As the climate crisis intensifies, two terms are in sharp focus: adaptation and ‘loss and damage’ (L&D).
Adaptation is the proactive response to climate change, the art of survival using which communities and countries make deliberate choices to prepare for and cope with climate-related challenges.
In contrast, L&D represents the irreversible consequences of climate change: impacts that can’t be avoided or mitigated through adaptation efforts. They encompass the real losses that extend beyond monetary value and cut to the core of human rights and well-being. L&D includes economic losses, human casualties, and the degradation of ecosystems and cultural heritage. The call for affluent nations to acknowledge their accountability for historic pollution is more than 30 years old. Historic pollution has elevated the world’s average surface temperature by more than 1 degree Celsius and is currently inflicting damage worldwide, but especially in the poorest nations.
