Systematic Observation Financing Facility sets off to fill data gaps
A new finance mechanism to strengthen weather and climate observations, improve early warnings to save lives, protect livelihoods and underpin climate adaptation for long-term resilience has opened its doors for business.
SOFF seeks to address the long-standing problem of missing weather and climate observations from Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States. In support of the Paris Agreement, it will strengthen the international response to climate change by filling the data gaps that limit our understanding of the climate. These gaps affect our capacity to predict and adapt to extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and heatwaves.
“The Nordic Development Fund (NDF) is pleased to be among the initial funders of SOFF. The implementation of this new financing mechanism will ensure that climate action is underpinned by the best available science and data,” says Karin Isaksson, Managing Director at Nordic Development Fund.
Heads of the three founding agencies, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Environment Programme (UNEP), ministers from donor countries, representatives of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) Group and the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) and development partners met at the first SOFF Steering Committee meeting in Helsinki to open SOFF doors for business.
Read the full article here.
Watch the SOFF video here.
Related news piece here.
