HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE OF WMO SECRETARY-GENERAL MICHEL JARRAUD ON SCIENCE-BASED TOOLS FOR CLIMATE ADAPTATION

World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Michel Jarraud this morning spoke to journalists at a press conference in advance of the United Nations High-Level Conference on Climate Change, which will open in New York on Monday, 24 September, on the need to develop science-based tools for climate adaptation. Also present was Omar Baddour, Chief of WMO's World Climate Data and Monitoring Programme.

In a brief introduction, Carinne Richard-Van Maele of WMO said that, in preparation for the United Nations Climate Change Conference to be held in Bali (3 to 14 December 2007), and the 24 September high-level meeting leading up to it in New York, WMO was preparing a brochure on “Climate information for adaptation and development needs”. Some advance copies were available in the room.

Secretary-General Jarraud said this was a "critical year" in terms of action on climate change for a number of reasons. It would culminate in the Bali Conference at the end of the year; it had seen the release of various reports of the three working groups of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); there had been a Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Desertification in Madrid; and next Monday (24 September) there would be the High-Level Conference on Climate Change in New York, under the leadership of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in preparation for Bali.

WMO wanted to be sure that the discussion focused not only on climate mitigation, but on climate adaptation. To do that, the best possible scientific information was needed. Also, current information was also not used in an optimal fashion. That was especially true in dealing with natural disasters, some 90 per cent of which were related to weather, water and climate. In particular, WMO was pressing for warnings to be better integrated into national disaster plans, Mr. Jarraud stressed.

A likely effect of global warming was on climate variability and on the frequency and intensity of extreme events, such as droughts, floods. That was important because, globally, almost all socio-economic sectors were influenced one way or another by weather and the climate. Up to 30 per cent of a country's gross domestic product was influenced by water and climate, and that share could be much greater for developing countries. Among sectors influenced, particularly critical for developing countries was food security. It was therefore essential to take into account weather information in a more effective manner, so as to contribute more effectively to food security.

Health was another critical area affected by weather, Mr. Jarraud continued. For example, the heat waves in Europe four years ago had killed thousands. Another example was the spread of malaria, which was directly climate-related as the disease was carried by mosquitoes whose prevalence was climatically determined. That was only one of a number of climate-related diseases he could mention.

Water stress would become more intense with climate change, carrying a bigger risk of drought, in particular in subtropical regions, including regions of Africa and the Mediterranean. Climate change would also lead to more, intense precipitation at higher latitudes, bringing a risk of flooding. Sea level rise threatened small islands, translating not only into the level of the sea, but through soil erosion and affecting freshwater sources. Those considerations would change the way dams and other infrastructure was built. But not all countries had the access to the right technology or resources, and for that reason the international community had to support them.

"In many cases decisions were made without optimal use of available information", Secretary-General Jarraud lamented. For that reason the WMO message for next week and for the Bali Conference was to ensure that that information was available. Investments in this area had a tenfold return. It was really an issue of risk management.

There had been enormous progress in human understanding of climate. But more still had to be invested in research, as there were still areas where predictions could not be provided with regional accuracy. That would be critical for the continuing IPCC process.

Following his statement, Mr. Jarraud responded to questions from journalists.

In response to a question regarding the lack of capacity of the world’s most developed countries to deal with climate change, such as had been the case with the heat wave in Europe, Mr. Jarraud replied that what had changed since then was a greater coordination across sectors. Lessons had been learned. This year there had been a major heat wave in Europe, as witnessed by the exceptional forest fires in Greece. However, this year the death toll from the heat wave was much less. WMO was working with the World Health Organization, developing pilot projects on how to better connect the health sector and meteorological sector.

Other ways in which scientific information could help, was by encouraging farmers to grow more drought-resistant crops in areas. Another example involved the building of dams, which needed to take into account the possible effects of projected climate scenarios. It was also important to take climate into consideration in the area of vaccines, Mr. Jarraud noted. Vaccination had to take place within a certain timeframe before a predicted outbreak of disease. Meteorological predictions could help to ensure that vaccination campaigns were effective.

On investment in meteorological services worldwide, Mr. Jarraud said something on the order of $5 to $10 billion was currently invested annually. Natural disasters of hydro-meteorological origin were costing the world about $50 billion per year. By saving 10 per cent of the cost of natural disasters, that would fund all of the meteorological services of the planet. Injecting an additional $1 billion globally in meteorological services would probably save more than $10 billion. In a redirect, Mr. Jarraud said that much more resources were needed, in particular with regard to developing countries. More than 10 per cent more, but a precise answer was not possible. The Conference on desertification in Madrid had addressed that issue, and as a result a number of studies were being launched to determine more accurately what was needed.

As to whether increased funding would enable meteorologists to improve the quality of their long-term forecasts, Mr. Jarraud agreed. "Accuracy of forecasting on all ranges would obviously be increased by increased funding" as it would provide funds for better observation, better scientific understanding and better technology.

Mr. Jarraud said there were a number of countries were the situation with regard to meteorological services was quite dramatic. In Somalia, for example, there were no such services.

On the outcome of Madrid, Mr. Jarraud was not pessimistic that the Conference had failed to adopt a budget. The Conference had led to better understanding on the links between desertification and climate change, and a lot of discussion on how to more closely link the various conventions, such as the convention on biodiversity, the convention on the depletion of the ozone layer, the convention on climate change and that on desertification. Awareness was the start, policymaking would follow.