Knowledge Gaps and Policy Needs to Tackle Loss and Damage - Policy Brief

This policy brief examines the current state of knowledge, capacity, and policy gaps that impede effective action on climate-related loss and damage, with the aim of identifying where science can support the operationalization of loss and damage solutions at national and international levels. Produced under the World Adaptation Science Programme, the brief draws on existing research and country submissions to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change — including Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans — to assess how loss and damage is recognized and addressed across developed and developing nations. The document distinguishes between economic loss and damage, which encompasses harm to assets and infrastructure with measurable market value, and non-economic loss and damage, covering intangible harms such as losses to cultural heritage, identity, biodiversity, and mental health. It finds that while policy recognition of loss and damage has grown incrementally, systematic assessment tools remain inadequate, non-economic dimensions are poorly documented, and many countries — particularly least-developed nations and small island developing states — lack the institutional capacity and data infrastructure needed to access emerging funding mechanisms. Gender-differentiated impacts and intersectional vulnerabilities are identified as consistently underaddressed across both scientific research and national policy frameworks.