negotiators may bemandated to
avoid certain topics or terminology. Communicating scientific results is therefore
not sufficient to support policy: itmustbecommunicated ina language thatpolicy-
makers canworkwith.At the same time, itwould be helpful if policy-makers and
practitionersweremademoreawareofthefindingsandmethodologiesofattribution
studiesandthefactthatattributionscienceitselfisnotprimarilydesignedtoestablish
responsibility. The political and ethical implications are far beyond the realm of
physical scientists, andmany scientists are keen to remain impartial purveyors of
information,withoutbecominginvolvedinpolitics:apotentiallyuseful resourcefor
policy-makers ina landscapewheremost actorsdohavepoliticalmotives.
Amore in-depthdiscussionbetween scientists, practitioners, andpolicy-makers
about attribution sciencewould likely revealmuch that is relevant to averting and
addressing losses and damages, regardless of political positions. As outlined in
Sect. 5.3, there are a number of fields of inquiry that are advancing rapidlywhich
could be integrated to better understand the influence of anthropogenic climate
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