A Climate Service in NOAA

"We believe that the time to act is now to advance NOAA's climate services and to meet critical climate needs, so we are proposing a new NOAA Climate Service to provide a single, visible and responsive point of entry into our excellent climate work…The NOAA Climate Service will strengthen climate science and service delivery and significantly boost our accessibility as well as our visibility to NOAA's many users across the country and around the world."

Dr. Jane Lubchenco, NOAA Administrator

“Establishing a NOAA Climate Service demonstrates that the administration and NOAA understand there is a real need to deliver climate services in this country. This is a giant leap forward in meeting this need…The creation of a new NOAA Climate Service will allow it to be a more effective partner with other federal agencies, the private sector, and the research and academic community…"

Dr. Rick Anthes, UCAR

"I'm excited to hear the vision of the NOAA Climate Service. With climate change affecting every region of the country and every sector of society, there is a critical need for reliable information about expected conditions and impacts…A NOAA Climate Service would provide an opportunity to leverage and expand existing partnerships…to meet the growing societal need for climate services…"

Ray Ban, Weather Industry and Government Partnerships

“NOAA's proposed climate service would be a welcome and critically needed asset to the public health community, both in the U.S. and around the world. Every key sector of the public health community, from first responders to those who provide food and medical supplies and services, would draw on the information…Lives can be saved as a result.”

Dr. Georges C. Benjamin, American Public Health Association

"This new office at NOAA will give everyone a one-stop-shop for the most current climate information available…Whether you're a scientist, fisherman, coastal dweller, business, government official or just an ocean lover – with this, you will be able to access NOAA's world-class climate data in one place."

Frances Beinecke, Natural Resources Defense Council

"I see every day the significant challenges facing our coastal communities. From changes in water level, temperature and increasing storms to meeting a unique array of economic demands…the availability of reliable, unbiased data and tools to inform, adapt and improve our coastal resource policies persistently remains at the heart of counties meeting these challenges."

Valerie Brown, National Association of Counties

“NOAA has consistently led the world in climate research and observation. Businesses, communities, and governments will rely even more on their expertise and the critical information they provide…Through NOAA’s improved climate services we will be better able to confront climate change, and the many challenges it presents for our environment, security, and economy.”

Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change

“It is clear that impacts from climate change are already being experienced across the United States and that our ability to manage and adapt to these changes will benefit from a comprehensive, coordinated Climate Service. The creation of a central clearinghouse in NOAA will help answer this critical and growing need for trusted information and resources.”

Eileen Claussen, Pew Center on Global Climate Change

”The NOAA Climate Service will be extremely valuable to US industry and is a critical link for our nation’s transition to a green economy. This significant action by the Obama Administration recognizes that accurate, timely, and sustained environmental information is vital to our nation’s response to climate change as well as our transition to a green economy."

Nancy Colleton, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies

"Universities like the Arizona State University are ready to partner with NOAA to produce integrated management options applicable to the specific circumstances of the places where we live and work…The future management of our economy, our food security, our water supply, our very quality of life will depend on the climate information NOAA and its institutional partners provide."

Dr. Michael M. Crow, Arizona State University

“I am excited by the announcement of your plans to formulate a NOAA Climate Service. The regional focus of this plan will facilitate the efficient application of climate data and products to address critical issues at local, state and regional levels. I am anxious to continue the Regional Climate Center Program’s partnership with NOAA to make the Climate Service a success.”

Art DeGaetano, Northeast Regional Climate Center

“The American Association of State Climatologists benefits from a long history of partnership with NOAA…We support NOAA’s plan for a regional approach to climate services. As trusted local authorities on climate issues, the membership of AASC look forward to participation in the delivery of timely and relevant climate information at the regional, state and local level…”

Nolan Doesken and Dennis Todey, American Association of State Climatologists

"Given NOAA’s distinguished history of providing climate science and services, the formal establishment of a NOAA Climate Service is both welcome and long anticipated. This step should help NOAA better collaborate with its federal and state agency, private-sector, and academic partners in the provision of such services."

William Hooke, Ph.D, American Meteorological Society

"We applaud NOAA's creation of a Climate Service that will provide a direct pathway for water agencies to obtain useful information and support on climate factors affecting local and state water resources management. The Department…looks forward to partnering with NOAA on additional efforts to use NOAA science products to inform water management activities."

Jeanine Jones, California Department of Water Resources

"NOAA has worked for many years to become proficient in climate science, climate observation, and data management. Additionally, with vast experience in producing world-class weather forecasts, extension of these skills to climate is a natural step and will go far in improving the foundation for rational science based policy making."

Conrad Lautenbacher, Ph.D.,NOAA Administrator, 2001-2008

"By providing critical planning information that our businesses and our communities need, the NOAA Climate Service will help tackle head-on the challenges of mitigating and adapting to climate change.  In the process, we'll discover new technologies, build new businesses and create new jobs.”

Gary Locke, Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce

"Working closely with federal, regional, academic and other state and local government and private sector partners, the new NOAA Climate Service will build on our success transforming science into useable climate services.  NOAA is committed to scientific integrity and transparency; we seek to advance science and strengthen product development and delivery through user engagement.”

Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D.,Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator

The [Academy] Panel strongly supports the creation of a Climate Service to be established as a line office within NOAA."

National Academy of Public Administration

“…The insurance industry is heavily dependent on public data and information related to climate, and the creation of a NOAA Climate Service with new data services will greatly enhance the industry's analysis of climate and extreme event weather risk.”

Frank Nutter, Reinsurance Association of America

“On behalf of Maryland, I applaud NOAA for the formation of a Climate Service. As recognized by the State in our Climate Action Plan, reliable observations, interpreted with scientific understanding and innovative models, will significantly reduce uncertainty about the path of climate change in Maryland and its consequences, allowing us to make better informed and wise decisions about the State’s future.”

Martin O’Malley, Governor of Maryland

"The proposed NOAA Climate Service will enhance NOAA’s vital work and facilitate expanded collaborations with scientific and educational organizations on many levels…As climate change grows more evident, the need to transform science into practical services will become even more critical. Proposing the NOAA Climate Service is a bold step in the right direction."

Eva Pell, Ph.D., Smithsonian Institution

"The new NOAA Climate Service is a welcome addition to our national climate change capabilities. It will help bring people together so we can also bring about an economic recovery by more rapidly modernizing our nation’s energy infrastructure."

Jim Rogers, Duke Energy

"Making the conclusions of top scientists more accessible to the public is an important, even vital, service. NOAA is one of the premier authorities on climate and has been an important source of information on the rate and extent of climate change."

William Reilly, National Commission on Energy Policy

"Both for making informed policy decisions based on sound science, and for helping governments and businesses plan to adapt to a warmer climate with its rising sea level, ready public access to credible information will be highly valuable."

William Reilly, National Commission on Energy Policy

"Strengthening NOAA and realigning its functions will greatly enhance its capacity to provide climate-related services…Its capacity to connect climate change with the many goods and services provided by our oceans will greatly benefit our country and the world."

William Ruckelshaus, EPA, Joint Ocean Commission Initiative

“Market-based policies for clean energy and lower pollution have worked well in the United States, and access to superior climate and weather data can help them work even better. The NOAA Climate Service can be a key ingredient in building intelligent solutions to a wide range of global environmental risks.”

Richard L. Sandor, Chicago Climate Exchange

“The NOAA Climate Service will provide a profoundly valuable service to the nation and its people as a focal point for objective, impartial scientific information on climate change that helps people, businesses, and governments make wise decisions about the kind of future we will have.”

Peter Saundry, Ph.D., National Council for Science and the Environment

"Accurate up-to-date information from an integrated source is absolutely essential for California and other states to address impacts such as sea level rise, temperature increases, and changes to our water supply…We are pleased with this plan to coordinate the delivery of climate information through the new Climate Service."

Lester Snow, California Natural Resources Agency

"Working in tandem with the highly skilled work force from the National Weather Service, the NOAA Climate Service will enhance NOAA’s ability to deliver world class climate services and to address the wide variety of issues related to climate change."

Dan Sobien, National Weather Service Employees Organization

"…NOAA's scientific expertise and focus on our ocean and atmosphere gives it a unique ability to gather, analyze and disseminate information about the threat of climate change. I am excited they are taking this bold step to create a one-stop shop for society by providing the right climate information to the right people at the right time."

Vikki Spruill, Ocean Conservancy

“The NOAA Climate Service is an important step toward helping decision makers at the local, regional and federal level as they take the necessary steps to adapt to climate change. The information provided by the Service could also help to increase awareness across the country about our vulnerability to climate impacts so we can take the necessary actions.”

Nancy Sutley,White House Council on Environmental Quality

“The American Fly Fishing Association is pleased to see that funding for National Climate Service has been included in NOAA's FY 2012 budget. Anglers across the country are concerned about the impacts of climate change on fish and wildlife, and recognize that providing good information to resource managers will be critical to helping ecosystems, fish, and wildlife adapt to the coming changes in climate.”

Randi Swisher, President, American Fly Fishing Trade Association

"The Navy's Task Force Climate Change looks forward to working closely with the NOAA Climate Service to ensure that both the nation and the Navy are best prepared for the future challenges posed by climate change."

RADM Dave Titley, U.S. Navy

"NOAA has long demonstrated its leadership in helping Americans understand and address coastal issues. Now, more than ever, it is essential that there is a single place we can turn to for assistance in dealing with climate change."

Will Travis, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission.