The essential role of climate information systems for early action interventions and resilience-focused decision-making

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) continue to face climate-related challenges and the need for effective resilience-building is critical, yet there is minimal emphasis on the underpinning role of climate information in supporting adaptation and resilience. Comprising fundamental scientific weather and climate data and/or local knowledge, climate information remains essential for targeted local decision-making as well as interventions such as early warning systems, early action infrastructure, forecast-based financing, climate finance and risk transfer. However, despite this role and implied benefit, there is still a limited focus on reducing persistent barriers and supporting enabling factors and conditions which increase the effective use of locally relevant climate information, especially in SIDS and low-income countries.