GCF and WMO agree to strengthen science in climate response
WMO and GCF have signed an agreement to leverage WMO expertise in weather, climate and water to increase the effectiveness of GCF-financed activities.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) have signed an agreement to leverage WMO expertise in weather, climate and water to increase the effectiveness of GCF-financed activities.
Under a new Memorandum of Understanding signed on Monday, WMO will help GCF Accredited Entities maximise the benefits of their investments in hydrological and meteorological systems and associated climate information services.
The agreement seeks to provide pragmatic ways to bring the best available science into climate finance at a time when climate finance opportunities and climate risks are both increasing.
The agreement was signed by WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas and GCF Executive Director ad interim Javier Manzanares at the United Nations climate change meeting now taking place in Katowice, Poland.
“We are already having a foretaste of the future, with the past four years being the warmest on record and temperatures nearly 1 degree Celsius above the pre-industrial era,” said Mr Taalas.
“Climate change adaptation and mitigation is no longer a luxury. It is a must. Through this agreement with the Green Climate Fund, WMO hopes to support informed and targeted investments which are based on best science and best practice.”
“I am confident that this partnership with WMO will enhance the climate rationale of GCF-supported activities,” said GCF Executive Director ad interim Javier Manzanares. “It will help translate climate science into simpler data, resulting in quality project proposals and country programmes that clearly contribute to low-emission and climate-resilient development.”
This new agreement will enhance the current GCF-WMO partnership, already founded on strong climate science, by
- maximising the impact of investment in climate information services;
- improving the effectiveness of GCF investments by using existing intergovernmental initiatives led by WMO which focus on climate change; and
- ensuring GCF-funded activities involving hydrological and meteorological services and systems can benefit from the standards and regulations set through and by WMO.
GCF is supporting a number of projects in developing countries that strengthen their use of climate information systems. Technological improvements are rapidly improving the ability to use advanced climate measurements and predictions to ameliorate the damage of climate impacts on life, national economies, and the stability of societies and ecosystems.