Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage: a first cycle analysis

Abstract

In a scenario marked by acute environmental changes, the Warsaw International Mechanism arises, the first international cooperation instrument focused on minimizing the inevitable losses and damages associated with the impacts of climate change created under the aegis of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This article is an evaluation of its institutionalization and first cycle of operation, between 2013 and 2016, which, based on documental research, it begins with a discussion about the increase in the number and intensity of weather-related disasters, then approaches the notions of loss and damage through a literature review, and, subsequently, goes on to the discuss the Warsaw International Mechanism, through the scrutiny of its creation, structuration and implementation processes. Lastly, the article concludes that this new organization structure within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is another complex alternative that is difficult to implement in a scenario that is often adverse to international cooperation, including for relevant issues, such as those involving the impacts of climate change.