19 September 2014: The resumed initial meeting of the Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts (Excom) under the UNFCCC agreed, inter alia, on a two-year workplan for implementing the Mechanism’s functions as outlined in decision 2/CP.19 (Warsaw international mechanism for loss and damage).

On the first day of the resumed initial meeting, which took place in Bonn, Germany, from 17-18 September 2014, the Excom discussed a preliminary draft workplan, and consulted with observers on its proposed elements. This followed the first part of the initial meeting of the Excom, which took place from 25-28 March 2014, and observer inputs in response to an Excom request for inputs issued on 12 June 2014. On the last day of the resumed initial meeting, the Excom finalized its two-year workplan, which describes activities, indicative timelines and expected results of the Mechanism’s functions mandated by the COP as set out in decision 2/CP.19. The workplan will be forwarded to the 41st session of the subsidiary bodies in December 2014, in Lima, Peru.

The Mechanism’s functions include enhancing the understanding of: how loss and damage affects vulnerable developing countries, in particular; comprehensive risk management approaches; capacity and coordination needs to prepare for, respond to and build resilience; and how climate change impacts are affecting patterns of migration, displacement and human mobility.

Other functions relate to: enhancing data and knowledge on the risks of slow onset events and their impacts, and on non-economic losses associated with the adverse effects of climate change; encouraging comprehensive risk management by disseminating information related to financial instruments and tools that address loss and damage risks; drawing upon the work of and involving, as appropriate, existing bodies and expert groups under and outside of the Convention; and developing a five-year “rolling” workplan for consideration by the 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 22), building on the results of the two-year workplan to continue guiding the Mechanism’s implementation.

The Excom was established by parties to guide implementation of the Mechanism’s functions. [Meeting Website] [Initial 2-year workplan of the Excom]