The floods that devastated Pakistan in August 2022 caused $30bn in damage, affected 33 million people, and left more than 20 million people dependent on humanitarian aid. More than 2% of the country’s GDP was wiped out, and the economic impact will continue for years to come. Communities whose homes and crops were washed away will take much longer to recover – even if the economic damage can be repaired, the social upheaval will leave scars on people forced to uproot.
This is what is known, in the context of the global climate negotiations, as “loss and damage”. The phrase refers to the impacts of the climate crisis – floods, droughts, sea-level rises and heatwaves – that are too great for countries to be able to adapt to, and to the funds needed for their rescue and rehabilitation.
