COP 23 requested the Secretariat, under the guidance of the Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage (the Executive Committee) and the Chair of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI), to organize, an expert dialogue to explore a wide range of information, inputs and views on ways for facilitating the mobilization and securing of expertise, and enhancement of support, including finance, technology and capacity-building, for averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change, including extreme weather events and slow onset events, with a view to informing the preparation of the technical paper referred to in paragraph 2(f) of decision 4/CP.22 (see below for the details of the paper).

COP 23 requested the secretariat to prepare a report on the Suva expert dialogue for consideration by the Executive Committee at its second meeting in 2018 (September). The report will inform the discussions around scoping the technical paper mentioned above.

The technical paper will elaborate:

• The sources of financial support, as provided through the Financial Mechanism, for addressing loss and damage as described in relevant decisions, as well as modalities for accessing such support;
• Finance available for addressing loss and damage as described in relevant decisions, outside the Financial Mechanism, as well as the modalities for accessing it.

This technical paper will be prepared by the Secretariat as an input to the review of the Warsaw International Mechanism, to take place at COP 25 (2019). The Executive Committee will assist the secretariat in determining the scope of the technical paper with a view to making the paper available to Parties by SB 50 (June 2019) for consideration in the review of the Warsaw International Mechanism.

The dialogue should facilitate a focused and productive exchange of information among participants. The Suva expert dialogue is envisaged to be inclusive and open. Given the limited time, facilitators will request participants to keep interventions short and on topic.

In the interest of having a dynamic dialogue, prepared statements are strongly discouraged. Facilitators will endeavor to capture a balance of views across Parties and non-Party stakeholders during the discussion.

The following questions will guide the roundtable discussions:

• What are the available and emerging approaches to avert, minimize and address loss and damage?
• How should the approaches be designed and implemented?
• What are the barriers/gaps/challenges for design and implementation?
• What are the solutions and opportunities for addressing barriers/gaps/challenges?
• What are the opportunities for scaling up of approaches to meet the needs in developing countries?
• Are there sources of support, including finance, technology and capacity building? If so, what are they? Are these sources available inside or outside the Convention?
• What are the organizations that can help support implementation and scaling up of approaches to meet needs in developing countries?
• What are the cross-cutting institutional frameworks/enabling environments that can facilitate these actions?

One of the outcomes will be a table capturing the potential sources of support to avert, minimize, and address loss and damage. This table would help meet one of the central mandates of the Suva expert dialogue of informing the preparation of the technical paper mentioned above, including by gaining a better understanding of sources of financial support and the modalities for accessing such support.

Additional expected outcomes, include:

• Involvement of a wider range of stakeholders in order to contribute to facilitating the mobilization and securing of expertise, and enhancement of support, including finance, technology and capacity-building;
• Transfer of information generated by the Executive Committee to a wider audience;
• Better understanding of needs and challenges faced by developing countries;
• Sharing of information on financial support available and new opportunities, including the modalities for access.

The Executive Committee opened a call for submissions of information on 'the type and nature of actions to address loss and damage for which finance may be required', in December 2017.

COP 23 invited Parties and other stakeholders to submit their views by 15 February 2018.

A two-part synthesis paper was developed based on the 18 submissions received by 9 March, and considered at the 7^th meeting of the Executive Committee (13–16 March):

• Part I: Views on the type and nature of actions to address loss and damage for which finance may be required;
• Part II: Views on the Suva expert dialogue, the technical paper and ways to mobilize additional resources

As at 11 April 2018, 21 submissions were received, 11 from Parties and groups of Parties and 10 from organizations. All submissions are available here.

Range of topic areas under loss and damage

Strategic workstreams of the five-year workplan

Additional relevant information and knowledge products

• Decision 3/CP.18, paragraph 6
• Information paper on best practices, challenges and lessons learned from existing financial instruments at all levels that address the risk of loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change (August 2016)
• Outcomes of the 2016 Forum of the Standing Committee on Finance on “Financial instruments that address the risks of loss and damage associated with adverse effects of climate change” (September 2016)
• Draft compendium on comprehensive risk management approaches (March 2017)
• Outputs of the side event 'Breaking new ground: Risk financing for slow onset events' organized at COP 23 (November 2017)

For further information, please contact us at: loss-damage@unfccc.int.