Press Release

OPEC Fund supports technical conference on climate change as a resource

74/2005 June 15, 2005, Seefeld, Tyrol, Austria
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The OPEC Fund for International Development today approved a grant of US$15,000 to help support a conference of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on “Climate as a Resource.” The conference will take place from November 1-2, 2005 in Beijing, China, and aims to draw attention to the potential of climate as a natural resource for sustainable development. This technical conference will be held prior to the 14 th regular session of the WMO’s Commission for Climatology (WMO-CCI).

The conference will demonstrate ways in which national meteorological and hydrological services can promote and support the exploitation of given climate conditions to ensure human well-being, by applying technologies for renewable energies, improving efficiency of food production and fresh-water management and adapting constructions through customized climate services. The four topics to be covered by the conference include: climate in relation to sustainable development and economy; climate applications and integrated decision-making; climate in relation to water; and climate in relation to food security.

Participants will be mostly high level, senior scientific experts from climate departments and national hydrological services in various member countries of WMO, as well as from UNESCO, the UN University, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN and the World Food Program.

The WMO-CCI was established with a mission to stimulate, understand and coordinate international technical activity to obtain and apply climate information and knowledge in support of sustainable socio-economic development and environmental protection.