Making sense of the politics in the climate change loss & damage debate.

The Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage (L&D) associated with Climate Change Impacts (WIM) was established in 2013 to advance i) knowledge generation; ii) coordination and iii) support to address losses and damages under the UNFCCC. So far, the work undertaken by the WIM Executive Committee (ExCom) has focused on enhancing understanding and awareness of the issue and promoting collaboration with relevant stakeholders. Delivering on the WIM's third function on action and support has lagged behind, and 'the political' nature of L&D has often been blamed for this. Key terrains of contention among Parties have included the positioning of L&D governance vis-à-vis the adaptation space and struggles around state liability and compensation. As a way to facilitate discussion on implementation options, recent research has suggested de-politicising aspects of the L&D debate; yet we have very little insight into how the politics are understood within the realm of international L&D governance. This paper brings an analysis of 'the political' into the picture by identifying the complex and underlying issues that fuel contention within UNFCCC L&D negotiations. It gives centre stage to the way different framings of norms and material interests affect the debate, and challenges the tendency in current L&D literature to overlook the socio-historical and political underpinnings of this area of policy-making. We employ a qualitative multi-methods research design which draws on content analysis of 138 official Parties' submissions and statements, 14 elite interviews with key current and former L&D negotiators and is built on a foundation of 3 years of participant observation at COPs and WIM meetings. We approach this data with a political ethnographic sensibility that seeks to explore how meanings are constructed within and across different sources of data. Our empirical results show that, rather than being a monolithic dispute, L&D catalyses different yet intertwined unresolved discussions. We identify five areas of contention, including continued disputes around compensation; conflicts on the legitimacy of L&D as a third pillar of climate action; tensions between the technical and political dimension of the debate; debates over accountability for losses and damages incurred; and the connection of L&D with other unresolved issues under the Convention.

Virulence of different Agrobacterium strains on hairy root formation of Hyoscyamus muticus.

Hyoscyamus muticus accession was evaluated for its response to inoculation with Agrobacterium rhizogenes strains LBA9402, A4, 15834, and Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain C58 CI pRT GUS104. The Agrobacterium strain used for the transformation has a significant influence on the phenotype of the clone as well as on the growth rate and hyoscyamine production of these root culture clones. The most virulent strains were C58 CI pRT GUS104 and LBA9402. More roots were obtained on LSO medium than on B50 medium. Acetosyringone addition and the time from wounding affected root formation. The alkaloid content was highest in clones C58 and A4 (≈90mg·l(-1)). There are great differences between individual hairy root clones, and hence they are not as uniform as has often been speculated. The Agrobacterium strain used for the transformation has a great influence in this respect.

Free radical intermediates produced by autoxidation of 1,8-dihydroxy-9-anthrone (dithranol) in pyridine.

The autoxidation of the antipsoriatic agent dithranol, monitored by an ESR-spectrometer, proceeds through several free radical intermediates. The initial radical, attacking a bulky spin trapping agent in a sterically comparatively hindered constellation, may be the active therapeutic form of dithranol.