Towards successful climate services – What are the keys of success?

The socioeconomic challenges associated with the effects of global warming are such that there is a clearly expressed need for tailored climate information to support the implementation of mitigation and/or adaptation strategies, as articulated by economic sectors (e.g., agriculture, energy, tourism, land and maritime infrastructure, etc.) and by territories/regions that fully understand their vulnerabilities. In response to these demands, numerous national, European, and international research projects have enabled the funding of “climate services.”

Several national and European operational actors are developing and making “climate services” available via platforms that are often freely accessible; finally, consulting firms are emerging on the market whose commercial activity focuses on developing “climate services” tailored to clients’ specific needs.

The range of “climate services” is therefore diverse today, both in terms of the information provided (“simple” climate data, indicators, decision-support tools) and in terms of how they are developed. Given this diversity, the challenges lie in documenting and understanding the current landscape of climate services, identifying needs, and equipping ourselves with the means to characterize the success of climate services, to evaluate existing offerings, and to guide the development of new projects.

 

The aim of this presentation has four objectives:

• i) To document the current landscape of climate services in France and worldwide (as identified by our TRACCS community), presenting them by use and target audience;
• ii) Identify unmet needs regarding climate services;

iii)  Identify a set of success criteria for climate services to evaluate them;

• iv) Propose best practices for meeting these success criteria.

 

This work is based on a combination of collaborative research and the collection of statements from stakeholders in “climate services”.

 

This study has received funding from Agence Nationale de la Recherche - France 2030 as part of the PEPR TRACCS programme under grant number ANR-22-EXTR-0002 and ANR-22-EXTR-0004.