LostToClimate

The Arctic is experiencing some of the fastest warming on the planet, leading to coastal erosion, permafrost thaw, wildfires, and sea-ice loss. Despite adaptation measures, these impacts undermine the well-being of Arctic communities, both economically – for example, by damaging infrastructure – and non-economically – for example, by eroding cultural heritage and psychosocial health. In both research and policy debates, these impacts are referred to as economic and non-economic losses and damages, respectively. In most countries, non-economic losses and damages are overlooked by policy metrics and are thus neglected in public policy. This neglect must be reversed, due to the profound negative impact of non-economic losses and damages on the well-being of present and future generations.

More and more effective climate adaptation should lessen (economic and) non-economic losses and damages. However, there comes a point where the additional improvements in human and ecological assets that more adaptation would bring may not be worth the additional investment. Stated differently, when a certain level of adaptation has been reached – namely when a certain level of non-economic losses and damages avoidance has been secured – a community may decide that resources – financial and other – are better spent on other issues. Both the type of information required to make these decisions and the decision-making processes that can achieve socially just outcomes are unknown. The LostToClimate project bridges these knowledge gaps.