The US is at risk of losing leverage over a crucial UN agency
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is not the most well-known organization in the United Nations system. The lack of notoriety is a feature, not a bug. Unlike some other parts of the U.N., the WMO mandate is to focus on data rather than policy advocacy. Specifically, the WMO is a technical agency for coordinating and sharing atmospheric and oceanic data used to forecast weather events, track freshwater availability, and support civil aviation, marine navigation, and industry. Data from member states is shared and used to aid industry, facilitate transportation, and save lives through early warning systems.
TL;DR
- The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a technical UN agency focused on atmospheric and oceanic data for weather forecasting and related industries.
- The WMO's budget increased as it faced pressure to become more involved in climate change advocacy, a mission creep criticized by the author.
- The US halted payments to the WMO for 2025 and 2026, leading the organization to implement reforms, including staff reductions and budget cuts.
- The US owes the WMO over $55 million and risks losing its vote in 2027 if payments are not made.
- The article advocates for the US to pay its arrears to regain leverage and pressure the WMO to return to its core technical mission of data coordination rather than policy advocacy.
- The author criticizes publications and statements from the WMO that they believe overstep scientific data reporting into climate policy advocacy.