The Level Playing Field : Business of Weather, Water, and Climate Services
Efforts to improve weather and climate services involve both public and private actors in the meteorological value chain governed by two determinants, to protect society from the impact of extreme meteorological and hydrological events and to incre...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Technical Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/567401622007284671/The-Level-Playing-Field-Business-of-Weather-Water-and-Climate-Services http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35670 |
| Summary: | Efforts to improve weather and climate
services involve both public and private actors in the
meteorological value chain governed by two determinants, to
protect society from the impact of extreme meteorological
and hydrological events and to increase economic activity in
range of weather sensitive sectors. As well as the public
tasks of the National Meteorological and Hydrological
Services (NMHSs) such as public safety, some governments
increasingly expect their agencies to provide a return on
capital employed by competing for commercial services with
the private sector. While this has largely been an issue in
developed economies, governments in many low- and
middle-income countries are considering similar approaches
without necessarily understanding the impact on their
nascent meteorological services markets. This poses many
risks, the biggest of which are the disruption and
distortion of the market through anticompetitive practices
that can stymie its growth and reduce benefits to the
economy, and an overemphasis on commercial activities that
can detract from the public tasks of the NMHS mandate.
Therefore, creating a level playing field on which both
public and private actors can operate and compete is
critical. This technical note highlights some of the
benefits of competition to both the private and public
sectors and provides recommendations on what policy and
structural reforms are needed to develop the business of
weather, water, and climate services. |
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