Societal Benefits of the Environmental Satellites

In recent years, environmental satellites have provided critical information to inform climate services in many countries of the world. The institutional arrangements may vary from country to country, but all have a common goal: to provide science-based information to cope with climate variability and change for societal benefits. Governments are among the key stakeholders, supporting infrastructure and services critical to public safety and other national needs. Likewise, a wide array of private-sector players are important stakeholders, serving as the providers of many of the goods and services most citizens depend on for their well-being and livelihood. The effective delivery of climate services to societies at-large will depend on the engagement and investment of both the public and private sectors, working together synergistically.

Previous discussions have focused primarily on the roles of governmental and other public sector actors in the development and delivery of climate services for societal benefits. We should now explore the wider set of issues, opportunities, and challenges around the climate services concept, both at national and global scales. Key issues to address include:

• Providing trusted, timely and unbiased information • Communicating climate information, including certainties and uncertainties • Determining needs based on local cultures • Ensuring the highest quality of the science-based products • Ensuring equitable access to standard information and user-support services • Establishing a strong and sustained dialogue with the research community • Establishing a two-way engagement and sustained interaction with user communities and customers • Establishing sustainable business models for climate services • Developing transparent partnerships between the public and private sector