UN Establishes New Unit for Global Climate Events

UN Establishes New Unit for Global Climate Events GENEVA (AA) - The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), affiliated with the United Nations, along with the UN Development Programme and UN Environment Programme, has established a new international mechanism to strengthen measures against climate change and close data gaps on climate events worldwide. According to a UN statement, the mechanism, called the Systematic Observation Financing Facility (SOFF), will operate in line with the goal of "providing financial support from developed countries for adaptation and mitigation efforts against climate events," as determined at the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26). SOFF will also address inadequacies in climate and weather observation data in least developed countries and small island nations. The mechanism will simultaneously fill data gaps that hinder the acquisition of sufficient information on climate events, thereby strengthening international action on climate change. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said regarding the establishment of SOFF, "Filling data gaps on nature and climate events is an effective investment." WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas supported the establishment of the new unit to address climate change, stating: "Today, only 10 percent of necessary observations on nature and climate events in developing small island states and least developed countries can be conducted." UN Environment Programme Executive Director Inger Andersen assessed that SOFF would deliver tangible benefits in areas such as disaster management, saving human lives, biodiversity, food security, water supply and economic growth. UN Development Programme Administrator Achim Steiner emphasized the need for international steps to support policies on reducing the impacts of climate change and climate adaptation. Steiner, highlighting that the impact of climate change is increasing, stated: "The establishment of SOFF has met the priority need for providing assistance to vulnerable communities and ensuring the necessary resilience in preventing the negative effects of climate change."