GLOBAL FRAMEWORK FOR CLIMATE SERVICES
REPORT OF THE SECOND SESSION OF THE PARTNER ADVISORY COMMITTEE (PAC-2)
GENEVA, 30 AND 31 MARCH 2015
FINAL
8 July 2015
INTRODUCTION
The Second Session of the Partner Advisory Committee (PAC) was held in Geneva at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) on 30-31 March 2015. The meeting was hosted by WBCSD and was attended by 26 representatives of 11 partner organizations and 7 organizations as observers (Annex 1).
1. OPENING OF THE SESSION
1.1 The chair (UNITAR) welcomed the Global Water Partnership, who joined the PAC since its last Session (Rome, 27 -28 October, 2014). The chair highlighted that the Sendai World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) underscored the value of climate services and the GFCS in support of disaster risk reduction. This would open opportunities for the work of the PAC to meaningfully contribute to global efforts with benefits at national and local level.
1.2 The Session was addressed by Mr Peter White, Chief Operating Officer of WBCSD and Mr Jeremiah Lengoasa, Deputy Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Mr White highlighted that WBCSD has celebrated 25 years of activity and is composed of around 200 companies that aim at delivering business solutions that respect the environment. Mr White also underscored the active efforts of WBCSD and its members in the upcoming COP 21, but also in the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) COP and the post-2015 development agenda. Mr Lengoasa started by thanking the WBCSD for kindly offering to host this second meeting of the PAC and demonstrating the true spirit of partnership on which GFCS is built upon. Mr Lengoasa stressed on the need to focus on an initial set of focus countries to effectively demonstrate the added value of climate services as a collaborative effort and develop guiding principles that would facilitate its replication in other countries and regions. Mr Lengoasa also reminded the PAC on the need for effective coordination by linking the several ongoing initiatives that offer great potential for synergies and partnerships.
2. Approval of the Agenda
2.1 The PAC suggested including the discussion of the engagement with the United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks planned in agenda item 9 under its item 7 prior to adopting the agenda.
3. REVIEW OF MAJOR DECISIONS OF IBCS-2
3.1 The PAC noted that the Second Session of the Intergovernmental Board on Climate Services (IBCS-2) which was held in Geneva in November 2014 took important decisions, some of which require PAC involvement for their effective implementation.
3.2 The PAC noted that all six resolutions that were adopted at IBCS-2 are relevant for the work of the PAC and have implications that shall be taken into account by the PAC. In particular, Resolution 6 (IBCS-2) “which requested the Management Committee to further refine and prioritize, in consultation with the PAC, the Operational and Resource Plan at the first meeting of the Management Committee in 2015” and stressed the need for members of the PAC to nominate experts to be part of the Task Team created for this purpose. The first meeting of the Task Team on the Operational and Resource Plan will be held at the WMO Secretariat on 27-28 April, 2015.
3.3 The PAC was informed that a resolution on the creation of a results based framework on the WMO’s contribution to the GFCS will be considered by the 17th World Meteorological Congress (Cg-17, May to June 2015) to enhance coordination and monitoring of activities being implemented by WMO that contribute to the GFCS. PAC members were reminded of the opportunity they have to submit a report and deliver a statement at the Cg-17.
3.4 The PAC agreed that an enlargement of its membership would be beneficial to ensure that key organizations working on the five pillars and priority areas of GFCS are engaged. In addition, the need for greater engagement of the research community in the work of the GFCS was stressed.
3.5 The PAC agreed that to advocate for and raise awareness on the GFCS, the Chair of the IBCS should be invited to partners’ constituent body sessions. PAC members would provide information on relevant events in due time and explore the possibility of inviting the Chair of the IBCS. The PAC could complement the events calendar that was prepared by the GFCS Office by providing information on relevant events to be added. The Chair of IBCS recommended adding one agenda item on GFCS advocacy in the next session of the PAC.
4. UPDATE ON GFCS IMPLEMENTATION
4.1 The PAC reviewed progress in GFCS implementation since its last Session (PAC-1), which was held in Rome, Italy.
4.2 Since PAC-1, additional partners have joined the PAC. The Global Water Partnership (GWP) has officially joined the PAC and the World Bank has officially expressed interest and is currently finalizing the formalities to become a PAC member. Memoranda of Understanding are under development with the World Vision and the Norwegian Refugee Council, which would allow them to apply for PAC membership.
4.3 The PAC was informed that in March 2015,the World Food Programme (WFP) completed the recruitment of a WFP Climate ServicesAdvisor who will be collocated with the GFCS Office at the WMO Secretariat. The WFP Advisor will support the implementation of the GFCS Climate Services Action Programme for Africa initiative and support linkages between WFP and the GFCS. The WFP Advisor will also support specific areas of global GFCS implementation in food security, disaster risk reduction and humanitarian response.
4.4. The PAC noted that WMO Regional Association IV (RA IV covers North America, Central America and the Caribbean) had established a GFCS Task Team.The Task Team held a meeting in Costa Rica on 5-6 February 2015 to further advance GFCS implementation in the region by building on existing efforts and cross-regional collaboration.The meeting agreed on a workplan with specific activities at national and regional levels such as data recovery and digitization, training and establishing frameworks for climate services at national level. In addition, a Pacific Islands Climate Services Panel ((PICS Panel) was established to serve as the Pacific Meteorological Council (PMC) Advisory Committee on PICS matters. The PICS Panel is institutionalized within the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environmental Programme (SPREP). In April 2014, as an outcome of the Regional Consultation on GFCS for Small Islands Developing States (SIDSs) in the Pacific, a draft Pacific Region Implementation Road Map for Strengthened Climate Services was developed to implement GFCS in the region. Based on this roadmap, PICS Panel has developed an Action Plan for climate services in the region. The Panel will hold its second meeting on 7-8 May 2015 in Apia, Samoa to review progress in implementing the Action Plan, discuss the status of implementing a Regional Climate Center and provide an update on National Climate Outlook Forum implemented in Papua New Guinea.
4.5 The PAC noted with appreciation that the GFCS Office developed a document containing general and sector specific messages to advocate the value and need of climate services for decision making in climate sensitive sectors and the GFCS as a mechanism to enhance the production and availability of climate services in the Post-2015 processes. The document was shared with members of the IBCS Management Committee for broad distribution to national delegations attending key international events. Moreover, in preparation for the Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR III), Sendai, Japan, 14-18 March 2015, the IBCS Chair and Co-Vice Chairs have liaised with the WCDRR III Chairs to advocate for the inclusion of GFCS and climate services in the post 2015 Framework for DRR. The result was that the GFCS was included in the Sendai Framework for DRR (Priority 4, page 19 para 34(c)).
4.6 The GFCS Office informed the PAC that in close cooperation with the Communications and Public Affairs division of WMO it was producing a series of films about how climate services help people and communities around the world to take decisions on agriculture, health, disaster risk reduction, and other climate sensitive sectors. The first film was completed and is entitled "Climate action in Senegal: Services for Fishing Communities" / "Action Climat au Sénégal: Les services pour les communautés de pêcheurs." The video had its premiere at the World Meteorological Day on 23 March 2015 and is available on GFCS website. Additional videos on the UK, Tanzania and China are being developed. The WCSD expressed interest in accessing the UK video for using it to advocate for GFCS with its members.
4.7 The PAC noted that, as recommended by IBCS-2, two Task Teams had been established. The first Task Team will be tasked with the finalization of the GFCS Operational and Resource plan for the period 2015-2018 and the second Task Team will focus on the conclusion of the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework for the GFCS. The Task Teams will meet for the first time in April 2015 27-28 and 29-30, respectively.
4.8 The PAC was informed that a donor conference is planned to be organized as part of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21) which will be held in December 2015 in Paris, France, to mobilize resources for the implementation of the activities contained in the GFCS workplan for the period 2015 – 2018 that will be the result of the work of the Task Team established following IBCS-2 recommendation. The workplan will be composed of two main parts: a strategic part outlining what needs to be done and a technical part defining the details of the activities and means of implementation.
4.9 The PAC noted than an Energy exemplar is being developed with the support of a group of experts that met in June 2014 to develop a first draft and in March 2015 to further expand the exemplar. A resolution on adding energy as an additional priority area of GFCS will be considered for approval at Cg-17. The EC briefed the group on the European Roadmap for Climate Services and the Copernicus.
4.10 The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) highlighted its great interest in contributing to GFCS and, in particular, to enhance availability of climate information for decision making. In this respect, in addition to its engagement on the GFCS Climate Services Adaptation Programme, IFRC is undertaking efforts in the Pacific region to improve climate information for disaster risk reduction; it has created a global think-thank on climate services; the IRI-map room with real-time information; the early warning early action initiative in East Africa and the One Billion Coalition that was launched in Sendai at WCDRR.
4.11 The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) activities included the organization of a Pacific roundtable to enhance preparedness for response to El Niño and the participation in the Steering Committee of the Third Gender Conference (November, 2014).
4.12 The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) mentioned that a training tutorial on GFCS is currently being developed and is planned to be available by Cg-17.
4.13 The European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) briefed the group of the Climate Symposium that was held in October 2014 in Darmstadt to assess future opportunities and challenges with satellite derived climate information, and to provide guidance on future priorities.
4.14 The World Bank Group (WBG) mentioned that a joint publication on assessing the economic benefits of climate services will be launched with WMO during Cg-17 (May 28, 13:30). In addition, the Bank has supported regional trainings on the same topic organized with WMO in the Caribbean and other regions. A Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR) invitation-only country meeting is planned to be held at the European Space Agency in Frascati in July – climate services will be a key topic. A platform for mapping climate services projects is being developed by WBG/GFDRR and could potentially be pursued with the GFCS Office as a joint effort.
4.15 The PAC suggested that partners shall send written updates before the Sessions of the PAC, starting from the next one.
5. CONVERGENCE ON FOCUS COUNTRIES
5.1 The PAC recognized that the High Level Task Force that developed the proposal for the GFCS had identified 70 countries around the world that did not have the appropriate level of capacities to either produce or effectively use climate services.
5.2 The PAC further recognized that addressing the requirements of these 70 countries is a gigantesque undertaking and cannot be done simultaneously. With a view to increase effectiveness in the implementation of the GFCS it is critical that initial focus should be on implementing projects and activities in an initial set of countries. This would lead to the development of a Proof of Concept that would allow the development of guiding principles to facilitate replication to other countries and regions.
5.3 With a view to facilitate the selection of countries, a set of criteria was presented (Doc PAC-2/Doc 4). Based on these criteria, an initial set of countries was identified (Annex 3) out of which the PAC agreed on the following six focus countries in which to demonstrate the value of working together:
· Dominica
· Bhutan
· Papua New Guinea
· Burkina Faso
· United Republic of Tanzania
· Moldova
6. SUPPORT TO IMPLEMENTATION ON THE GROUND, INCLUDING DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF CLIMATE SERVICES IN THE PRIORITY AREAS AND RESOURCE MOBILIZATION