WMO and the World Energy and Meteorology Council (WEMC) organized a training course on Building Climate Services for the Energy Sector in Shanghai, China, in May, which brought together guest lecturers with in-depth knowledge of the current frontiers of the energy and climate nexus. The course was designed to foster dialogue between weather and climate experts and energy practitioners through practical exercises addressing major energy challenges in selected countries.
An overview of state-of-the-art weather and climate modelling and forecasts at different timescales allowed energy practitioners to discover how such information can support their decision-making processes. While other lectures created awareness among weather and climate experts of how weather and climate information is applied in the energy sector.
Energy systems are undergoing a radical transformation thanks to global efforts to implement the Paris Agreement of the United Nations Framework Agreement on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and to achieve sustainable growth. Countries are looking at renewable energy sources and energy efficiency measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as to facilitate access to clean and affordable energy worldwide. Wind, solar and hydro-power are expected to dominate the energy sector in the next decades, therefore, weather and climate information are key for power system planning, system and market operation, regulation and public policy.
The course received support from the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS), Beijing Climate Centre (BCC), European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). Twenty students from China, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, India, Papua New Guinea and Tanzania, worked together on practical examples and developed a mini-project proposal on energy climate service.
