What are the impacts of climate change in Miami?

Miami is the U.S. city most vulnerable to climate change. Most of the city is pretty close to sea level. We also happen to be the poorest city in the U.S. Wealth is a pretty good proxy for the ability to adapt to climate change. There are scary maps, that the U.S. Department for the Interior has produced, and can be found on the internet. Florida and indeed the entire southeast coast is under threat of sea level rise.

During the second day of proceedings in Brussels, the rich diversity of initiatives living under the climate services banner is in even fuller bloom. Today, discussions of energy, water, agriculture, food and finance – all broadly speaking – live next to specific rural farming support initiatives and the art of bureaucratic management infrastructure in China. Just how all these relate to one another and play together, is both clear and unclear at the same time. Perhaps this should not come as a surprise given that 1) this enterprise is in the early days of its development and definition, and 2) many of the attendees from across sectors have had only some or no interactions previously.

What do you understand by “climate services”?

Everyone has a different definition. Some understand by it purely the exchange of information. But I characterize “climate services” like this: A service is a transaction. It requires an interchange. And so a real climate service is a transaction, where the users and the providers are interacting in a way, that allows for the users to get, what the users expecting and to understand the limitations of the information.