1. Climate Service Needs Michel Rixen mrixen@wmo.int

2. Vision
Enable better management of the risks of climate variability and change and adaptation to climate change, through the development and incorporation of science-based climate information and prediction into planning, policy and practice on the global, regional and national scale
Energy
The GFCS had initially identified four priority areas. At the last Congress of the WMO, Energy was added as the fifth priority considering its role in enabling the other priority areas, but also the potential of renewable energy which considerably benefits from climate services to contribute to a low carbon development path.

3. Pillars of the GFCS The five GFCS pillars are as follows:
1. The User Interface Platform — to provide ways for climate service users and providers to interact to identify needs and capacities and improve the effectiveness of the Framework and its climate services;
2. The Climate Services Information System — to produce and distribute climate data, products and information according to the needs of users and to agreed standards;
3. Observations and Monitoring – to generate the necessary data for climate services according to agreed standards;
4.. Research, Modeling and Prediction — to harness science capabilities and results and develop appropriate tools to meet the needs of climate services;
5. Capacity Building — to support the systematic development of the institutions, infrastructure and human resources needed for effective climate services.
To address the entire value chain for the effective production and application of climate services, the above five main functional components or pillars of the GFCS need to be in place. 3
Weather • Climate • Water 3

4. Domains of operation of GFCS
Global
Regional
National
The GFCS has three levels of operation:
Global Level, where Global Producing Centres generate NWP products that are made available to Regional Climate Centres and NMHSs on the basis of which forecasts and services are generated. There are currently 12 centres
Regional Level, where Regional Climate Centre (RCC)post process data and products generated by Global Producing Cantres and make them available to NMHs. A few RCC such as Beijing, Tokio, ACMAD and CIIFEN have bee designated regional climate centres under the GFCS. Other are undergoing a demonstration phase to ascertain their ability to perform the mandatory tasks of a RCC.
NMHSs and other institutions who at the national level tailor data and products into information products and services to meet user needs.
Local
Weather • Climate • Water 4

5.                                             
PAC Membership
The GFCS enables partners to work together in an interdisciplinary manner, allowing coordination, synergies and linkage of various initiatives that contribute to climate services. Through the Partners Advisory Committee partners have agreed to showcase the benefits of collaboration in 6 countries (Burkina Faso, Bhutan, Dominica, Moldova, Papua New Guinea and Tanzania) with a view to build a Proof of Concept that would enable scaling up of activities in various parts of the world. While collaboration of partners will be demonstrated in these 6 countries, the GFCS activities cover a wider geographical foot print that these countries.
Collaboration is being demonstrated in Malawi and Tanzania where for the first time 7 partners (CCAFS, CICERO, CHR Michelsen Institute, WFP, WHO, IFRC, WMO) are working together to deliver climate services for DRR, health and agriculture and food security under the GFCS Adaptation Programme in Africa.
Joint Offices were established with WHO, WFP and the Global Water partnership to advance implementation of the health, agriculture and food security and water priorities of the GFCS.
Weather • Climate • Water

6. Climate information needs of users and related knowledge gaps
Decision-making process and user information gaps
Climate Research Frontier
Strategic ahead-of-season planning
(1- 12 month lead time)
Improving Seasonal prediction
Remote drivers of variability (SSTs, teleconnections, MJO, etc)
Local drivers of variability( land-atmosphere coupling) 1 1
Risk monitoring and management: intra-season operations
(1wk to 40 days range)
- timing/duration/intensity of dry/ wet spells 2 2
Sub-seasonal prediction
Improved understanding of sources of sub-seasonal predictability 3 3
Decadal prediction
Drivers of decadal and multi-decadal variability
Role of GHG, aerosols
Longer-term strategic planning/policy development (next 1-10 years)
- Trends/frequencies of rainfall/temperature over next 5-10 years 4
Climate change adaptation policy development/planning (next 50 years)
- Robust climate change projections
- Information on the role of climate change in observed events 4
Climate change scenarios
Earth System Modelling
Attribution methodology
Understanding Uncertainty

7. Climate information needs for end users and related knowledge gaps
Decision-making process and end-user information gaps
Climate Research Frontier
Assessing current vulnerability due to recent climate events
Lack of ‘impacts’ datasets (e.g. crop yields, river flows, health/hospital admission statistics) to aid development and targeting of applications models 5 5
Observation / database development
Enhancing the observations network for both biophysical and socio-economic climate variables; 6
Decision making at local scales
Detailed climate services (geographically) 6
Downscaling
understanding and improvement of the downscaling process
quantification of benefits and uncertainties to users 7
Estimation of the impacts of climate variability and change 7
Applications modelling
Improved understanding/ modeling of climate impacts on hydrology, food security and crop yields, health 8
Mainstreaming climate services for all timescales 8
Communication and climate service provider/user interactions
Improving availability/usability of services
strategies for bridging the gap between service providers and end users

8. Opportunity
The Partners Advisory Committee partners have agreed to showcase in 6 countries (Burkina Faso, Bhutan, Dominica, Moldova, Papua New Guinea and Tanzania), Proof of Concept for scaling up (+Columbia, Peru?)
Collaboration being demonstrated in Malawi and Tanzania, 7 partners (CCAFS, CICERO, CHR Michelsen Institute, WFP, WHO, IFRC, WMO) under the GFCS Adaptation Programme in Africa.
Joint Offices were established with WHO, WFP and the Global Water Partnership to advance implementation of the health, agriculture and food security, and water priorities

9. GFCS partners are ready to try new products, e.g decadal predictions
Key issues
GFCS partners are ready to try new products, e.g decadal predictions
What products in the research and experimental mode could be tested in the five priority areas?
What needs to be in place for transitioning research & experimental products into field testing?
WFP interest
Timeframe? Requirements? Dissemination?

10. Thank you for your attention