Current uses and potential future needs for climate services in South Africa

Abstract

A central aim of climate services is the design and delivery of information that is tailored and targeted to different decision-making contexts. To assess whether climate services are meeting this aim, it is necessary to take stock of the progress that has been made while also identifying where the gaps and additional needs remain. This paper provides a summary of currently available climate services in South Africa, and details the needs for new climate services, informed by the 10 priority sectors identified as part of the National Framework for Climate Services South Africa (NFCS-SA). South African stakeholders’ needs were assessed via 1,032 responses to surveys and 27 interviews conducted between March 2020 and June 2023. The existing climate services landscape in South Africa is complex. Although a range of climate services have been produced, there remain gaps, as well as the need to improve the way in which climate information is communicated, especially for disadvantaged groups such as low-income farmers. The engagement of beneficiaries in the development of public climate services in South Africa has often been superficial and true co-production has yet to take place. However, meaningful co-production of climate services comes at a cost and it remains to be seen how this challenge can be addressed given that many South African stakeholders perceive weather information as a public good and their willingness to pay for climate services is low.