Vulnerability and loss and damage following the COP27 of the UN framework convention on climate change

The creation of a Transitional Committee to operationalise funding for loss and damage at the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) could prove a seminal moment for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Yet, in the context of loss and damage and wider climate financing, discourses of vulnerability and mechanisms and indices for appraising the impacts of climate change remain unfit for purpose. Establishing which Parties are the most vulnerable (and thus eligible for funding), accounting for intangible non-economic losses and making progress toward climate justice and disaster risk reduction while avoiding the issue of sociopolitical ‘root causes’ remains a monumental challenge.