Defining loss and damage: The science and politics around one of the most contested issues within the UNFCCC

The document analyzes the tension between the risk-management approach of the UNFCCC and the justice-based demands for compensation regarding climate-induced loss and damage. It evaluates four scientific traits—attributability, irreversibility, unavoidability, and intolerability—concluding that while science can inform risk management, the determination of liability and compensation remains a political and value-based challenge.

• Loss and damage is scientifically understood as 'residual impacts', which occur when climate change impacts exceed the limits of what humans or natural systems can adapt to.
• There is a fundamental political divide in the UNFCCC regarding loss and damage: some stakeholders view it through a lens of climate justice and compensation for the poorest countries, while others frame it as a risk reduction and management issue.
• The Paris Agreement's Article 8 recognizes the importance of addressing loss and damage, but an accompanying decision explicitly denies that this provides a legal basis for liability or compensation.
• Irreversibility in loss and damage can be either physical, such as 'tipping points' like the melting of ice sheets, or social, where the disruption of a society's core functions prevents recovery even after physical repairs.
• The definition of 'unavoidable' impacts varies from 'hard' physical limits (e.g., submerged islands) to 'soft' limits caused by insufficient international finance, technology transfer, or failures in local governance.
• The concept of 'intolerable' impacts is highly subjective and depends on social norms, personal values, and adaptive capacity, meaning there is no objective scientific line to define it.

APA

Vulturius, G., & Davis, M. (2016). Defining loss and damage: The science and politics around one of the most contested issues within the UNFCCC. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-DB-2016-Loss-and-damage-4-traits.pdf

Chicago

Vulturius, Gregor, and Marion Davis. Defining loss and damage: The science and politics around one of the most contested issues within the UNFCCC. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2016. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-DB-2016-Loss-and-damage-4-traits.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Vulturius |first1=Gregor |last2=Davis |first2=Marion |title=Defining loss and damage: The science and politics around one of the most contested issues within the UNFCCC |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2016 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-DB-2016-Loss-and-damage-4-traits.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{vulturius2016defining, author = {Vulturius, Gregor and Davis, Marion}, title = {{Defining loss and damage: The science and politics around one of the most contested issues within the UNFCCC}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2016}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-DB-2016-Loss-and-damage-4-traits.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }