London Climate Action Week looks at where climate action is really happening. Not just in commitments or conference rooms, important though those are, but in the practical decisions that help people, governments and communities prepare for the weather and climate risks they face.
It’s for this reason that I’m thrilled that a Strategic Partnership between the Met Office and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is being launched.
The Met Office and FCDO have worked together for many years across science, operations, diplomacy and development. That relationship has helped bring weather and climate expertise into places where it matters most: supporting early warning systems, informing humanitarian decisions and strengthening resilience.
The world around us is changing quickly; climate risks are becoming more complex. Geopolitical pressures are increasing. Technology is moving at pace. The demand for trusted, usable weather and climate information has never been greater. In this context, blending the Met Office’s world leading expertise with FCDO diplomatic and development ambition is not a nice-to-have; it is essential.
This partnership will enable FCDO and the Met Office to work together face these challenges through harnessing the strengths of both organisations. For me, there are three things at the heart of this.
Scientific expertise. The UK has world-class weather and climate science. Our credibility internationally depends on maintaining that excellence and making sure it is used in ways that support better policy, diplomacy and development outcomes.
Operational capability. Forecasts, warnings and climate information only make a difference when they are timely, trusted and actionable. Whether the issue is extreme weather, humanitarian risk, national resilience or climate security, the value comes from getting the right information to the right people early enough for it to shape decisions.
Partnership delivery. The Met Office brings deep scientific capability, operational expertise and global networks. FCDO brings diplomatic reach, political insight and development expertise. Put simply, we are better together when science, policy and diplomacy are connected from the start.
My thanks go to colleagues across the Met Office and FCDO who have built the relationship to this point, and to those who will now make the partnership work in practice. Our collective challenge is to now make sure our partnership makes a real difference across the scientific, development and resilience domains. That is a challenge worth taking on — and one I am very proud that we are taking on together.
