Warsaw International Mechanism

The Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts (WIM) was established at COP19 in Warsaw in November 2013. It is the principal vehicle under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for addressing loss and damage — harms from climate change that go beyond what adaptation can prevent, such as sea-level rise, desertification, glacial melt, and intensified storms.

The WIM has three stated functions:

• Enhancing knowledge and understanding of comprehensive risk management approaches.
• Strengthening dialogue, coordination, coherence and synergies among relevant stakeholders.
• Enhancing action and support, including finance, technology and capacity-building.

It is governed by an Executive Committee (ExCom), which reports annually to the Conference of the Parties (COP) and the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA). The ExCom operates through expert thematic groups covering slow-onset events, non-economic losses, displacement, comprehensive risk management, and action and support.

The mechanism gained additional grounding through Article 8 of the Paris Agreement (2015), which formally anchored loss and damage as a distinct pillar alongside mitigation and adaptation. However, paragraph 51 of decision 1/CP.21 clarified that Article 8 does not provide a basis for liability or compensation — a key demand of developed countries.

At COP25 (Madrid, 2019), parties created the Santiago Network under the WIM to catalyze technical assistance to developing countries. At COP27 (Sharm el-Sheikh, 2022), parties agreed to establish a dedicated Loss and Damage Fund, which was operationalized at COP28 in Dubai in 2023. The WIM remains the institutional knowledge and coordination hub, while the new fund handles financing — though debates continue over the division of labor between them, and small island states and the AOSIS group have long pushed for more robust support.