CPO's Ko Barrett at WCC-3

At the third World Climate Conference (WCC-3) in Geneva, Switzerland, some 2,500 policymakers and resource managers from more than 150 countries met with scientific experts from August 31-September 4. A major outcome from the conference was the decision to establish a Global Framework for Climate Services, an effort that aims to meet accelerating demands for information required to address the impacts of climate change.

The conference brought together those who collect and develop climate information with those who need it, setting in motion an unprecedented opportunity to design an international system that will inform decision-making in a way that is similar to how weather services work today, but on a longer time scale. Climate services would include the broad range of information and products that users require to address their needs, including data collection, technical assessment, analysis and prediction, and the ability to interpret and apply the information for their own use.

The U.S. delegation included representatives from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. National Science Foundation, USAID, NOAA, and NASA. At the conference, U.S. officials learned from the international community and shared American knowledge and innovations.

Jane Lubchenco, Under Secretary of Commerce and Administrator of NOAA, was the Head of the United States Delegation. Dr. Lubchenco was very pleased with the outcome of the conference.

"Climate change is a shared challenge," she said. "The declaration agreed to here unites all countries in recognizing the need for climate services."

Several members of NOAA's Climate Program Office were in attendance. Chet Koblinsky, Rick Rosen, and Ko Barrett have served on the WCC-3 International Organizing Committee for the last four years. Leading up to the conference and during, Barrett worked with the State Department to negotiate the WCC-3 declaration.

At the conference, Koblinsky chaired a side event titled "Disaster risk management: Challenges and opportunities using climate information." In the session, participants discussed how the CPO-funded International Research Institute for Climate and Society, the Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre, and regional institutes are working together in a variety of settings to better understand the challenges and opportunities for climate-informed Disaster Risk Management in the humanitarian sector.

In the conference's "Nations and Regions" session, Roger Pulwarty discussed how the United States is delivering climate information services in support of risk management. Pulwarty shared lessons from the CPO-funded Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) and National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) programs. During a forum focused on capacity-building, education, and training, Walter E. Baethgen of the CPO-funded International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) shared lessons learned from the IRI's projects in Latin America Several other NOAA representatives attended the conference. Tom Karl, Director of NOAA's National Climatic Data Center and lead of NOAA climate services presented the results of a white paper on the capabilities of existing and future observing systems. He urged the importance of sustained and dedicated observing system support for climate services. Without these investments, he said, we will be ill prepared to make informed and better decisions. Howard Diamond of NCDC was the secondary lead author for that white paper and also attended the WCC-3 conference.

Read more about NOAA's involvement in WCC-3.