Loss & Damage to Environment Must Be Established

One concept that is being included is loss and damage. Ambassador Felson says that the barrier reef in Belize is at the brink of being destroyed as a result of climate change. She says that developed countries must be held accountable for liability and compensation to small island developing countries affected by their counterproductive activities.

Ambassador Janine Felson

Ambassador Janine Felson, Lead Negotiator, AOSIS

“We also need to address an entirely new area which is loss and damage. When you think of the barrier reef and you think of how much stress it is under and what that would mean if we lose that which is a natural defense for us but is also a lifeline to our economy. Once we lose that, we can’t get it back. What we can’t get back; that’s why we need to talk about this thing called loss and damage and we need support for that. We didn’t cause the climate crisis, we are not contributing to human-induced climate change, but we are suffering the consequences. I think the developed countries would be the first to say that we don’t not acknowledge it, but they are the ones also to say that they don’t think that within this context of the climate change regime that they should be held accountable for liability and compensation. They prefer to look at it through the lens of humanitarian assistance. But the real narrative is this; the only reason we are experiencing loss and damage is because they failed on their mitigation, they failed to give us support for adaptation and so we are struggling.”