Federal Council supports global system for better climate information
Bern, 25.06.2009 - From 31 August to 4 September 2009 Geneva will host the third World Climate Conference (WCC-3) of the World Meteorological Organization. The aim of WCC-3 is to develop a system to improve access to climate prediction and information services. Switzerland and Denmark will be organising a ministerial meeting at the conference on the topic of 'Adapting to Climate Change'.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is organising the third World Climate Conference (WCC-3) together with Switzerland. Between 31 August and 4 September, climate experts and high-ranking government representatives will meet at the WMO in Geneva to build a bridge between climate information providers and policymakers.
The aim of WCC-3 is to achieve humanitarian and economic benefits through better access to climate information. The proposed system (Global Framework for Climate Services, GFCS) should improve the availability of climate information and predictions for decision-makers in government, the private sector as well as aid and other organisations, and their integration in decision-making processes. This should lead to better decisions in the areas of water management, food security, health, energy and disaster risk reduction. The WCC-3 will therefore make a significant contribution to efforts to adapt to climate change under the UN climate convention (UNFCCC) and provide important input for climate negotiations in Copenhagen at the end of this year.
The Federal Council approved the mandate of the Swiss Delegation at its meeting of 24 June. It consists of the following main points:
- President Hans-Rudolf Merz will head the delegation and open the WCC-3 on the morning of 31 August.
- Federal Councillor Moritz Leuenberger is co-chairman of the part of the conference attended by high-level government representatives, (High-level Segment) and will attend its opening on the morning of 3 September.
- Switzerland supports efforts at the international and national level to adapt to climate change and considers climate information to be a key tool to strengthen society, particularly in developing countries, against the socio-economic consequences of climate change. Switzerland's medium-term aim is to see the creation of the Global Framework for Climate Services and its embedding at the WMO. This would also serve to strengthen Geneva as a location for the coordination of future efforts in the dissemination of climate information.
- Within the framework of WCC-3, Switzerland and Denmark are organising an informal ministerial meeting. The aim is to contribute to the political debate in relation to the adaptation to climate change. Intensive discussions are currently under way in the run up to the next UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen at the end of the year. The Conference should see the adoption of a new global climate regime for the time after 2012. The ministerial meeting in Geneva should underline the connection between WCC-3 and the negotiations in Copenhagen. The decisions of WCC-3 significantly strengthen the ability of society to adapt to the unavoidable changes in climate, particularly in developing countries. The ministerial meeting will be chaired by Switzerland and Denmark and possibly one developing country.
BOX:
The World Climate Conferences of the World Meteorological Organization
This year the World Climate Conference organised by the World Meteorological Organization is being held in Geneva for the third time. The first meeting took place in 1979. One of its outcomes was the establishment in 1988 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world's leading scientific and technical body for the assessment of climate change.
The second session of the WCC took place in 1990. The meeting set out the principles of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, otherwise known as the Climate Convention. The Convention was discussed at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and entered into force in 1994.
Address for enquiries
José Romero, Head, Rio Conventions Section, Federal Office for the Environment FOEN, +41 (0)31 322 68 62
Publisher
Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications
https://www.uvek.admin.ch/uvek/en/home.html
General Secretariat of the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications; General Secretariat DETEC
https://www.uvek.admin.ch/uvek/en/home.html
