26 September 2015: The Executive Committee (Excom) of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage Associated with Climate Change Impacts (Warsaw International Mechanism or WIM) held its first meeting since the adoption of its initial two-year workplan in December 2014, at the 20th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 20) to the UNFCCC in Lima, Peru, and the nomination of members in June 2015.

During the meeting, held in Bonn, Germany, from 24-26 September 2015, Excom members elected their Co-Chairs, Pepetua Latasi, Tuvalu, for the non-Annex I constituency, and Shereen D’Souza, US, for the Annex I constituency.

In his opening remarks, COP 20 President Manuel Pulgar-Vidal (Peru) drew attention to the task of implementation, saying that operationalizing the Warsaw International Mechanism will be a “critical, challenging and important job.” He urged Excom members to take up the challenge with courage and confidence, to “think and act boldly” and demonstrate leadership in addressing loss and damage.

Reflecting on the work carried out at the meeting and the sensitivity of the issues, Latasi said Excom members were “dedicated to embark on the delivery of their mandate” at the meeting. She said it is “a great honor to have been entrusted with leading the group” alongside D’Souza. She added that the inaugural meeting of the Excom was “a landmark first step” toward advancing work on loss and damage under the Convention.

Discussions at the meeting covered all the action areas within the two-year workplan. The Excom finalized a set of guidance for work to be carried out on a number of activities and agreed on next steps to move forward with a further set of actions within the workplan.

Established by COP 19 in December 2013, the WIM is the main vehicle under the Convention to address loss and damage associated with climate change. The Excom guides the implementation of the functions of the Warsaw International Mechanism.

Excom members were joined by over 20 observers from Parties and organizations at the meeting. The second meeting of the Excom is planned for the first quarter of 2016. [UNFCCC Press Release] [Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage Webpage] [COP President Remarks] [IISD RS Sources]