This primer was developed to inform an evidence-based approach to incorporating social protection into policy and financing discussions concerning loss and damage – the negative effects of climate change that occur despite mitigation and adaptation efforts – and to provide recommendations on how social protection might be used to contribute to the objectives of the newly created Fund for responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD). The paper outlines how social protection instruments can be utilised to respond to climate-induced loss and damage, drawing on recent experiences to illustrate how social protection mechanisms can be adapted to facilitate efficient and targeted, nationally led responses to loss and damage. The paper gives a brief history of the development of the fund, and the ongoing process of institutionalisation, including the current start-up phase, (the Barbados Implementation Modalities or BIM), then explains what social protection is and how it is relevant to achieving the FRLD mandate, setting out how social protection can be used to address various aspects of loss and damage. Finally, the paper considers options for the way forward, based on interviews with loss and damage experts drawn from governments, international organisations and civil society, providing recommendations for the development of the fund, in terms of accommodating social protection in its financing portfolio, and also recommendations relating to the policy, programme design, operational and financing considerations that need to be addressed if social protection is to play an effective role in loss and damage response and that the fund may consider financing.