Editing IPCC:AR6/WGII/Chapter-8 (section)

==== 8.3.4.2 Non-economic loss and damage (e.g., Mobility, Well-being) ====

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Climate change L&amp;D presents an existential threat to some ( [[#Boyd--2017|Boyd et al., 2017]] ). For example, Pacific Island countries have contributed least to total GHG emissions, but the nations of the South Pacific are highly vulnerable to rising sea levels, tropical cyclones and other climate-related risks ( [[#Nand--2020|Nand and Bardsley, 2020]] ). For example, across Oceania there is significant risk that sea level rise will lead to forced relocation. Pacific leaders underscore the importance of losses, including deep connections between their world views and their land, and that leaving their islands can only be considered an option of ‘last resort’ ( [[#McDonnell--2021|McDonnell, 2021]] ).

Non-economic loss and damage (NELD) is values based (subjective and intangible) and relates to norms, social values and highlights intersectional experiences and perspectives on climate risk. The discourse on L&amp;D includes a framing of NELD as loss of human and non-human life, and mental and physical health that is experienced widely across the world in vastly different ways associated with social values ( [[#Tschakert--2019|Tschakert et al., 2019]] ). There are respectable arguments for the case that all life has intrinsic value ( [[#Vetlesen--2019|Vetlesen, 2019]] ). The NELD framing of climate impacts highlights that not all risks are measurable. While difficult to measure, there are a growing number of cases of NELD globally ( ''medium evidence, high agreement'' ). Illustrative examples of NELD from climate change include the Pacific ( [[#McNamara--2021b|McNamara et al., 2021b]] ) and SIDS in the Caribbean. ( [[#Martyr-Koller--2021|Martyr-Koller et al., 2021]] ). For example, the hurricane season in 2017 was particularly extreme resulting in climate-induced displacement with direct implications for NELD, including threats to health and well-being and loss of culture and agency ( [[#Thomas--2020|Thomas and Benjamin, 2020]] ).

In the context of the Pacific Islands, NELDs are thought of as interconnected and span human mobility and territory, cultural heritage and Indigenous knowledge, life and health, biodiversity and ecosystem services, and sense of place and social cohesion ( [[#Carmona--2017|Carmona et al., 2017]] ; [[#Ojwang--2017|Ojwang et al., 2017]] ; [[#McNamara--2021b|McNamara et al., 2021b]] ). There are gaps in our understanding of NELD, much of the evidence is from the Global South and at smaller scales ( ''high agreement'' ), NELD is not explicitly linked to attribution science yet and evidence often lacks coverage on certain groups ( [[#Boyd--2017|Boyd et al., 2017]] ; [[#Carmona--2017|Carmona et al., 2017]] ; [[#Ojwang--2017|Ojwang et al., 2017]] ). Non-economic losses are often associated with displacements and migration in terms of climate change and human vulnerability ( [[#8.2.1.4|Section 8.2.1.4]] ), studies show that the impacts of extreme flooding, droughts and/or hurricanes and cyclones that can lead to a sense of lost identity and place, and emotional distress, that are hardly assessed dimensions of impacts and risks ( [[#Adger--2014|Adger et al., 2014]] ; [[#Barnett--2016|Barnett et al., 2016]] ; [[#Tschakert--2017|Tschakert et al., 2017]] ; [[#Serdeczny--2018|Serdeczny et al., 2018]] ). Non-economic losses are particularly relevant for understanding adverse consequences of climate change on the poor and most vulnerable population groups ( ''high confidence'' ). These NELD categories are still overlooked in vulnerability assessments and adaptation planning. A novel way to consider NELD in assessments is to interconnect with a sustainable development perspective ( [[#Boyd--2017|Boyd et al., 2017]] ; [[#Boda--2020|Boda et al., 2020]] ).

In order to categorise the different types of NELD that exist, ( [[#Serdeczny--2016|Serdeczny et al., 2016]] ), reviewed the literature and came up with a set of systematic categories that capture what is usually thought about as having intrinsic value and according this framing of NELD this includes: human life, sense of place and mobility, cultural artefacts, biodiversity and ecosystems, communal and production sites and agency and identity ( [[#Serdeczny--2016|Serdeczny et al., 2016]] ; [[#Serdeczny--2019|Serdeczny, 2019]] ). For example, there is emerging evidence on linkages between slow-onset events and mobility decisions, trajectories and outcomes ( [[#Zickgraf--2021|Zickgraf, 2021]] ). In addition, categories include psychosocial and emotional distress ( [[#van%20Der%20Geest--2016|van Der Geest and Schindler, 2016]] ). For example, research shows potential increased risk of intimate partner violence following disasters, noting that societies that are vulnerable to climate change may need to prepare for the social disasters that can accompany disasters revealed by natural hazards (Malik and Stolove, 2017; [[#Rai--2021|Rai et al., 2021]] ).

Geographical focus on non-economic losses in the literature is largely on the Global South with studies mainly smaller in scale ( ''high agreement'' ). Many events studied include severe storms, floods and landslides. Key groups affected include low-income groups, agro-pastoralists, women and girls, children and youth, Indigenous Peoples, ethnic and religious minorities. In Europe, the Samis face significant challenges to health as ecosystems deteriorate ( [[#Jaakkola--2018|Jaakkola et al., 2018]] ). In Zimbabwe, Storm Idai affected 270,000 people and subsequent flooding and landslides left 340 people dead and many others missing ( [[#Chanza--2020|Chanza et al., 2020]] ). There is evidence of loss of cultural heritage sites due to sea level rise and coastal erosion as well as other climate variability ( [[#Brooks--2020|Brooks et al., 2020]] ). Haile et al. (2013) show flood casualties in Ethiopia include children drowned while playing outside during the 2007 flood period although official data is hard to come by (p. 489). Moreover, loss of place was experienced in Itang, where many of the local houses are built from wood, grasses and mud walls, which are easy to reconstruct, but are not strong enough to withstand an extreme flood. Here, 38% of the surveyed houses were severely damaged by the 2007 flood. These houses were constructed as an adaptation strategy but could not withstand the floods. In Kenya, [[#Opondo--2013|Opondo (2013)]] shows loss of human life was the most severe impact of floods. For example, in the focus group discussion with men, ‘it was reported that a boat capsized on River Nzoia at Siginga and ten people died’ (p. 457). In Mozambique, Brida et al. (2013) show loss of sense of place occurred after flooding in the central districts of Caia and Mopeia, which had a devastating impact on homes and livestock ( [[#Brida--2013|Brida et al., 2013]] ). Health impacts of the forest fires in Amazon basin countries have disproportionately affected vulnerable people and social groups (see Box 8.6).

In the literature on NELD, there are many examples of loss of life ( ''high agreement'' ). In Nepal, one of the deadliest landslides in Nepal history resulted in the death of 156 people ( [[#van%20der%20Geest--2018|van der Geest, 2018]] ). Evidence from Landslide Jure and consecutive rainfall in Sindhupalchok in Nepal showed the experience led to mental stress, such as fear of new landslides, in about 68.4% of people interviewed ( [[#van%20Der%20Geest--2016|van Der Geest and Schindler, 2016]] ). One study in Nepal showed that almost a quarter (23%) of the households interviewed had sold property, including homes, livestock and heirlooms in response to flooding ( [[#Bauer--2013|Bauer, 2013]] ). Human deaths are increasingly associated with L&amp;Ds from tropical cyclones and typhoons, such as in the southern coastal districts of Bangladesh, in particular Khulna and Satkhira ( [[#Chiba--2017|Chiba et al., 2017]] ). A case study from Mindanao, Philippines, by [[#Chandra--2017|Chandra et al. (2017)]] also reported physical injuries and loss of life from the most powerful typhoon for over a century in 2012, affecting more than 6 million people and killing at least 1000 people ( [[#Eugenio--2016|Eugenio et al., 2016]] ). Beckman and Nguyen (2016) reported that in Vietnam floods in 2004 washed away 24 houses in the commune, with the loss of families when their houses were washed away.

An illustrative example is climate-induced loss of well-being and (im)mobility in Bhola Slum, an informal settlement in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Research revealed that IDPs from the southern coast experienced loss of belonging, identity, quality of life and social value produced in people a nostalgia and desire to return home ( [[#Ayeb-Karlsson--2020|Ayeb-Karlsson et al., 2020]] ). Another example is of urban climate change justice experienced by migrants in the Indian cities of Bengaluru and Surat, where environmental marginalisation can be attributed to a lack of recognition of citizenship rights and informal livelihood strategies driven by broken social networks and a lack of political voice, as well as heightened exposure to emerging climate risks and economic precariousness. In this case, migrants experience extreme forms of climate injustice in their invisibility to formal government and are even actively erased from cities through force or discriminatory development policies ( [[#Chu--2019|Chu and Michael, 2019]] ).

NELD also includes the loss of social networks. This has lasting implications for psychological health as well as for coping with crises following disasters or challenges posed by adverse climate change impacts. For example, many households in villages affected by Cyclone Aila in Dacope and Koyra upazilas of Khulna district in Bangladesh migrated to other places permanently after the cyclone, as these affected villages were subject to long-term flooding (e.g., 2–3 years) following the cyclone. They migrated as they were unable to restore their livelihoods and, thus, were unable to secure necessary income for survival ( [[#Saha--2017|Saha, 2017]] ).

The examples show the multifaceted nature of intangible and non-economic losses that people experience in the context of climate change and the daily risks they are exposed to. Conventional vulnerability assessments cover some aspects that are linked to the likelihood of experiencing non-economic losses, such as aspects of health, governance, education and in some cases also forced migration and the role of social networks. Overall, the elements of this assessment here underscore that it is not just the climatic stressor, but rather the underlying context conditions that decide whether an extreme event translates into a disaster.

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