Impact Trust • Working glossary
Loss and damage
The negative consequences of climate change on human societies and the natural environment.
Details
Our Take
Politically loaded term, powerful in negotations for naming the gap between adaptation (what you can adjust to) and what is simply lost or destroyed. Opaque for general public without explanation.
Examples of Use
Climate negotiations, vulnerable states
Ideological Framing
The 2022 COP27 fund was a landmark for loss and damage though implementation remains contested. Sometimes what is needed is not transformation but acknowledgement that something has been irreversibly taken.
Synonyms/Variants
Climate reparations (more politically charged); Non-economic losses; Residual climate impacts.
Typical everyday wording
The climate harm that is too late to prevent - and who pays for it.
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