Loss and damage: Fight over human harm, huge climate costs
An issue called loss and damage will likely dominate difficult climate talks in Egypt this month
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — It was a total loss — the type that is usually glossed over in big impersonal statistics like $40 billion in damage from this summer's Pakistan floods that put one-third of the nation underwater.
“We lost everything, our home and our possessions,” said Taj Mai, a mother of seven who is four months pregnant and in a flood relief camp in Pakistan’s Punjab province. “At least in a camp our children will get food and milk.”
This is the human side of a contentious issue that will likely dominate climate negotiations in Egypt this month. It's about big bucks, justice, blame and taking responsibility. Extreme weather is worsening as the world warms, with a study calculating that human-caused climate change increased Pakistan’s flood-causing rain by up to 50%.
