Thread by @LossandDamage

1/29. 📜NEW BRIEF: Today we launch “PASSED THE POINT OF NO RETURN: A Non-Economic #LossAndDamage (#NELD) Explainer” covering what #NELD is, why and how it happens, where it happens, who is most affected, and importantly, how we can respond.

🔗Get it here: lossanddamagecollaboration.org/publication/pa…

2/29. The brief begins with a foreword by @UNFCCC NELs Expert Group Member @IrfanUllahCDO, who highlights that Non-Economic #LossAndDamage has been largely overlooked in climate negotiations and that urgent action is needed to address #NELD happening now e.g. The #PakistanFloods.

3/29. Then @DLodry of @LossDamageYouth shares the powerful story of his lived experience of Non-Economic #LossAndDamage in #Cameroon called "The Tears Of A Village River And Its Population" which tells how climate-intensified #Drought can lead to a loss of #Culture and #Identity.

4/29. The first chapter "What is Non-Economic #LossAndDamage?" begins by explaining that non-economic losses include things like fatalities, and #Extinction, whereas non-economic damages include things that can be alleviated or repaired such as social cohesion or #Soil quality.

5/29. It then explains why the term “Non-Economic #LossAndDamage” (#NELD) is being used instead of “Non-Economic Loss” (NELs) —which is used by the @UNFCCC — due to non-economic losses and damages being inextricably linked.

6/29. Before highlighting that although the categories of Non-Economic #LossAndDamage that the @UNFCCC uses are instructive, researchers have identified far more ways (1000+) to experience loss as a result of #ClimateChange.

7/29. And giving two detailed examples of Non-Economic #LossAndDamage, one from the #Pacific region exploring the loss of #Indigenous local knowledge such as the use of flora and fauna as climate and weather indicators, and a second from #BlackSummer bushfires of 2019/20.

8/29. Chapter two "Why And How Does Non-Economic #LossAndDamage Occur?" starts by highlighting that #NELD is occurring as a result of #Capitalism driving the burning of #FossilFuels which has led to rising #CO2 levels and #GlobalWarming of +1.1˚C above pre-industrial levels.

9/29. Then explains how #NELD is occurring in exposed and vulnerable societies and ecosystems because #ClimateChange is supercharging events such as #Cyclones, #Wildfires, #Floods, and #Droughts and accelerating #SeaLevelRise, #Desertification, and the melting of #Glaciers.

10/29. Highlights that @IPCC_CH's #AR6 report made it crystal clear that ‘unequivocal’ impacts, including Non-Economic #LossAndDamage, are currently happening across the world with vulnerability highest in the least Developed Countries.

11/29. And makes clear that #NELD could have largely been avoided if action was taken when #ClimateChange risks were first recognised and that 30 years of inaction on #Mitigation, inadequate finance for #Adaptation, and #Maladaptation have resulted in worsening #NELD.

12/29. Before explaining that #NELD may be directly linked to an adverse climate impact, for example, when a cultural site is lost to #Wildfire and/or occur indirectly, for example, when #Malnutrition is experienced as a consequence of the loss of crops due to #Drought.

13/29. That #NELD may be experienced retrospectively after a loss has occurred and/or as anticipatory loss and grief, for example when young people are feeling like they have lost their future or experience #ClimateAnxiety or #EcoAnxiety.

14/29. And that the distinction between #NELD and economic #LossAndDamage can be blurry. For example #EcosystemServices like the production of oxygen by trees are rarely traded on the market but if one of the services an ecosystem provides is food this may lead to economic L&D.

15/29. Chapter 3 "Where Is Non-Economic #LossAndDamage Happening And Who Is Affected?", starts with a map showing that although #NELD is occurring all over the world, it is disproportionately experienced by those in the #GlobalSouth.

16/29. Before presenting one example from the #GlobalSouth and #GlobalNorth to illuminate the context-specific nature of #NELD. (The example from the #GlobalSouth exploring the #India/#Pakistan #Heatwave of March and April 2022.)

17/29.To show that the Non-Economic #LossAndDamage experienced by different people in different places is highly context-specific and influenced by #Intersectional identities, values, and #LivedExperiences. (The example from the #NorthSouth exploring the #EuropeanFloods of 2021.)

18/29. Then we learn about who is most affected by Non-Economic #LossAndDamage, starting with #IndigenousPeoples, who have been exposed to #NELD due to marginalisation and exclusion having contributed least to #ClimateChange.

19/29. Hear how economically, socially, and politically marginalised people are the most vulnerable to shocks and stressors including #NELD because they often have limited access to resources, own few assets, have low incomes and rely on natural resources for their livelihoods.

20/29. That gender can significantly shape experiences of Non-Economic #LossAndDamage. For example, when women have to travel long distances to access water or skip meals in favour of others due to climate-related impacts.

21/29. And that children are often most affected by #ClimateDisasters whilst facing a future of escalating #NELD because they inherit a world in a state of multiple intersecting social, political, economic, and #Environmental crises.

22/29. Chapter four "How Can We Respond To Non-Economic #LossAndDamage?, starts with documenting #NELD and highlights that because #NELD is highly subjective, research must include bottom-up, locally-led and participatory approaches.

23/29. Then talks about measuring Non-Economic #LossAndDamage including how it is inherently challenging to measure and quantify due to the value of #NELD being highly subjective and incommensurable as items and feelings hold different values among cultures or even individuals.

24/29. Explores Addressing Non-Economic #LossAndDamage, highlighting that whilst current #NELD must be addressed and compensated today, minimising future #NELD through Climate #Mitigation and #Adaptation must be a priority.

25/29. And Non-Economic #LossAndDamage in the @UNFCC, where it makes clear that no substantial progress has been made to address #NELD, but that #COP27 in Egypt provides yet another opportunity to address #NELD by delivering #LossAndDamage finance.

26/29. And lastly the moral obligation that the #GlobalNorth has to address #NELD due to its #CO2 emissions and because through #Colonial-#Capitalism, #Imperialism, and #Neocolonialism it has actively underdeveloped the #GlobalSouth making it more vulnerable to #ClimateChange.

27/29. The brief has been written by @Guy_R_Jackson of @LUCSUS_LU, @douwevanschie of @ICCCAD, @ke_mcnamara of The University of Queensland (@UQ_News), @Carthyanna1 of @IIED and @TeoSkeaping of @LossandDamage.

28/29. Who wish to acknowledge the generous assistance of @keesvdgeest, @demetintepe, Guy Ngay Kalasi, @OliviaSerdeczny and @ITsipouridis. And make special thanks to the Storytelling Cohort of @LossDamageYouth and @adelinecyuzuzo.

29/29. 📜Full report here: lossanddamagecollaboration.org/publication/pa…

📜Policy brief here: lossanddamagecollaboration.org/publication/pa…

👩‍🎓Learn more about #LossAndDamage here: lossanddamagecollaboration.org/whatislossandd…

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