A People-Centred Approach to Assess and Address Impacts of Climate Change-Induced Loss and Damage

For over a decade, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has been discussing the issue of Loss and Damage, yet little research has been done on frontline communities impacted by climate change. To address this, the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) developed a Handbook on community-led assessment of climate-induced Loss and Damage, providing participatory tools for communities to assess their losses and damages from climate change. The Handbook is increasingly relevant as climate impacts increase and disaster risk reduction and adaptation efforts need to be scaled up. This paper examines how community-based Loss and Damage assessments can benefit a subset of processes that have evolved under the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement, including the Global Stocktake, Enhanced Transparency Framework, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and the Santiago Network for Loss and Damage.