Loss and damage – research, policy and lived experience in least developed countries
On Tuesday, 8 September, IIED and ICCCAD hosted a webinar featuring least developed countries' national experts sharing their research and lived experience of loss and damage. The discussion aimed to ensure that loss and damage remains a priority issue in the lead up to COP26.
Stilt houses have been built in Dhaka, Bangladesh to respond to the impact of climate change (Photo: Development Planning Unit at UCL via Flickr, CC BY 2.0)
This webinar was the last one of a series of three on LDCs and their work implementing the Paris Agreement that brought together practitioners from LDCs with global experts, and other stakeholders to share their experiences in implementing the Paris Agreement.
With climate extremes intensifying, causing devastating impact across the world and especially in least developed countries (LDCs), loss and damage is crucial to understand the inevitable consequences of human-caused climate change.
Some of these impacts manifest slowly, while others hit hard and fast. The year 2020 has already seen a fair share of climatic adversities – from wildfires to windstorms and cyclones – posing a significant threat to the global economy. These events have reinstated the need for stronger attention to loss and damage, on a practical level in-country, as well as in international climate negotiations.
The International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) and IIED partnered to host an online discussion featuring speakers from LDCs to share more about their lived experiences of loss and damage and make the case for ensuring loss and damage remains a priority issue in the lead up to and at COP26.
Event coverage
You can see a video recording of the complete event below, including the question-and-answer session with webinar participants, and on IIED's YouTube channel.
About the speakers
Dr. Saleemul Huq is the director of ICCCAD in Bangladesh, and a senior associate at IIED. He is an expert on the links between climate change and sustainable development, particularly from the perspective of developing countries. His current focus is on supporting the engagement of the LDCs in the UN climate negotiations.
Istiakh Ahmed manages both loss and damage and locally led adaptation and resilience programmes at ICCCAD and current leads four different projects under these programmes. He has in-depth experience in social research and its different methodologies, and a close understanding over environmental aspects of the social issues.
Ineza Umuhoza Grace is the CEO of youth led organisation The Green Fighter, which she founded in 2017. She is an African eco-feminist and environmental activist, following themes such as loss and damage, and gender in the UNFCCC. She believes that youth inclusion in climate change solutions is a hope for sustainable development.
Manjeet Dhakal is head of LDC support team at Climate Analytics, and also serves as advisor to the chair of the LDC Group. He provides technical inputs and analysis to the LDC chair and members of the LDC group, and played a key part of the LDC efforts that led to the Paris Agreement in 2015. He is also associated with School of Environmental Science and Management, Pokhara University in Nepal as an adjunct faculty for climate change. He regularly writes, teaches and presents on climate change related issues.
Sharaban Tahura Zaman is an environmental lawyer and academic based in Bangladesh, working to promote environmental and climate justice. With support from IIED, from 2017 Zaman started climate negotiations as a government delegate on the compliance and mitigation issues on behalf of the LDC Group.
Moderated by Brianna Craft, a senior researcher in IIED’s Climate Change research group.
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Contact
Elaine Harty (elaine.harty@iied.org), senior coordinator, IIED's Climate Change research group
