A vulnerability perspective on loss and damage: evidence from urban informal settlements

Abstract The scientific evidence on climate-related losses and damages is steadily increasing. However, the experiences of people living in urban areas, including informal settlements, are largely absent from research and policy. Furthermore, insufficient attention is given to underlying vulnerability that can explain why some people incur more frequent and severe losses and damages than others. Based on interviews with thirty-three representatives of local non-governmental and civil society organisations, we adapt and apply the Pressure and Release model to examine vulnerability to climate-related losses and damages in three urban informal settlements in Nairobi, São Paulo, and Jakarta. Our findings reveal that contemporary and historical structural factors, including colonial legacies, capitalist development and economic inequalities, create unsafe conditions that, when combined with climate-exacerbated hazards, result in losses and damages. We argue that current frameworks to address losses and damages overlook these root causes and risk perpetuating climate impacts.