A new brief examines how anticipatory action can help to minimize loss and damage

The latest round of climate talks are under way at COP27 in Egypt, and many experts are calling for loss and damage to be high on the agenda. To coincide with this year’s event, the Anticipation Hub has launched a new briefing that explains how anticipatory action can help to reduce the loss and damage that developing countries face.

Loss and damage refers to the impacts of climate change that cannot be avoided by mitigation, adaptation or ‘classic’ approaches to disaster risk management. And 2022 has already seen some of the most severe climate-related losses and damages on record, from the floods in Pakistan to severe drought in the Horn of Africa.

There is some good news, though. As this briefing explains, anticipatory action can help to reduce these devastating impacts by enabling relevant actors, especially the communities affected, to act ahead of potentially harmful events instead of responding to them. This includes reducing the impacts of climate-related events that cause loss and damage.

The briefing will be shared with delegates at sessions related to anticipatory action at COP27 and is available to download on the Anticipation Hub.