Global Change Seminar Summary: NOAA’s New Agenda for a Climate Ready Nation

This post was written by 2022-23 Global Change Fellow, Sophia Rosenberg, summarizing the first webinar in the Fall Global Change Seminar Series, NOAA’s New Agenda for a Climate Ready Nation, on Oct. 19, 2022. The Q&A was moderated by Global Change Fellow, Samantha Michlowitz. The seminar planning team also included Greivin Ulate, Bethany Wager, Shannon McGovern, Erin Eichenberger, and Christina Perella.

View a recording of the presentation

Speaker:

• Ko Barrett, NOAA Senior Advisor for Climate

Webinar Summary:

For years NOAA has succeeded in building a Weather Ready Nation (WRN) which educates the public on weather events, risks, and ways to prepare through educational seminars, pamphlets, courses, and more. NOAA now has a new agenda to build a Climate Ready Nation, defined as a “thriving nation whose prosperity, health, security, and continued growth benefit from and depend upon a shared understanding of, and collective action to reduce, the impacts of climate change.”

In this seminar Barrett elaborated on this new initiative and the future of the climate state, followed by a lively Q-and-A session with audience members. Barrett discussed how this plan builds on previous goals and initiatives set by NOAA, with the added goal of a more coordinated delivery approach and equitable access to climate information. This will be implemented through a scalable matrix approach, with risk and focal areas tied with partner groups as key matrix components.

The main takeaways from the seminar and discussion are that this approach will help NOAA more effectively communicate climate science and enhance climate literacy in the U.S., ensure NOAA is the main provider of climate information and services, and empower citizens to take action to mitigate climate change effects.

More about the speaker:

Ko Barrett is the NOAA Senior Advisor for Climate and the leader of this new agenda to build a Climate Ready Nation. She also currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Barrett is widely recognized as an expert on climate policy related to climate impacts and strategies to help society adapt to a changing world. Learn more.