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Historically, climate change vulnerability and loss and damage have been conceptualized as a narrow and linear pathway—with geographic and socioeconomic vulnerability leading to increasing incidents of loss and damage. However, this conceptualization falls short of considering how evolving and cumulative loss and damage affects the stability and economic security of island nations, contributes to development rollbacks and increases vulnerability to future climate impacts. We highlight the limitations of how relationships between vulnerability, loss and damage and development have been understood and applied by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and consequently in the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to address these multi‐scalar, systemic and cumulative impacts. Other approaches consider relationships between climate change, vulnerability and larger developmental impacts, including the concept of a multidimensional vulnerability index (MVI). But experiences with MVI in other international forums have not been positive and may in fact put more pressure on developing countries to compete for limited financial resources. Introducing MVI into the UNFCCC system, may, therefore, be detrimental to Small Island Developing States and marginalize other developing countries. Instead, more pressure should be placed on developed countries to broaden their understanding of loss and damage and make more climate finance available to developing countries that are bearing the brunt of climate impacts. There may now be greater opportunity within the UNFCCC framework to address these cyclical and systemic aspects of loss and damage with new and enhanced financial arrangements for loss and damage, as well as the establishment of a loss and damage fund. We argue that these new institutional developments should include broader and cyclical concepts of loss and damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the issue of loss and damage within the international climate regime, examining its contemporary implications from the perspective of vulnerable countries. Topics include the impacts of climate change, the historical and contemporary perspectives of loss and damage at climate negotiations, and the challenges and potential solutions in operationalizing the loss and damage fund and funding arrangements.

The summer of 2017 can be characterized as the 'summer of loss and damage' for Caribbean small island developing States (SIDS) and other vulnerable countries. High‐profile extreme events such as Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated the Caribbean region. The summer saw some of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic hurricane season. The impacts of loss and damage have developmental impacts as they can lead to death, insecure livelihoods, conflict, degradation of natural resources, and can compound existing developmental vulnerabilities and negate prior development gains. As a result, loss and damage is jeopardizing existing development gains in vulnerable countries, leading to what the authors call an unvirtuous cycle of climate‐induced erosion of development and resilience in these States. The 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and related meetings provided an opportunity to focus on island States and their climate‐related vulnerability. Given the highly topical nature of loss and damage in 2017, it was anticipated that significant movement on loss and damage would occur. However, as a result of the sensitive and political nature of the issue of loss and damage, and evolving negotiation dynamics, only incremental and procedural progress was made by negotiators on this front, perhaps understandably given the restrictions of the Paris Agreement and its related COP decision. The three key 'asks' of developing countries on this topic were not addressed by the COP decision. As a result, SIDS may be left with limited options to fund and cope with increasingly debilitating impacts of loss and damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]