Twelve international organizations launched the Alliance for Hydromet Development during the Chile/Madrid Climate Change Conference. The Alliance aims to increase the effectiveness and sustainability of hydro-meteorological (hydromet) investments. Alliance actions will aim to protect lives, property and livelihoods while supporting achievement of the SDGs, the Paris Agreement and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). 

Members of the Alliance, which was launched on 10 December in Madrid, Spain, have committed to ramp up action that strengthens developing country capacity to deliver hydromet services, inclusive of high-quality weather forecasts, early warning systems, and water, hydrological and climate services, all of which are the basis for resilient development. In doing so, the Alliance will leverage the partners’ respective competencies and expertise and seek to close hydromet-related capacity gaps by 2030.

Ambitious climate action requires countries to have reliable warnings and climate information services. 

Speaking at the launch, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Petteri Taalas emphasized that ambitious climate action requires countries to have reliable warnings and climate information services and that the Alliance aims to help provide such services. UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Inger Andersen said effective hydromet services improve the capacity to observe and predict climate impacts and ensure effective environmental management, DRR and food security.
 
Alliance members also committed to:  

• strengthen the capacity of national hydromet services for the operation of observational systems and data exchange that meet World Meteorological Organization (WMO) standards for monitoring coverage and reporting frequency;
• enhance support for better adaptation, mitigation and resilience by strengthening country capacity for science-based mitigation and adaptation planning;
• strengthen early warning systems for improved disaster risk management by developing multi-hazard national warning systems, comprising better risk information, forecasting capabilities, warning dissemination, and anticipatory response; 
• increase investments for better effectiveness and sustainability by fostering programmatic approaches; and
• leverage private sector resources and expertise to modernize hydromet infrastructure in developing countries.

The founding members of the Alliance include: the Adaptation Fund, African Development Bank (AfDB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Global Environment Facility (GEF ), Green Climate Fund (GCF), Islamic Development Bank, UN Development Programme (UNDP ), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), World Bank, World Food Programme (WFP) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO). [Alliance for Hydromet Development Website] [Alliance for Hydromet Development Declaration]