Each year, all over the world, climate-related loss and damage is escalating, with many countries experiencing new forms of climate impact of increasing intensity. The focus until now has been on calculating the economic repercussions of climate risk. Its wider impacts and resulting hidden costs of climate change - such as loss of cultural heritage are less understood and harder to quantify.

This knowledge gap on non-economic loss and damage, which is largely due to limited coordination around research and sparse evidence originating from the global south, urgently needs addressing.

This observatory is a pioneering initiative spearheaded by International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) ICCCAD to address the pressing global issue of loss and damage resulting from the adverse effects of climate change. This online platform is designed to serve as a comprehensive resource of economic loss and damage and non-economic loss and damage for researchers, policymakers, and communities, providing invaluable insights into both economic and non-economic aspects of loss and damage.