On 5 December 2017, the National Centre for Climate Services (NCCS) presented itself, its objectives and activities at its very first NCCS forum held in Berne. The aim of the Swiss-wide event was to to foster the dialogue between producers and users of climate services, thereby facilitating the creation of networks and the mutual exchange of ideas and Needs.
Following an introduction on climate services and a presentation on the NCCS, three users reported on their need for climate services for their work : The financial expert Sabine Döbeli from Swiss Sustainable Finance explained the relevance of climate risks for the financial sector. The urban planner Lionel Tudisco presented the regional planning activities undertaken by the city of Sion in relation to the problems posed by the urban heat island and Pierre Lambert, owner of the vineyard “Domaine des Coccinelles”, outlined the impacts of climate change on wine growing.
In an informal poster & coffee session, NCCS members and partners provided information on the current status and activities of the NCCS in a number of key focus areas. These included the CH2018 climate change scenarios, projections of organisms harmful to agriculture, how to deal with heavy precipitation events and animal health. Ideas were shared in groups in a World Café, and user needs and networking needs were identified. It was found that the definition of climate services is still a matter of debate and that there is a desire to increase the use of social media and to organise specialist events. It was also found that there is a need for examples of good practice, guidelines for action and orientation tools at cantonal and municipal level; in relation to cooperation and networks, the importance of personal contact, the pooling of information and the promotion of dialogue was emphasised. All these and other findings will be incorporated into the future work of the NCCS and reflected in the strategy.
More than 150 people from the ranks of national, cantonal and municipal administration, science, business, politics and non-governmental organisations took part in the NCCS Forum, which was held for the first time.
Last modification 08.11.2018
