Current loss and damage patterns – illustrated by the evidence featured in this research from Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States, and African countries – strike at the very purpose of climate policy: to avoid dangerous climate change and ensure the possibility of timely adaption so as not to impede food production and sustainable development. Loss and damage patterns revealed in this study illustrate that people in vulnerable countries already appear to be approaching the biophysical and social boundaries of adaptation, beyond which climate change compromises sustainable development.