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Global South researchers need to focus on losses and damages

Nature Sustainability volume 8, pages 1–2 (2025)Cite this article

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The year 2024 is on track to be the warmest year since global records began 175 years ago, breaking the record set just one year earlier1. The exceptional warmth of 2023 and 2024 has likely contributed to an unprecedented surge in lethal and costly climate disasters across the Global South. From exceptional storms in Malawi, Peru and Mexico2, to fierce fires in Chile3, and the most severe drought in the Amazon basin in 50 years4. The deadliest climate disaster of the past two years was the flood triggered by Storm Daniel, which claimed the lives of at least 6,000 people in Libya5.

Losses stemming from climate extremes are on the rise and countries that have contributed the least to greenhouse gas emissions are suffering the most. Emerging economies in the Global South, which heavily rely on agriculture and fisheries, are particularly vulnerable to climate disruptions. Estimates for the global cost of climate-related damages range from US$100 to $500 billion per year6. The recently established Loss and Damage fund has offered a glimmer of hope for fighting inequities and advancing climate justice, but it remains uncertain when assistance will be available. The slow progress of compensation initiatives underscores the urgency for Global South nations to allocate their limited resources towards climate risk mitigation.

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Fig. 1: Research agenda on loss and damage for the Global South.

References

  1. 2023 was the world’s warmest year on record, by far. National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (12 January 2024); https://go.nature.com/3ZlF9My

  2. Pearce, O. & Sharma, S. Counting the Cost 2023: A year of climate breakdown (Christian Aid, 2023); https://go.nature.com/3Zmgp6T

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Acknowledgements

The support of ANID (grant ANILLO ACT210046) is gratefully acknowledged.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Raúl R. Cordero & Sarah Feron

  2. University of Groningen, Leeuwarden, Netherlands

    Sarah Feron

  3. Center for Climate Change Adaptation, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Japan

    Alessandro Damiani

Authors
  1. Raúl R. Cordero
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  2. Sarah Feron
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  3. Alessandro Damiani
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R.R.C., S.F. and A.D. conceived and wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Raúl R. Cordero.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Nature Sustainability thanks Ravaka Andriamihaja and Pedro Torres for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Cordero, R.R., Feron, S. & Damiani, A. Global South researchers need to focus on losses and damages. Nat Sustain 8, 1–2 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-024-01499-0

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