WMO Conference averts a “data war”

Abstract

Negotiations at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Conference in Geneva during the past few weeks appear to have averted an all‐out “data war” over the exchange of international weather data—at least for now.Last week, policymakers were moving toward a compromise position, consistent with the U.S. position going into the conference. The compromise position would continue to support a policy of free and open exchange of data and would render unnecessary the European proposal to set up a two‐tier system for the exchange of weather data. In addition, the compromise position would recognize the right of any country to place restrictions on its data through licensing and copyright agreements.