World Climate Research Programme and WMO Address Global Framework for Climate Services
19 February 2010: The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), which is sponsored by the International Council for Science, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) convened their annual Joint Scientific Committee (JSC) meeting in Antalya, Turkey, from 15-19 February 2010. The meeting addressed the Programme's long-term strategy and the role of WCRP research in the Global Framework for Climate Services, established by the third World Climate Conference held in September 2009.
The agenda included a joint symposium on the role of research on climate services with the WMO Commission for Climatology. This was held as part of the WMO Technical Conference on Changing Climate and Demands for Climate Services for Sustainable Development, which took place at the same venue from 16-18 February. The main goal of the symposium was to further strengthen collaboration between climate research and services in order to address the need for regional and national climate prediction systems with lead times from one season to a decade or longer, to contribute climate information for adaptation and risk management. Participants developed a joint statement adopting a plan to support the implementation of the Framework for Climate Services. They also agreed to establish a joint collaborative mechanism and to seek further partnership with other WMO bodies.
A joint session with the representatives of the national meteorological, hydrological and climate services organizations of Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the UK and the US provided insight into the differing approaches being taken by these countries in developing their respective national climate services programmes and institutions. This dialogue helped in facilitating discussions on how research activities coordinated by WCRP and its partners can be organized to have the optimum and timely impact on fast emerging needs for climate information for different economic sectors of interest in different regions around the world. [IISD RS Sources] [Joint Statement by JSC and WMO Commission for Climatology] [JSC Meeting Website]