Draft Reporton the First Session of The

EC-PORS-5/ INF. 32, Page 1/17

WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
PANEL OF EXPERTS ON POLAR OBSERVATIONS, RESEARCH AND SERVICES
Fifth session
Wellington, New Zealand, 25 – 28 February 2014 / EC-PORS-5/ INF. 32
Date: 2 January 2014
AGENDA ITEM: 4

Draft Reporton the First Session of the

EC TT ON WMO POLICY FOR INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE OF CLIMATE DATA AND PRODUCTS TO SUPPORT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GFCS

Geneva, Switzerland, 12-14 November 2013

OPENING OF THE SESSION

The Session was opened by the Chair, Mr David Grimes, the President of WMO, at 9:30am on Tuesday 12 November 2013. In welcoming the participants, Mr Grimes thanked the Team members for their inputs to the Draft White Paper and the electronic discussions held to date and stressed the importance of the task set to the Team by the EC. He indicated that the first part of the Session would be devoted to open discussion to ensure that the Team was still headed in the right direction, given the evolution of the GFCS to date. He stressed the need to consider access to data from both a WMO perspective, but also from the perspective of the users of climate services and what they needed, but could also provide. Therefore, he considered that the Team should also spend some time discussion the scope of the resolution, before coming back on the last two days to review the current draft.

Mr Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General of WMO, welcomed the participants to the WMO Headquarters and Geneva. He also stressed the importance of the task set the Team, referring to the work required to have Resolution 40 reach Cg-XIII and the ensuing debate that lead to its adoption. He described some of the issues associated with dealing with other UN agencies in the area of data exchange, in particular WIPO, WTO and UNESCO and stressed the need to keep such consultations open, especially in relation to the User Interface Platform of the GFCS. He urged the Team to write the policy in the draft resolution in awareness that other data and inputs will be required in the future. Finally he reminded the Team that the resolution would need to take into consideration the national policies related to data access.

ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA AND ORGANIZATION OF WORK

The Session decided to open the discussion under Agenda Item 4 more broadly than just the draft White Paper and with this slight adjustment adopted the Draft Agenda. The Session decided that it would adjust its hours of meeting to fit with progress in its deliberations and the availability of material to be prepared by the Secretariat. The List of Participants is provided as Annex I and the Adopted Agenda as Annex II.

REVIEW OF ACTIVITIES SINCE EC-65 (including IBCS, July 2013)

The Chair reported briefly on the key resolutions and decisions of relevance to activities required of the Task Team, including those from EC-64, Cg-Ext. (2102) and EC-65. These included:

EC-64

EC-64 had requested that:

Taking into account the outcomes of the 2012 Extraordinary World Meteorological Congress to beheld in October 2012 and new developments within WMO related to the exchange of data andproducts, for example, the WMO Integrated Global Observing System and the WMO InformationSystem, the Task Team shall:

(a)Study the implications of, and the potential for, applying the principle of free andunrestricted exchange of data and products, while respecting national policies, for theprovision of climate services, including identification of examples of climate data andproducts that are available;

(b)Based on an analysis of the implementation of Resolution 40 (Cg-XII) – WMO policy andpractice for the exchange of meteorological and related data and products includingguidelines on the relationships in commercial meteorological activities andResolution 25 (Cg-XIII) – Exchange of hydrological data and products, provide guidanceand advice on how best to apply Resolutions 40 (Cg-XII) and 25 (Cg-XIII) to advance theWMO policy on exchange of data and products for the provision of climate services;

(c)Consider how other United Nations agencies and international organizations cancollaborate with WMO on the exchange of climate data and products for the provision ofclimate services;

(d)Prepare a report to the Executive Council for consideration at its sixty-fifth session.

EC65 considered the draft report from the Task Team and requested it:

To, in accordance with its Terms of Reference as provided in Resolution 4 (EC-64), prepare a draft resolution with Annexes and background material on WMO Policy for International Exchange of Climate Data and Products to Support the Implementation of the GFCS for consideration at EC-66, for possible tabling at the Seventeenth session of the World Meteorological Congress. The draft resolution should be informed by EC-65’s review of the white paper developed by the EC Task Team, taking into consideration the further advice and guidance provided;

World Meteorological Congress (Cg) at its 2012 Extra-ordinary Session

Cg-Ext(2012) had, inter alia, urged governments:

To facilitate the transfer and sharing of technology and know-how between developed and developing countries in relation to the production, availability, delivery and application of science-based climate prediction and services, as an integral and essential part of any activity or project under the GFCS and its Capacity Development component; and

To develop new data policies that address gaps, data accessibility issues, ownership, and data protection, confidentiality, exchange, applications and usage for the implementation of the Framework, noting internationally agreed data exchange policies such as the WMO Resolution 40 (Cg-XII) – WMO policy and practice for the exchange of meteorological and related data and products including guidelines on relationships in commercial meteorological activities, and Resolution 25 (Cg-XIII) – Exchange of hydrological data and products, and the relevant provisions of the Group on Earth Observations.

EC-65

EC-65 considered the draft report from the Task Team and requested it:

Intergovernmental Board on Climate Services (IBCS-1)

The Task Team noted that the first Session of the IBCS had been held in Geneva from 1-5 July 2013 and that the main focus of this Session had been on the appointment of a Chair and Co-Chairs, establishment of a Management Committee and adoption of the initial Compendium of Projects, as well as a discussion on financial matters.

DISCUSSION OF DRAFT DOCUMENTS

4.1GENERAL ISSUES (Including the draft White Paper)

The Chair opened the session up for general discussion of the task and, using the above as guidance, the Task Team made the following observations, in terms of the context, scope, points of leverage, bringing other Partners with us, :

Context

The Task Team considered that:

With the adoption of the implementation plan for the GFCS and the establishment of the Intergovernmental Board on Climate Services (IBCS) and the Partners Advisory Committee (PAC) and the evolution of WIGOS/WIS, the context surrounding the development of the policy had evolved since EC-64 and would evolve further up until the 16th Congress and therefore some flexibility would be required in the development of the draft Resolution to account for this evolution.
As with Resolution 40 (Cg-XII) and Resolution 25 (Cg-XIII), the draft Resolution will need to be sustainable and enduring, and thus this needs to be taken into consideration in the wording of the draft.
Noting the comments by the Secretary General, the requirement to consult with other groups such as WIPO, WTO, UNESCO, FAO and UNFCCC in terms of the development and implementation will be important to ensure uptake.
As with Resolution 40 (Cg-XII) and Resolution 25 (Cg-XIII), national data policies must be considered and respected and the wording should reflect this.
Terminology will be important as the draft Resolution is finalized, for example, is the resolution about data exchange (that is movement of data between and amongst Members), or about data access (making data available to a wide range of possible users).
In regard to the point above, this will require that the benefits will need to be explained and governments will need to see a win-win situation. That is, an exchange could be seen as win-win, while just providing access may been seen as a one-way street, with the benefits being the products and services derived at global and regional levels.
The debate that occurred during the adoption of Resolution 40 (Cg-XII) between public good – private sector (commercial) relationships will need to be considered in the draft Resolution, but could be addressed by the adoption of the policy and practices of Resolution 40 (Cg-XII).
Noting that the IBCS may have a role in its application, the final Resolution will be for governments (the Members) and not just NMHSs.
It will be essential to cover aspects such as ownership, data protection, confidentiality, third party usage and re-distribution in the draft Resolution.

Scope

The Task Team considered that:

The scope of the data that should be addressed by the final Resolution required additional discussion and thought. Should it just be the data, managed and maintained by the NMHSs required for the delivery of climate services, or should it include all of the data required by the climate data users and also the data collected by these users that is climate relevant data (information and knowledge from the use of the data).
If it is the latter, then, noting the construct of the Task Team, consideration must be given to a mechanism to talk with the users to identify the relevant data sets, recognizing that there is a large group of users. However, if it is the meteorological, hydrological, environmental and other related data (the responsibility of WMO), then the Task Team was well placed to move forward with respect to this as the defined “climate relevant data and products”.
The data and product needs of the four focal areas as outlined in the annexes to the Implementation Plan could provide guidance in the first instance.
The draft Resolution should be written with awareness that the scope of the data to be covered could be expanded, that is, an iterative approach that will support growth.
Latency of the data and other characteristics such as record length may be important considerations in defining the data required to be exchanged/accessible.
The linkage to the Essential Climate Variables needed to be made clear
The concept of two categories, data to be exchanged freely, with no restrictions and those additional data that would have restriction on their use was a good approach.
The products from existing and future WDCs, GPCs, RCCs, RCOFs, etc., may provide a basic set of products that support GFCS implementation.
The quality of the data and products is important in order to ensure better products and services and the availability of metadata will therefore be required.
A further use of the data to be exchanged would be for verification purposes.

Points of leverage

The Task Team considered that:

WMO already has a significant track record in data exchange and the application of this to climate relevant data and products is just building on that.
More and more countries are becoming willing to share data if the benefits of providing access can be proven (African Risk Capacity – ARC).
In developing the draft Resolution the Task Team will need to be clear as to the purpose for which the identified data and products are to be exchanged/accessed. In this regard Resolutions 40 (Cg-XII) and 25 (Cg-XIII) may provide some guidance, but the Task Team should also consider the mission of the GFCS and the principles associated with its implementation.
Current global and regional issues such as climate change, resilience of communities, use of seasonal outlooks for preparedness/adaptation, etc., can also contribute to show the benefits.

Bringing other Partners with us

The Task Team considered that:

WMO will need to have discussions with other communities who have data responsibilities that may overlap, e.g. oceans, agriculture, health, DRR, etc.
It may be possible to initially address the four focal areas and use the current observations and monitoring documents, prepared for the GFCS Implementation Plan.
Cost-benefit analyses, to show the benefits to be obtained from the data exchange/access may be required to bring others along.

The Task Team took these points into consideration in reviewing and revising the draft Resolution under Agenda Item 42 and 4.3.The Task Team decided that the white paper should be retained as an information document to the submission to EC-66.

4.2Draft Resolution ON CLIMATE DATA for consIDeration at ec-66

Before reviewing the draft Resolution, the Task Team, as requested by EC-64, analyzed the implementation of Resolution 40 (Cg-XII) and examined its form and content and made the following observations, noting that by adopting the policies and principles of Resolution 40 (Cg-XII), all of the existing paragraphs of the Resolution would be adopted and therefore remain in force:

Resolution 40 (Cg-XII)

The Task Team considered that in using the form and content from Resolution 40 (Cg-XII) in developing a draft Resolution ob climate relevant data and products:

Noting (1) to (5) – Would need to be updated, new resolutions and wording (5), in particular.
Recalling (1) to (2) – Would need to be updated, Refer to Ext Congress, GFCS Implementation Plan, Include reference to the mission of the GFCS and the GFCS Principles.
Considering (1) to (5) - Considering (1) may need to be broader, include partnerships in GFCS, reference to IBCS and the governance process. May want to refer to COP18 – and sustainable development.
Recognizing (1) to (7) would still apply, should bring (7) forward into new resolution to emphasize. Should cover GFCS Pillars and current and future priorities – critical to success. Also may need a reference to WIS/WIGOS.
Recognizing Further (1) to (4) would still apply, no need to repeat.
Reminds – would still apply, but not required in draft Resolution.
Adopts – will need to be reworded to cover climate relevant data and products, but adopts policies and practices of Res 40.
Adopts (1) to (3) – will need to be reworded to cover the construct proposed for free and unrestricted data and products and additional data and products (free, but with restrictions).
Urges (1) to (7) – will need rewording to be applicable.
Further Urges (1) to (2) – merged with Urges
Invites – not required
Requests the Executive Council – will need rewording for relevance
Requests the Secretary-General – will need rewording for relevance
Decides – will need rewording for relevance

Based on this analysis and the previous discussions, the Task Team reviewed and revised the draft Resolution and the version agreed as of the first Session is provided in Annex III.

Some of the Task Team members also considered that, in relation to the draft Resolution, there was still need for further discussion on a number of topics, including:

Is the difference between exchange and access of data and its relevance well enough addressed;
Have we adequately and correctly covered the relationships with Partner organizations;
Is the capacity development for Members to aid implement of the resolution something we need to address further in the resolution, e.g. gaps in networks, data rescue, etc;
Have we adequately addressed issues of ownership, attribution and redistribution and the protection of the source of the data; and
Have we explained well enough the monitoring of implementation and the use of the WIS in this regard.

4.3draft annexes to the resolution

The Task Team reviewed the Annexes of Resolution 40 (Cg-XIII) and found them all to be applicable and that at this stage only Annex I would need to be recast for the draft Resolution. By adopting the policies and principles of Resolution 40 (Cg-XII), all of the existing Annexes would therefore be also adopted and remain in force.

In analyzing Annex I from Resolution 40 (Cg-XII), the Task Team made the following observations:

The purpose remained relevant and required only minor adjustments;
All climate relevant data and products covered by the existing Resolution would be covered and thus need not be repeated – words to this effect should be included;
Some additional definitions may be required, but would be best done as footnotes; and
Proposals were made for text to describe the Contents which would be different from the existing Annex.

Some of the Task Team members considered that there was still need for discussion on aspects of the data to be included in Annex I, especially in terms of the definition of “All available”.

NEXT STEPS

The Task Team discussed the next steps and agreed that it was essential that the draft Resolution be discussed as widely as possible and agreed that each Task Team member as a representative of their Regional Association or Technical Commission, or other group should seek comments on the draft from within their respective groups and provide further feedback to the other members of the Task Team.

The Chair, Mr Grimes, requested agreement from the Task Team to take the draft Resolution to the EC Working Group on Strategic and Operational Planning for informal feedback (not for review/editing). The Task Team members agreed in principle, provided that they had the opportunity to discuss within their respective groups in the first instance.

The Task Team also decided that as part of next steps that:

i)the preamble will be captured in the text for inclusion in the general summary for EC66;

ii)this report of the meeting would also form part of the submission to EC as information document; and