On February 8, 2010, the Department of Commerce announced that it would create a new Climate Service within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”), to be called NOAA Climate Service. NOAA Climate Service will integrate NOAA’s climate science and provide an accessible source of climate change related planning information for governments, industries, academia, and the general public. NOAA stated that:
Individuals and decision-makers across widely diverse sectors – from agriculture to energy to transportation – are increasingly asking NOAA for information about climate change in order to make the best choices for their families, communities and businesses. To meet the rising tide of these requests, this newly proposed line office would be dedicated to bringing together the agency’s strong climate science and service delivery capabilities.
During his announcement, Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, stated that “NOAA Climate Service will help tackle head-on the challenges of mitigating and adapting to climate change [and] [i]n the process, we’ll discover new technologies, build new businesses and create new jobs.”
In conjunction with its announcement, the Department of Commerce also unveiled a new website: http://www.climate.gov. The Climate Service must now be approved by appropriations committees within Congress.
