Reading between the Red Lines: Loss and Damage and the Paris Outcome

Climate Law

Volumn 6, Issue 1-2, 2016, Pages 118-129

  Burkett, Maxine ^a  

^a University of Hawaii William S Richardson School of Law   (United States)

Author keywords

climate finance; Loss and damage; migration

Indexed keywords

EID: 84977677014     PISSN: 18786553     EISSN: 18786561     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1163/18786561-00601008     Document Type: Review

References (38)

1. See Alex Durand and Saleemul Huq, 'A Simple Guide to the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage,' icccad, .
2. For a general discussion of different definitions of 'loss and damage' and the limits of adaptation, see Maxine Burkett, 'Loss and Damage', 4 Climate Law 119 (2014).
3. Ilona Millar, Catherine Gascoigne, and Elizabeth Caldwell, 'Making Good the Loss,' in Threatened Island Nations: Legal Implications of Rising Seas and a Changing Climate, edited by Michael B. Gerrard and Gregory Wannier (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2013), at 437.
4. See Burkett, supra note 3; see also Maxine Burkett, 'Climate Reparations', 10 Melbourne Journal of International Law 509 (2009).
5. Other guiding principles include principles of equity and intergenerational equity and international solidarity. See Alliance of Small Island States, Proposal to the awg-lca, 'Multi-Window Mechanism to Address Loss and Damage from Climate Change Impacts' (2008) (on file with author).
6. UNFCCC, Decision 2/cp.20, 'Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage', FCCC/CP/2014/10/Add.2.
7. See, e.g., Alliance of Small Island States, 'Paris Must Show Global Solidarity to Tackle Climate Change', 29 Nov. 2015,
8. Pacific Island Development Forum Secretariat, 'Suva Declaration on Climate Change', 4 Sept. 2015, .
9. See Meinhard Doelle, 'The Paris Agreement: Historic Breakthrough or High Stakes Experiment?', 6(1-2) Climate Law (2016).
10. See, e.g., John Upton, 'Paris Pact May Hinge on "Loss and Damage" Dispute', Climate Central, 11 Nov. 2015, at .
11. Ben Adler, 'Here's why the words "loss and damage" are causing such a fuss at the Paris climate talks', Grist, 8 Dec. 2015, .
12. See Tony Dokoupil, 'Climate change reparations: What does the U.S. owe?', msnbc, 2 Dec. 2015, .
13. See, e.g., .
14. See, e.g., Pilita Clark, 'cop 21: Small island states hopeful of climate damage deal', Financial Times, 6 Dec. 2015, .
15. Lisa Friedman, 'Obama defends climate diplomacy, back aid for islands', E&E Reporter, 1 Dec. 2015, .
16. Decision 1/cp.21, para. 50.
17. Decision 1/cp.21, para. 52.
18. UNFCCC, Draft decision -/cp.21, 'Draft Paris Agreement', FCCC/ADP/2015/L.6, 5 Dec. 2015.
19. UNFCCC, Draft decision -/cp.21, 'Draft Paris Agreement', FCCC/ADP/2015/L.6, 5 Dec. 2015.
20. See, e.g., Decision 1/cp.21, para. 115 (strongly urging significant increase in adaptation finance).
21. See, e.g., UNFCCC, Draft decision -/cp.21, 'Draft Paris Agreement', FCCC/ADP/2015/L.6, 5 Dec. 2015.
22. Oliver Milman, 'un drops plan to help move climate-change affected people', The Guardian, 4 Nov. 2015, .
23. Decision 1/cp.21, para. 50.
24. 'Initial two-year workplan of the Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage', (approved by UNFCCC Decision 2/cp.20).
25. See Jessica Wentz and Michael Burger, 'Designing a Climate Change Displacement Coordination Facility: Key Issues for cop 21', Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, at 6 .
26. Julie-Ann Richards, 'Paris climate deal needs solidarity on loss and damage', Climate Change News, 11 Nov. 2015, .
27. See generally Maxine Burkett, 'Rehabilitation: A Proposal for a Climate Compensation Mechanism for Small Island States', 13 Santa Clara Journal of International Law 81 (2015);
28. and iisd, 'Summary of the Paris Climate Change Conference: 29 November-13 December 2015', 12(663) Earth Negotiations Bulletin 1 (2015), at 43.
29. UNFCCC, Draft decision -/cp.21, 'Draft Paris Agreement', cop 21 agenda item 4 (b), 10 Dec. 2015.
30. See Daniel Bodansky, 'Legally Binding Versus Non-Legally Binding Instruments', in Towards a Workable and Effective Climate Regime, edited by Scott Barrett, Carlo Carraro, and Jaime de Melo (London: cepr Press and Ferdi, 2015).
31. (citing relevant provisions in the International Law Commission, 'Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts', UN ilc, 53d Sess. (2001)).
32. See UNFCCC Preamble, fccc/informal/84; see also, Report of the International Law Commission, 5erd Session, 'Draft Articles on Prevention of Transboundary Harm from Hazardous Activities, with Commentary', 2001, A/56/10;
33. Christopher Schwarte and Will Frank, 'The International Law Association's Legal Principles on Climate Change and Climate Liability Under Public International Law,' 4 Climate Law 201-216 (2014);
34. For an impassioned argument, see, e.g. Tim Crosland, 'Vulnerable countries warned: Protect your legal rights in a Paris accord', Climate Change News, 23 Oct. 2015, .
35. Francesco Sindico, 'A Story of 2.0 Texts and the Landing of the Paris Agreement' (Working Paper No. 3, Strathclyde Centre For Environmental Law and Governance, University of Strathclyde Glasgow, 2015), .
36. See Friederike Otto, Rachel James, and Myles Allen, 'The science of attributing extreme weather events and its potential contribution to assessing loss and damage associated with climate change impacts,' Environmental Change Institute,
37. Christina Huggel, Dáithí Stone, Maximilian Auffhammer, and Gerrit Hansen, 'Loss and damage attribution,' 3 Nature Climate Change 694 (2013), at 696.
38. Alliance of Small Island States, 'Closing Statement Paris Agreement,' 12 December 2015, .