New NOAA Climate Council to enhance delivery of climate science and services

Today NOAA announced the creation of a new NOAA Climate Council, which will leverage the agency’s resources and expertise in support of the whole-of-government approach to addressing the climate crisis. 

The Climate Council is composed of senior leaders at the highest levels from across the agency, and provides recommendations to the NOAA Administrator on the agency’s climate-related mission, resource, and policy priorities. By coordinating climate work across NOAA and partners, the Council will strengthen NOAA’s climate services and bolster existing coordination activities. The Council will ensure that critical environmental information and services provided by NOAA to the American people keep pace with increasing demand and are delivered effectively and equitably to all communities.

“Addressing the climate crisis is a top priority for me and is critical for our nation’s economic success,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo. “The NOAA Climate Council is a critical component of meeting the urgency of this moment. Ultimately, the entire nation will be better positioned to respond to our changing climate as a result of NOAA’s efforts.”

“The climate crisis raises the urgency to ensure all of NOAA’s climate-related activities are well-coordinated and provide maximum value to every person, community, and business,” said Rick Spinrad, Ph.D., NOAA Administrator. “By closely coordinating NOAA’s climate science and services, we can more effectively help communities adapt to a changing climate, while also creating conditions for economic growth and innovation.”

The NOAA Climate Council will address the following initial priorities:

• Ensuring NOAA’s trusted and authoritative climate science and services are foundational to the nation’s adaptation, mitigation, and resilience efforts;
• Advancing the equitable delivery of NOAA’s climate products and services to all communities, especially those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change; and
• Coordinating NOAA’s climate portfolio within the Department of Commerce and with other agencies and partners to leverage one another’s expertise and enhance the value of collaboration and innovation toward a climate-ready nation.

From NOAA’s early roots in coastal mapping, weather prediction, and marine conservation in the 1800s, to the agency’s current mission to observe, predict, and communicate environmental change, NOAA science drives the decisions Americans make every day. NOAA’s climate and environmental experts work with communities and businesses across the country — including helping coastal communities adapt to sea level rise; providing critical early warnings about drought to farmers, rural residents and tribal and indigenous communities; working with communities to map heat inequities in urban areas; and collecting and storing the authoritative record of greenhouse gas measurements and historical weather, ocean, and climate data.