Loss and Damage from the Impacts of Climate Change: A Framework for Implementation

Loss and damage from the impacts of climate change affect many countries and communities across the world. In 2013, the Warsaw Mechanism on Loss and Damage, created through the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC), established an institutional process to respond to such impacts. This paper aims to contribute to the growing literature on climate liability by outlining a normative framework based on international law that can be used as a guiding path for the mechanism. It is argued that addressing loss and damage in line with these core principles and international law is required to develop a robust and legitimate mechanism. This framework is then used to answer critical questions regarding an international loss and damage mechanism for climate change.