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6 ThePoliticsof (andBehind) theUNFCCCâsLoss⊠173
schools of thought, in order to explain how L&Dmilestones were reached. This
allowed for overcoming the âstructuralist paradoxâ in negotiations, i.e. the appar-
entlysurprisingcapacityofweakparties to takehomeresultswhilenegotiatingwith
strongerparties.
Developingcountriesâ achievementsonL&D(WIMandArticle8) areonly sur-
prisingwhenconsideringpower in itspurelymaterialistic form. Ifdiscursivepower
is added to thepicture, thenachievements canbeascribed todevelopingcountriesâ
capacity to shape their fate rather than to fortunate circumstances. This is not to
say thatmaterialpowerdoesnotplayany role.Developingcountriesare facedwith
resource and capacity constraintswhichmake it harder for their needs to be fully
addressedwithin theUNFCCC.Consistently,NGOsupportwill continue toplay a
crucial role in levelling current asymmetries in termsof capabilities, togetherwith
other initiatives to funddevelopingcountriesâparticipation in theprocess.
Yet, other sources of power besides the realist and liberal ones can be decisive
forobtainingdesiredinternationaloutcomes.Ouranalysishasshownthekeyimpor-
tance that discursive power, by framingL&Din ethical and legal terms, had in the
attainment of L&Dmilestones. First, it moved the debate to a playgroundwhere
resourcesand interestsbecame irrelevant, thereforeputtingdevelopedanddevelop-
ing countries on an equal foot. Second, it appealed to standards somehow shared
or agreedbeyond theUNFCCCcontext, including thebasicmoral norms linked to
islandstatesânarrativesof survivaland the reference to internationalcustomary law
(state responsibility-compensationprinciples).Thiswasuseful toprove theneedfor
action on L&D recurring to standards in principle recognised by both contending
parties inother internationalarenas.Although thiswasnotenough to imposedevel-
oping countriesâ viewonwhat L&D is and how it should be addressed, it at least
moveddevelopedcountriesâposition towards thedirectionpavedby the former.
At thesametime,however, thisstrategypreventedParties fromstartingaprocess
towards the creation of sharedmeaning and understanding around L&D. Indeed,
definitional issueshavebeencarefullyavoidedinordernot tostumble into the taboo
reference of âcompensationâ. As a result, no official definition of L&D has been
agreedat theUNFCCClevelyetandPartiesrelyonaworkingoneformulatedunder
the SBI (UNFCCC 2012b). This is not just a matter of form, but a more impor-
tantmatterofsubstance.WithoutclarityaroundL&Dconceptualboundaries, itwill
ultimately be difficult to go beyond the explorativemandate theWIMwas given.
In particular, concrete guidance is needed in order to implement theWIMâs third
functiononenhancingâactionandsupport toaddress lossanddamageâ,whichalso
includes finance. For example, there is a need for establishing relevant criteria to
identify L&D projects on the ground, as well as defining the level of adaptation
beyondwhichL&Dmaterialises.DoesL&Darisewhensocial, technical andphys-
ical limits are surpassed, or should also economic and institutional constraints be
considered?Theanswerscannotbutbepolitical.
Yet, we are not claiming that agreeing on a definition is the onlyway to have
meaningful action onL&D.We are aware that the discussion still causes discom-
fort andmay lead to political deadlock.We thus believe that amore fruitful way
forward entails adopting a different perspective and agreeing on shared principles
Loss and Damage from Climate Change
Concepts, Methods and Policy Options
- Titel
- Loss and Damage from Climate Change
- Untertitel
- Concepts, Methods and Policy Options
- Autoren
- Reinhard Mechler
- Laurens M. Bouwer
- Thomas Schinko
- Swenja Surminski
- JoAnne Linnerooth-Bayer
- Verlag
- Springer Open
- Datum
- 2019
- Sprache
- englisch
- Lizenz
- CC BY 4.0
- ISBN
- 978-3-319-72026-5
- Abmessungen
- 16.0 x 24.0 cm
- Seiten
- 580
- Schlagwörter
- Environment, Climate change, Environmental law, Environmental policy, Risk management
- Kategorien
- International
- Naturwissenschaften Umwelt und Klima