Mind the gap: Addressing and financing loss and damage in informal urban settlements

This policy brief gives seven key recommendations to ensure that inhabitants of informal urban settlements will benefit from the Loss and Damage Fund and other Funding Arrangements provided to them. Loss and Damage debates have paid too little attention to urban areas so far, despite serious negative impacts of climatic hazards on the lives and health of their dwellers.

More than half of the world already lives in urban areas and more than 1.1 billion people reside in informal settlements. Considering the particular vulnerabilities of informal urban settlements, it is of utmost importance to ensure speed, eligibility, adequacy and access to Loss and Damage finance and to apply innovative approaches which comprehensively respond to their specific characteristics and needs.