Climate Services: Science = Credibility

This is the fourth of ten interviews with climate and development experts conducted at the International Conference on Climate Services, held at Columbia University in October 2011.

John Zillman is the former president of the World Meteorological Organization and is currently a Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Melbourne in Australia.

“The really big challenge these days with the tremendous increase in demand for climate services and the increase in recognition in the importance of them, is to get the quality and the range of capabilities in the service-delivering organizations within countries…it’s terribly important the [information] be scientifically credible, whether it’s historical information for planning and design, a current description of the state of the climate as it may relate to drought assistance, or whether it may be outlooks for the next season, couple of seasons, or even for the long-term planning of aspects resulting from greenhouse-induced climate change.”

Learn more on the ICCS website and the Climate Services Partnership.