Today, it is exactly 8 years ago that super-Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded, made landfall in the Philippines. As one of the deadliest Philippine typhoons on record, it killed at least 6,300 people in that country alone and led to economic damages of about US$2.2 billion in the country.
The reality of the climate crisis was pushed right into the negotiation rooms, when Filipino lead-negotiator Yeb Sano gave a very emotional speech, after his hometown was destroyed by the typhoon. He pledged to fast until climate talks showed real progress and called on Parties to “stop this madness”. It was a turning point in the UNFCCC negotiations on Loss and Damage, and we saw the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage established shortly after.
What has happened since 2013 in the real world? Science has proven beyond doubt that extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and more intense due to climate change – but people on the ground don’t need scientific proof. They have felt the consequences of climate change first hand through record-breaking storms, floods, and heat waves. Climate change violates their human rights and creates a daily climate emergency for millions of people. Estimates for economic loss and damage range between $290b to $580b for developing countries by 2030. These figures do not give us the slightest idea of the non-economic damage and the human suffering caused by climate change. And we are still not on a 1.5°C pathway, which is essential to contain the worst impacts of the climate crisis and to stop climate madness.
And what has happened since 2013 in the UNFCCC negotiation process?
Progress was made when Loss and Damage was acknowledged as a standalone topic through Article 8 of the Paris Agreement, and hence confirmed as a third pillar of the Climate Regime. But recognition hasn’t translated into action – since then, no meaningful new and additional finance has been put on the table to address loss and damage. Only single L&D measures have been supported. Collectively, developed countries have failed until now to provide adequate support to vulnerable populations who bear the brunt of climate impacts they are not responsible for.
This is why today, at the Loss and Damage and Adaptation Day, we are again shouting: Stop this Climate Madness and Pay up for Loss and Damage! COP 26 needs to provide sufficient and needs-based Loss and Damage finance, in addition to the yet-to-be-fulfilled $100b per year committed for mitigation and adaptation, on the basis of equity, historical responsibility, human decency and global solidarity, and in accordance with the polluter pays principle. And ECO is fully on board with finance sources that would get such money from, for example, fossil fuel companies (not only countries).