The series of expert meetings under the UNFCCC on a range of approaches to address loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change, including impacts related to extreme weather events and slow onset events, is a significant element of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) work programme on loss and damage. Building on previous meetings, the discussions at the regional meeting for SIDS should provide substantive input to the decision on loss and damage to be adopted at COP18 in Doha in December.
This brief identifies lessons learned from previous regional meetings, discuss key issues for the work towards Doha, and provide recommendations for future action on loss and damage in Small Island Developing States.
Recommendations to the SBI on loss and damage to address the needs of developing countries:
SBI37 will make recommendations on loss and damage for consideration by COP18. A COP decision should contain several elements, many which have been already outlined by developing countries in the negotiations. First, the COP should extend the work programme, and include as top priority the elaboration of the modalities of an institutional mechanism on loss and damage. Additionally, work similar to that already undertaken should continue in the SBI, further examining some of the issues that have emerged from the work programme and considering how to extend the work to other appropriate bodies under the Convention. The COP18 outcome should contain stand-alone elements and recommendations, such as a request to the financial mechanisms and actions related to capacity building. The COP could also establish pilot programmes to address the needs of developing countries identified over the course of the last two years, whether individually under the Convention or in collaboration with other institutions.