COPs- Importance of loss & damage

 The Conference of Parties (COP) is the apex decision-making body of the United Nations
Climate Change Framework Convention (UNFCCC). COP members have been meeting every
year since the year 1995.1

 The concept of ‘Loss and damage’ returned to the foreground of global climate negotiations,
after being on the backburner for some years, at the 26th Conference of Parties (CoP26) to
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The final draft of
the Glasgow Climate Pact though was watered down by developed countries. The final draft,
accepted unanimously after more than 24 hours following the scheduled closure on
November 12, has 97 pointers. Out of this, 14 were dedicated to ‘Loss and Damage’. This
broadly encompasses the issues of supporting people already affected by the fury of climate
change and flagging the climate liability of developed countries due to their historical role in
pushing up global greenhouse gas emissions; and hence, impacts of climate change.
 The provisions included the establishment of “the Glasgow Dialogue between Parties,
relevant organisations and stakeholders to discuss the arrangements for the funding of
activities to avert, minimize and address loss and damage associated with the adverse
impacts of climate change”. The decision acknowledged that “climate change has already
caused and will increasingly cause loss and damage”. In the earlier drafts released by the
CoP presidency, there was a provision of creating a facility with funding support to address
the loss and damage. But most developed countries had shot down the proposal; and finally,
a compromise was reached on organising a global dialogue on the agenda. Developing and
underdeveloped countries, though unhappy with the scrapping of the facility proposal, feel
that the dialogue will open up possibilities of taking more direct actions in the coming years.
Harjeet Singh, a senior advisor of civil society network Climate Action Network International,
said:
 Definitely loss and damage has made a comeback in Glasgow. The issue of loss and damage
reached the highest political level in negotiation, despite not being on the official agenda.
Developed countries forced the elimination of the loss and damage facility in the final CoP26
decision text and instead offered a 'dialogue' over the next few years. While the concrete
proposal by developing countries representing six billion people around the world was
pushed back, the need to address the climate impacts urgently has been recognised by all. 2

 Developing country negotiators and activists saw Cop26 as a make-or-break point for loss

and damage. They pushed hard for a dedicated fund, but it was ultimately excluded from the
negotiated outcome. Instead, the “Glasgow Dialogue” was established to explore ways to
fund loss and damage. The process will run through 2024, so those in urgent need may still
not get any help for several years. Yet this is the first time the need for dedicated loss and
damage finance has been recognised in a Cop decision. It is important to seize this
opportunity. Tangible progress on loss and damage finance is an urgent humanitarian
priority. It is also essential to safeguard the perceived legitimacy of the negotiations and
protect vulnerable countries’ development gains. By following these principles, climate
negotiators can break the stalemate on loss and damage and provide much-needed support
to the people on the front lines of climate change. 3

1
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/climate-change/coplist
2
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/climate-change/cop26-not-on-official-agenda-but-loss-damage-
comeback-gives-hope-say-experts-80467
3
https://www.climatechangenews.com/2021/12/20/glasgow-dialogue-can-deliver-finance-victims-climate-
crisis/