National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The President-Elect should consider creating a National Climate Service, akin to the National Weather Service. This organization could collect information, coordinate the informational output of the 13 agencies that work in these areas, and disseminate information to the public, preferably through a website and a full public information campaign. NOAA is currently looking at several options for what a National Climate Service might look like: a federation of regional, state, and federal partners that would determine how to deliver climate services, with no lead agency but with the power devolving to a group of regional boards; a nonprofit with federal sponsorship, similar to the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR); a National Climate Service with NOAA as the lead agency with specifically defined partners;

or a National Weather Service within NOAA expanded to include climate services as well. Working groups have evaluated these four options and an advisory board will make recommendations for one of these approaches or a combination of them in early December 2008. However, most if not all of these options would require some level of statutory authority – not to mention funding – so determining the best model is only the first step.