28 March 2013: The Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts has identified possible focus areas for its two-year workplan.

The Executive Committee held its first meeting from 25-28 March 2013, in Bonn, Germany, with a focus on preparing its draft two-year workplan. The meeting was opened by Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC Executive Secretary, and Minister Marcin Korolec of Poland, President of the 19th session of the Conference of the Parties/19th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP 19/CMP 9), and co-facilitated by two interim members of the Executive Committee Thiago Mendes and Matti Nummelin. It was attended by the full interim membership of the Committee and approximately 45 observers.

Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Korolec highlighted the crucial role of the loss and damage mechanism, and urged the Committee to develop an effective and viable workplan that would lead to effective outcomes at COP 20 in December 2014.

During the meeting, in addition to identifying possible focus areas, the Executive Committee also identified some concrete actions/activities with associated deliverables/milestones, timeframes and responsible actors. The Committee will further develop the draft workplan with inputs from relevant organizations and experts, and present its initial workplan at COP 20.

The Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts was established by COP 19 in November 2013 to address loss and damage associated with impacts of climate change, including extreme events and slow onset events, in developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. The functions of the Mechanism include: enhancing knowledge and understanding of comprehensive risk management approaches to address loss and damage; strengthening dialogue, coordination, coherence and synergies among relevant stakeholders; and enhancing action and support, including finance, technology and capacity building. [Meeting Website] [Remarks by COP 19/CMP 9 President]