From Insight to Impact: A Decade of the Swiss National Centre for Climate Services

Established in late 2015, the Swiss National Centre for Climate Services (NCCS) has grown into the Swiss Confederation’s central coordination network tasked with bundling and co-developing actionable climate services for the environment, economy and society. The NCCS operates as a virtual centre, bringing together six federal offices and two federal research institutions. This structure has enabled the Network to serve as a knowledge broker at the interface between research and practice, and to support climate-related decision-making.

Together with the Centre’s partner organizations, NCCS members have worked on priority themes relating to climate change: from climate scenarios and Switzerland’s water resources to human and animal health and impacts on forest and agricultural ecosystems – providing robust scientific foundations for adaptation planning. The flagship programme NCCS‑Impacts has delivered integrated assessments of cross‑sectoral climate impacts in Switzerland to inform long‑term resilience strategies. Annual NCCS forums, and the new format Climate Forum Switzerland, have further strengthened co‑development by gathering climate‑service producers and users to exchange needs, methodologies, and best practices across disciplines, administrative levels, the private sector and civil society. NCCS’ web portal www.nccs.ch has been conceptualized, set up and maintained in a collaborative effort. It is the network’s hub for climate services, offering key climate information, specific impacts and tools.                                                                                              

Through its highly engaged and committed members and partners, the NCCS network has become a cornerstone of Switzerland’s climate services and adaptation landscape. By coordinating interdisciplinary expertise, fostering dialogue, and providing accessible decision‑support, it has significantly enhanced Switzerland’s capacity to anticipate and manage climate‑related risks and opportunities and to strengthen its resilience. This presentation will reflect on the NCCS’s first decade as well as discuss its strategies, activities, highlights and challenges.