Message From the Under Secretary
February 8, 2010
NOAA Climate Service
New Line Office Proposed to Meet Fast Growing National Climate Needs
When it comes to climate information and our other priority issues, NOAA is the go-to U.S. and global leader. As a leading source of science-based climate services, our agency is on the cutting-edge, providing the transparent, reliable data and other information that America requires to adapt to a changing nation and a changing world.
Your leadership, dedication and know-how have put NOAA at the forefront. To stay there, and meet rapidly accelerating regional, national and global demands for essential climate services, NOAA, too, must adapt, just as it has so many times since its beginnings in 1807.
This requires charting a new course for the many climate challenges already apparent across our nation. NOAA began this course several years ago, and there has been extensive employee and stakeholder input along the way. I realize the journey has been a long one, and your considerable patience is greatly appreciated.
Since NOAA’s existing framework for climate was established long before climate services were recognized as being a priority, we are proposing to establish a new line office called NOAA Climate Service. This office would bring together NOAA’s longstanding and outstanding capabilities -- Nobel Peace Prize award-winning researchers and assessments, observations, predictions, training and vital on-the-ground service delivery. A single climate office, rather than the current dispersed structure, will help NOAA better address growing needs across all essential sectors.
Federal Employees & Contractors A Terrific Team
NOAA’s federal employees and contractors form a terrific team and, while the nature of some positions may change, we look ahead to continuing and productive partnerships. As the challenges of climate change grow, NOAA’s work does, too. There is plenty to do. Please be assured that no NOAA federal employee will be out of a job, and we do not expect relocations. I am sure you have many questions, and we may not yet have the answers, but I am committed to working closely with your line and staff office leadership and others to make transition planning as smooth as possible and to keep everyone within our NOAA community well-informed.
Here are the building blocks of the new NOAA Climate Service and the lines from which they would be drawn:
I want to underscore that OAR will continue to serve as a vital NOAA line office, incubating research that leads to new knowledge as well as many valuable products and services. OAR made significant contributions to the science that opened the eyes of the world to the risks of greenhouse gas emissions, climate change and ocean acidification. Growing new research within OAR and strengthening science across NOAA remain top priorities.
It is important to point out that reorganization alone will not meet the demands. For example, the nation is looking to NOAA for linkages between weather and climate and sea-level rise and climate change. That will require close working relationships between the new climate office and our other line offices. Meeting the challenges effectively is a NOAA-wide endeavor, not just the work of any one office.
Dr. Thomas R. Karl, director of NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center, will serve as transitional director of the NOAA Climate Service. We are also creating six new positions for NOAA Regional Climate Services Directors who will provide leadership in developing an integrated climate services program.
Please join me in thanking Commerce Secretary Locke for his enthusiastic support of the proposed reorganization. I also greatly appreciate the sustained and impressive efforts of many NOAA employees who suggested ideas and developed the plans. Thanks, too, for continuing to help advance our goals for climate science and service. We welcome your suggestions and feedback on an ongoing basis. NOAA leadership will be in Boulder tomorrow and in Silver Spring, San Diego, Seattle, Charleston, Honolulu, Anchorage and Pascagoula shortly thereafter so we have an opportunity to speak with many of you directly.
If you work at one of the NOAA sites that will be directly affected, we are aware that change may be unsettling for you for awhile, and we will work with you to keep communication lines open and two-way.
Next Steps
In the coming months, Deputy Under Secretary Mary Glackin will work with line office leads to continue to ensure that perspectives from every line office are considered in decision-making. A reprogramming package will be submitted to the Department of Commerce this spring and then to OMB, after which it will go to Congress for consideration. Until then, we will continue to provide the climate services that we already deliver, produce world-class scientific advances in understanding climate change, and share data, information and knowledge about climate in multiple ways. Thanks for all of the work that makes those things possible.
We are fully aware of and committed to fulfilling all labor relations obligations associated with the creation and operation of the NOAA Climate Service, and I appreciate the assistance of National Weather Service Employees Organization leadership as we move ahead.
You will find Q&As, the proposed reorganization chart, a Power Point, climate handouts featuring our science and regional services, and other materials online. The site will be updated regularly. The address is: http://www.noaa.gov/climate.html.
If you have other questions or comments, we encourage you to send them to climateservice@noaa.gov. We will use these comments to update the Q&A and guide our future communication and outreach efforts.
I also encourage you to explore the NOAA Climate Portal, a dynamic new source of information at http://www.climate.gov/.
Our nation and the world are headed into new climate-related challenges. The proposed changes will enable NOAA to continue to play a critical role in delivering new knowledge and understanding and in making them available to a wide range of users. Your scientific integrity, dedication, and collaborative, transparent approach make it all possible. Thanks for your continued support and efforts. I will update you as there is new information to share.
Dr. Jane Lubchenco
Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator