Are We Being Gaslit On Loss and Damage?

10 December 2018

There are several ways to make a person doubt themselves. One insidious way to do it is gaslighting: psychologically manipulate someone, or a group of people, making them question reality, and even their own sanity. We”ve seen examples of such behaviour from the Trump.

Within the climate negotiations we have our own set of gaslighters. Developed countries have raised hopes to engage in serious work on progressing on loss and damage finance first at Warsaw (“enhancing action and support”), and secondly at Paris (“enhance support on a cooperative and facilitative basis”). The french capital is also where countries agreed that loss and damage was a stand-alone element of the Paris Agreement – important enough for its own article.

Yet, in every negotiation rich countries gaslight us. They”ve claimed that loss and damage is “under” adaptation, that it is not important enough to provide finance in addition to adaptation (square brackets everywhere), report on that finance and assess it as part of the Global Stocktake or the enhanced transparency framework. Ignoring L&D would prevent us from having a full picture of the reality of climate impacts and needs but also actions taken to address irreversible impacts. Isn’t this what the Global Stocktake is all about?

This reinvention of reality is designed to make us question our own sanity. Well, we’re watching you, developed countries. L&D is not (the hallucinogenic) LSD. We’re exposing your refusal to seriously tackle vulnerable countries” needs for loss and damage finance and ECO will continue to do our share to fight this. Finally, we know that most of you have repeatedly expressed you commitment to implement the Paris Agreement, so we also expect you not to stand side by side with those who spread doubts over the urgent need to act on the climate crisis and who distance themselves from the Paris Agreement.