This special issue of Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability (COSUST) collaborates with the UNFCCC Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism to bring together a collection of articles on environmental sustainability in relation to those adverse climate impacts –slow onset events--which unfold gradually over time. Sometimes these slow onset events interact with rapid-onset hazard events and often irreversible in nature relative to human society. The articles review and synthesize literature which evaluate the nature of slow onset events and highlight emerging topics in the scientific literature. The special issue helps identify the gaps and challenges in understanding slow onset events and their local, national, and regional impacts, and possible approaches to manage these. The guest editors hope that these papers will enhance the knowledge base and highlight potential approaches to assess and address such adverse impacts of climate change at the local, national and regional levels that can support the development and accessibility of tools, which inform national planning and policymaking processes in assessing and addressing the impacts and risks associated with slow onset events and response options
Non-economic loss and damage induced by climate change in the Pacific Islands region has been reported as fears of cultural loss, deterioration of vital ecosystem services, and dislocation from ancestral lands, among others. This paper undertakes an in-depth systematic review of literature from the frontlines of the Pacific Islands to ascertain the complexities of non-economic loss and damage from climate change.