Page - 205 - in Loss and Damage from Climate Change - Concepts, Methods and Policy Options

Chapter8 Non-economicLossandDamage andtheWarsawInternational Mechanism OliviaSerdeczny Abstract Non-economicLoss andDamage (NELD) forms adistinct theme in the documentsoutliningboth the initial2-yearworkplan thatconcludedin2017andthe futurework areas as outlined in the next 5-year rollingworkplan of theExecutive Committee of theWarsaw InternationalMechanism on Loss and Damage (WIM Excom).NELDrefers to the climate-related lossesof itemsbothmaterial andnon- material that are not commonly traded in themarket, butwhose loss is still experi- encedassuchbythoseaffected.ExamplesofNELDincludelossofcultural identity, sacred places, human health and lives.Within the context of theWIM the goal is to raise awareness of the kinds of NELD that occur and, for an expert group, to “develop inputs and recommendations toenhancedataonandknowledgeof reduc- ing the risk of and addressing non-economic losses” (UNFCCCSecretariat 2014). Initial analysis shows that the twomain characteristics of non-economicvalues are their context-dependenceand their incommensurability.Theseattributesneed tobe preserved and respected when integrating measures to (i) avoid the risk and (ii) addressNELDbya centralmechanismunder theUNFCCC.While (i)will rely on integrating NELD into existing comprehensive risk management approaches, (ii) requires thorough understanding of lost values and the functions they fulfilled for thoseaffected. Keywords LossandDamage ·Values ·Assessment · Justice 8.1 Introduction Climate change affects people and their environments in multiple adverse ways. ExtremeheatwavesliketheCentralAsianonein2010damageagriculturalcropsand undermine food security (Barriopedro et al. 2011); sea-level rise endangers coastal infrastructure and related economic activities such as tourismand transport (Wong O.Serdeczny (B) ClimateAnalytics,Berlin,Germany e-mail: olivia.serdeczny@climateanalytics.org ©TheAuthor(s)2019 R.Mechler et al. (eds.),LossandDamage fromClimateChange,ClimateRisk Management,PolicyandGovernance,https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72026-5_8 205