The Loss and Damage fund: An investigation of discourse and power under the UNFCCC

Abstract: At the international climate negotiations at COP27, parties reached the historic agreement to establish a fund to provide assistance to countries in responding to costs associated with climate change, the loss and damage fund. The decision is a result of many years of struggle for the recognition of loss and damage under the UNFCCC which have long been opposed by post-industrial countries. This thesis aims to explore the discourses shaping this decision and identify where current struggles lie, examine the G77's strategies in these negotiations, and to investigate whether the decision outcome on loss and damage funding at COP27 challenge power structures in international climate negotiations under the UNFCCC. To investigate these questions, the thesis employs Fairclough’s framework for critical discourse analysis. The results indicate a divide in discourses between pre-industrial and post-industrial countries regarding loss and damage financing, leading to struggles over the issue's nature, urgency, and how the issue should be addressed. The thesis further identifies three discursive strategies employed by the G77 to overcome these struggles. While the pre-industrial coalition obtained an agreement to establish the fund, they encountered challenges in integrating their perspectives on liability and compensation.