Climate Services at the Crossroads: Perspectives Across Governance, Education, Co-production, and our Changing Climate

To paraphrase the former Director of the Columbia University International Research Institute, Dr. Lisa Goddard, climate services refer to the use of climate-related information to influence decisions and actions. This information must be based on reliable data and the service provided at appropriate time scales. While the term ‘climate services’ may be a relatively new construct, the practice of providing appropriate user-inspired weather, climate, and climate-change information is not. This Research Topic seeks to elucidate examples of, lessons learned, best practices, and gap analyses in the approaches used to provide climate services.

This Research Topic seeks to assemble into one volume, research and practice occurring across jurisdictions from the community scale to Indigenous Nations, States, and the national/federal level. The focus will be on the lessons learned, ongoing challenges, and gaps identified in the various sectors, media, and frameworks within which data and knowledge are used in the service of society.

- Submitted manuscripts should include original research, reviews, community case studies, perspectives, and/or commentaries.
- Specific themes of interest include all aspects of weather, climate, and climate change; decision-making under uncertainty; the use of climate and climate change information at varying spatiotemporal scales; the co-production of knowledge; ways of knowing; education and educational frameworks; governance and science diplomacy; climate adaptation; and the history and evolution of climate services.

Keywords: Climate Services, National Climate Service, Climate Service Providers, Co-production of knowledge, Knowledge Brokers, Articulated needs, Education and Outreach, Decision-making, Assessments, Risk-based farming

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.