Loss and damage (L&D) associated with the adverse impacts of climate change has now become a harsh reality in many parts of the world, especially in low-income developing countries. The consistent rise of global average temperature and inadequate mitigation pledges to limit Earth’s average temperature rise well below 2 degrees Centigrade from the pre-industrial era would further aggravate the situation causing L&D inevitable and irreversible. There is already much evidence of irreversible L&D resulting from the localized and unusual extreme and slow onset events.

Back in 1991 the Alliance of the Small Island States (AOSIS)-which feared to be drowned by the rise of sea levels-argued for addressing climate change-induced L&D; however the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) adopted in 1992 didn’t formally recognize this. Over the years, the developed country group denied any discussion despite the L&D has started to manifest given the context of feeble mitigation effort and inadequate adaptation support to the developing countries.