UNITED NATIONS
\nA new finance mechanism to strengthen weather and climate observations, improve early warnings to save lives, protect livelihoods and underpin climate adaptation for long-term resilience has opened its doors for business. Systematic Observations Financing Facility (SOFF) is a key building block for a new initiative spearheaded by UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres to ensure that early warning services cover everyone on Earth, within the next five years.
\nSOFF seeks to address the long-standing problem of inadequate weather forecasting and climate services, especially in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). In support of the Paris Agreement on climate change, it will strengthen the international response to keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, \u201cby filling the data gaps that limit our understanding of the climate\u201d, according to a press release issued by the World Meteorological Organization, WMO.
\nThese gaps affect national agencies\u2019 ability to predict and adapt to extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and heatwaves, all of which are on the rise, in line with the warming climate. Heads of the three founding agencies, WMO, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Environment Programme (UNEP), joined ministers from donor countries, LDC Group members, Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) representatives and development partners, at the first SOFF Steering Committee meeting in Helsinki on Thursday to get the facility up and running.
\n\u201cAs the climate crisis worsens, it is crucial that we boost the power of prediction for everyone so countries can reduce disaster risk\u201d, said the UN chief. \u201cThat is why we have launched an initiative to ensure that every person on Earth is protected by early warning systems within the next five years. SOFF is an essential tool to achieve this. I thank all the countries that are providing initial funding to the SOFF UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund and urge others to do the same\u201d.
\n\u201cEarly warning systems are built on the foundation of weather observation data, but this foundation is patchy to non-existent in many in LDCs and African countries,\u201d according to Selwin Hart, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Climate Action and Just Transition. WMO Secretary-General, Petteri Taalas, pointed out that today, less than 10 per cent of required basic weather and climate forecasting systems are available from SIDS and LDCs. \u201cThe world urgently needs this data and this is why SOFF will be a partnership of equals where everyone has a role and responsibilities.\u201d
\nSOFF said it provides benefits not only to the most vulnerable countries, but to all countries across the globe. The improved availability of weather and climate observations enabled by the SOFF are essential if the world community is to realize the 162 billion US dollars annually in socio-economic benefits of weather and climate prediction. Inger Andersen, UNEP Executive Director, emphasized that \u201cnow is the time to begin business by providing financial resources and technical capacity, by ensuring that from local to the global, all our actions can be informed by the best science and the best data.
\nMy deep thanks to the generous funders who will announce their firm pledges today. I encourage all to follow suit because now is the time to roll up our sleeves and get to work for people and for planet.\u201d
\nUN Under-Secretary General and UNDP Associate Administrator Usha Rao-Monari followed, adding that \u201cThe United Nations Development Program is a proud co-founder of the SOFF UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund.
\nTogether with WMO and UNEP we are building upon the momentum generated over the past two years and I want to sincerely thank all stakeholders that contributed to the development of the SOFF. The specialized support provided by SOF is needed more than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS A new finance mechanism to strengthen weather and climate observations, improve early warnings to save lives, protect livelihoods and underpin climate adaptation for long-term resilience has opened its doors for business. Systematic Observations Financing Facility (SOFF) is a key building block for a new initiative spearheaded by UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres to ensure […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-269279","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n