On March 19 the White House, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are hosting an event aimed at highlighting government and private sector efforts to enhance climate change preparedness. Also today, in conjunction with this event, the Administration is launching a Climate Data Initiative — “a broad effort to leverage the Federal Government’s extensive, freely-available climate-relevant data resources to stimulate innovation and private-sector entrepreneurship in support of national climate-change preparedness.” This continues the development of a national climate change preparedness process, which we first called for in March 2008. It has taken almost 26 years – since the global warming problem was first recognized as a major public issue — to get to this stage.
This event will be webcast live at http:/www.whitehouse.gov/live.
From a White House release on March 17:
White House to Host Event Highlighting Efforts to Boost Climate Change Preparedness and Resilience
WASHINGTON, DC – On Wednesday, March 19, the White House, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will host an event highlighting the Administration’s commitment to empower America’s communities with the information they need to prepare for the impacts of climate change. The event will include new announcements from Federal agencies, businesses, researchers, academia, and others to deploy data-driven technologies and leverage freely available open government data to build products and services that strengthen our Nation’s ability to prepare for the effects of climate change today and in the future.
The Obama Administration recognizes that even as we act to curb the carbon pollution that is driving climate change, we must also improve our ability to prepare for climate impacts that are already occurring across the country. The insights gathered from scientific data are essential to help communities and businesses better understand and manage the risks associated with climate change. The cutting-edge technologies built by American innovators and businesses must be harnessed in order to unleash the insights of science in ways that directly benefit communities on the front lines of climate change.
Over the past few years, the Obama Administration has launched a series of Open Data Initiatives, which have released troves of valuable data that were previously hard to access in areas such as energy, health, education, public safety, and global development. These data are being used by innovators, businesses, researchers, and the public to create new services and applications that benefit Americans.
WHEN: Wednesday, March 19, 5:00 P.M. ET
WHERE: South Court Auditorium, Eisenhower Executive Office Building
WHO:
- John Podesta, Counselor to the President
- Dr. John P. Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
- Mike Boots, Acting Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality
- Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan, NOAA Administrator and Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere
- Dr. Ellen Stofan, NASA Chief Scientist
- Jack Dangermond, CEO of Esri
- Rebecca Moore, Founder of Google Earth Engine
- Rachel Kyte, World Bank Group Vice President & Special Envoy for Climate Change
- Joel Dunn, Executive Director, Chesapeake Conservancy
- Denice Ross, Director of Enterprise Information, City of New Orleans
- Stephen Harper, Global Director, Environment and Energy Policy, Intel Corporation
The event will also feature remarks, presentations, and demonstrations of data-driven tools by private-sector technology companies, communities, scientists, and other climate experts.
* * *
Also, the White House today released a FACT SHEET: The President’s Climate Data Initiative: Empowering America’s Communities to Prepare for the Effects of Climate Change, which includes this, followed by a set of government and private sector action items:
Delivering on a commitment in the President’s Climate Action Plan, the Obama Administration is today launching the Climate Data Initiative—a broad effort to leverage the Federal Government’s extensive, freely-available climate-relevant data resources to stimulate innovation and private-sector entrepreneurship in support of national climate-change preparedness.
President Obama is committed to ensuring that communities across America have access to the information and tools they need to protect themselves from harm today and potential damage in the future. This means connecting regional and city planners, resource managers, farmers, hospitals, and businesses with data-driven tools to help them better understand, manage, and prepare for the real-world impacts associated with climate change. Maps of future sea-level rise, for instance, can help builders decide where to break ground out of harm’s way, while other online tools can help water utility operators identify potential threats to the local water supply.
Insights gathered from data can help communities and businesses better understand and manage the risks associated with climate change. However, taking data about climate that is collected by satellites and scientific equipment and turning it into easy-to-use information and tools takes analysis, innovation, and cutting-edge technology expertise.
Through the Climate Data Initiative, the Obama Administration is today issuing a call to America’s top private-sector innovators to leverage open government data resources and other datasets to build tools that will make America’s communities more resilient to climate change and to forge cross-sector partnerships to make those tools as useful as possible. In response to this call to action, today’s launch includes a number of commitments by Federal agencies and private-sector partners: …
And this, from White House counselor John Podesta and science adviser John Holdren:
Climate Data Initiative Launches with Strong Public and Private Sector Commitments
Earlier posts:
Obama Executive Order on climate change preparedness (Part 1) — a long-overdue step forward (November 4, 2013)
Obama Executive Order on climate change preparedness (Part 2) — a long-overdue step forward (November 5, 2013)