CAN Submission: The Workplan of The Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss & Damage, June 2013

 

CAN International’s working group on adaptation and loss & damage welcomes the invitation by the ExCom of the Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM) on Loss and Damage to submit suggestions for the work plan of the WIM for 2015 and 2016, which the ExCom is tasked to prepare for approval by COP20.

CAN stressed the importance of meaningfully addressing loss and damage in previous inputs to the UNFCCC process, including recently on the ADP and in policy positions related to COP18 and COP19. Increasing mitigation ambition and rapidly scaling up adaptation action in order to reduce the avoidable loss and damage as soon as possible is crucial. But this will no longer be enough due to decades of inadequate mitigation action by developed countries. In addition to this, approaches must be developed to deal with the unavoidable loss and damage and residual impacts caused by sea level rise, ocean acidification, loss of biodiversity, glacial retreat and other climate change impacts.

CAN is of the view that the initial establishment of the WIM must now be followed-up with an ambitious while realistic work plan. This work plan must allow using 2015 and 2016 for building up the WIM into an operational mechanism aiming to make a real difference for vulnerable people and countries in their efforts to manage the increasing loss and damage associated with climate change impacts.

Members of CAN have also participated in the initial meeting of the ExCom and followed and contributed to the discussions in the March meeting. The below suggestions for key areas of work reflect our views of priorities the WIM should pursue in the next two years. It is important to note that the decisions on modalities which the WIM can employ, discussed by SBI/SBSTA, and also to be approved by the COP, may also have implications on the WIM’s work plan and may require dedicated work to operationalize the specific modalities. However, since the decisions on the modalities cannot yet be foreseen, we are not in a position to make detailed suggestions in this regard, and also assume that they will be rather crosscutting and not necessarily impact on the proposed work areas as such.