WMO and World Bank partner to support sustainable development
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the World Bank are partnering to leverage WMO weather, climate and hydrological expertise to enhance developing countries’ resilience to climate change. At the margins of the World Bank Group Annual Meetings, WMO and the World Bank signed a new framework agreement to strengthen and streamline their cooperation in support of Member countries’ capacity to apply the best available science for resilient development.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the World Bank are partnering to leverage WMO weather, climate and hydrological expertise to enhance developing countries’ resilience to climate change. At the margins of the World Bank Group Annual Meetings, WMO and the World Bank signed a new framework agreement to strengthen and streamline their cooperation in support of Member countries’ capacity to apply the best available science for resilient development.
This agreement marks an important milestone in the evolving partnership between WMO and the World Bank, which aims at scaling-up support to the countries’ efforts to generate and use weather, climate and hydrological information for evidence-based action. The agreement will also facilitate easy access to WMO’s expertise by governments implementing projects with World Bank funding.
According to the World Economic Forum 2018 Global Risks Report, of the five most pressing risks currently confronting the world, four are related to weather, climate, and water. This translates into rapidly increasing demands for the provision of weather, climate and hydrological products and services. However, many national hydrometeorological institutions in developing countries face major performance challenges due, in part, to limited capacity.
The framework agreement was signed by WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas and Manuela Ferro, Vice President Operations Policy and Country Services, the World Bank. It substantially simplifies and streamlines the process by which World Bank borrowers engage WMO to provide technical assistance within the context of World Bank-financed operations.
“Weather, climate and hydrological investments must be guided by the best-available science and by WMO standards and best practices. The WMO-World Bank framework agreement will help create an enabling environment for sustainable hydrometeorological investments,” said Mr Taalas.
Ms. Ferro of the World Bank welcomed the partnership, noting “The World Bank is committed to assisting developing countries in addressing today’s major climate- and weather-related challenges. This agreement allows countries to more quickly mobilize WMO scientific and technical expertise in favour of strengthened country capacity”.
The WMO-World Bank framework agreement provides support to the Strategic Partnership Framework, signed in May 2018 by the UN and the World Bank, that lays the groundwork for strengthened cooperation to help countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and harness data to improve development outcomes.
WMO Development Partnerships Office: MRepnik@wmo.int.
