Loss and Damage in the Rapidly Changing Arctic

• Main Authors: Landauer, M., Juhola, S.
• Other Authors: Mechler, R., Bouwer, L., Schinko, T., Surminski, S., Linnerooth-Bayer, J.
• Format: Book Part
• Language: English
• Published: Springer 2018
• Subjects: Arctic; Climate change
• Online Access: http://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/eprint/15616/; http://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/eprint/15616/1/Landauer-Juhola2019_Chapter_LossAndDamageInTheRapidlyChang.pdf

Arctic climate change is happening much faster than the global average. Arctic change also has global consequences, in addition to local ones. Scientific evidence shows that meltwater of Arctic sources contributes to sea-level rise significantly while accounting for 35% of current global sea-level rise. Arctic communities have to find ways to deal with rapidly changing environmental conditions that are leading to social impacts such as outmigration, similarly to the global South. International debates on Loss and Damage have not addressed the Arctic so far. We review literature to show what impacts of climate change are already visible in the Arctic, and present local cases in order to provide empirical evidence of losses and damages in the Arctic region. This evidence is particularly well presented in the context of outmigration and relocation of which we highlight examples. The review reveals a need for new governance mechanisms and institutional frameworks to tackle Loss and Damage. Finally, we discuss what implications Arctic losses and damages have for the international debate.