Page - 217 - in Loss and Damage from Climate Change - Concepts, Methods and Policy Options

8 Non-economicLossandDamageand theWarsaw… 217 8.5 Conclusions The concept of NELD spans a wide range of adverse effects of climate change that affect both humanwellbeing and natural systems. Some of these effects are standardly considered in public policies on climate change (e.g. adverse effects on human health or human life) while others (e.g. loss of cultural heritage or social networks)remainlesswell reflected.WiththeparticularfocusnowplacedonNELD under theUNFCCC,theopportunityarises towidenthescopeofcurrentapproaches anddesigncomprehensivepolicies that accommodate thedimensionof incommen- surablevaluesat risk fromclimatechangeand that are sensitive tocontext. Debateson themostadequateandeffectivevaluationmethods, inparticularcon- troversiesaroundeconomicvaluation,arelikelytocontinueinthecontextofNELD. Here, itwillbe important tonot“jumpthegun”andconsider towhichendsdataand informationonnon-economicvalueswillbeneeded.Incasesofpreventivemeasures, adeepunderstandingof thevaluesand their functions forwell-being that shouldbe preserveddespitechoices that threaten thesevaluesand that are limitedbyresource availability, such as the choice to relocate despite high sense of place, is needed for an effective design of policies. The economic value of community ties, sense of place or traditional cultures would add little information to the design of such policies.Similarly, the identificationofpossibilities formeans-replacingcompensa- tionwill not rely on themonetary value ofwhat has been lost but of the goals and ends thatwere pursuedby those affectedbyNELD.What is, however, needed and currently lacking are economic estimates of the costs of preventingNELDimpacts andrisks.Thesewill also informthedebateonadequatescalesof international sup- port andburdensharing thathavenotbeenaddressed in thischapter (seechapterby Wallimann-Helmeret al. 2018). RaisingawarenessonNELDandgivingitappropriateweight indecision-making processeswill continue to be a challenge. This is particularly the case in the inter- national settingof theUNFCCCwheredifferentculturesare representedandwhere decisions on funding and supportwill likely rely on standardised criteria and cen- tralised decision-making.Thedevelopment of dedicated efforts to integrateNELD in thedesignand implementationofbothpreventive and reactive approaches at the nationalandregionallevelcanbeexpectedinthecomingyears.Fortheseinstruments tobeeffectiveitwillbeimportanttoputthemonastrongevidencebase.Comprehen- sivegeographical coverageof climate impact observations, includingcontributions fromsocialdisciplinessuchashumangeographyandenvironmentalpsychologycan provideimportant insights in thisregard.Similarly,academicdiscussionsof thenor- mativedimensionsofNELDandadequateresponsescanclarifymuchof thedebate. However,whichvalueswillcountandhowtheywillbeweighedindecision-making bothat thenationalandinternational levelwill in theendalwaysbeoneof judgment andas such requirepoliticaldebateanddeliberation.