Enhancing Lives with Timely Climate Services

1. Robert S. Webb and Roger S. Pulwarty NOAA Climate Service

2. The nation needs climate services… …to provide authoritative, reliable, timely, and relevant climate information and services to assist leaders and citizens in making climate-related decisions that enhance their lives and livelihoods

3. A Climate Services Vision (NRC, 2001) 1. The activities and elements of a climate service should be user-centric. 2. If a climate service function is to improve and succeed, it should be supported by active research. 3. Advanced information (including predictions) on a variety of space and time scales, in the context of historical experience, is required to serve national needs. 4. The climate services knowledge base requires active stewardship. 5. Climate services require active and well-defined participation by government, business, and academia. Climate Services: The timely production of useful climate data, information and knowledge to decision makers.

4. “The time has come for our nation to act.” - Dr. Jane Lubchenco, NOAA Administrator Individuals, decision-makers and governments at all levels are asking NOAA how to make wiser choices, how they can best prepare their lives, livelihoods and communities for the impacts of climate change.

5. Meeting the Rising Demand for Climate Services NOAA’s CarbonTracker • NOAA’s existing framework for climate was established before climate services were recognized as essential, and thus not optimized for climate service delivery. • To meet climate service demands, NOAA must: • Connect users to existing climate products and services • Provide understandable, usable and accessible climate information • Actively engage users in service development. • NOAA must maintain leadership in observing, research, modeling and assessments, while delivering climate services • Promoting collaborative partnerships such as interagency approach of NIDIS to deliver drought information services

6. Proposed NOAA Climate Service (2010) VISION NOAA Envisions an Informed Society Anticipating and Responding to Climate and its Impacts MISSION • Inform mitigation and adaptation decisions needed to respond to the impacts of the changing climate • Support decision makers regionally to globally, on time scales of weeks to decades, in areas including public policy, resource management, infrastructure investment, business development, and decisions of individuals in their daily lives GOALS • Continue to Build, Evaluate and Evolve NOAA’s Core Competencies in Three Key Areas: • Deliver Sustained & Effective Services • Promote Partnerships • Advance Climate Science

7. Proposed NOAA Climate Service (2010) • International: • The need for climate services • NOAA is internationally recognized as advancing the state of climate knowledge, for leadership in GEOSS and WCC-3, and is viewed as critical to developing regional scale impact assessments. • National: • Collaborative interagency strategy • NOAA provides core capabilities to national climate services through NOAA’s decades of expertise in observing, monitoring, research, modeling, assessments, and existing service delivery structures. Regional: • Regional Climate Service Enterprise • NOAA’s regional service capacity delivers services today through public and private partnerships, and is ready to engage in the national climate service strategy.

8. Federal Response to the nation’s climate challenges * NOAA commits to providing critical assets in science and service to a Federal partnership * Security Forestry Water Partnerships & Collaboration NOAA’s Assets Health Information Delivery and Decision Support NOAA uses its national and regional infrastructure to deliver climate services today Infrastructure Assessments of Climate Change and Impacts Leader in international and national climate impact assessments (e.g., IPCC AR4 & USGCRP Global Climate Change Impacts Report) Global Land Management Climate Change Research and Modeling Internationally recognized models of the global climate system Oceans Climate Observations and Monitoring Operates over 90 observation and monitoring systems Mandated to monitor and provide access to climate data & information Energy Other *Representative Organizations & Sectors

9. New Regional Climate Service Directors

10. Federal Regional Climate Service Enterprise Connecting Science, Services and People State and Local Engagement, Education & Service Delivery Regional Climate Science • USER ENGAGEMENT • Development, Delivery & Evaluation of Products & Tools • Understanding and Translating User Needs • Informing Program Requirements Regional Climate Services Partnerships Government Private Sector Academia NGO’s 10

11. NOAA Climate Service Regional Priorities • NOAA’s Climate Service Enterprise (RISAs, RCCs, RFCs, data centers, research labs and extramural grant programs) • Strengthen partnership with federal, tribal, state and local agencies • Address knowledge and information gaps in climate observations, monitoring, research, modeling and assessments, resource risk management, communication • Deliver information to support proactive regional risk preparedness, adaptation and mitigation

12. NOAA Climate Service Recent Developments • (as of March 30, 2010) • Thomas Karl assigned role of NCS Transition Director • Chester Koblinsky assigned role of NCS Transition Deputy Director • Formation of NCS Transition Corporate Board • Five NCS Transition Corporate Board Reports • Sustain high quality climate research • Relationship with the private sector, other agencies and communities • NCS internal business practices (crosscutting with weather, with monitoring/observations, with ecosystems, with drought) • Near-term NCS opportunities (next five years) • Managing the process for scientific clearing of information and products in a service delivery mode

13. NOAA Climate Service – When will it happen • Roll out of the NOAA Climate Service will occur pending a congressionally authorized National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) Study that will be completed in 150 days. • (relevant FY2010 appropriation language) • The conferees direct NOAA to enter into a contract with the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) within 60 days after the enactment of this Act for a study and analysis of organizational options for a National Climate Service within NOAA, emphasizing maximum effectiveness and efficiency. The study should consider how to provide information at the global, regional, and State levels over varying timescales; support interaction among the government and various users, stakeholders, researchers, and information providers of climate information in both the private and public sectors; develop and distribute products and information that will support decision-making to better prepare the Nation for climate variability and climate change; coordinate and align existing programs and resources internal and external to NOAA to reduce duplications and leverage existing climate-related resources; and provide estimates on projected funding levels. The study shall be completed no later than 120 days after the contract is awarded.

14. The National Climate Service Partnership- no single agency can address the climate challenge on its own Research, Modeling & Assessments Observations/Monitoring national climate service Adaptation & Mitigation Early Warning & Risk Management