Establishing Extreme Weather Early Warning Systems... APEC Climate Symposium Discusses Climate Technologies

"Risk Management and the Establishment of Advanced Early Warning Systems"

Early warning systems and strategies for leveraging climate technologies to address abnormal climate events in the Asia-Pacific region were discussed.

The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA; Administrator Lee Miseon) and the APEC Climate Center (APCC; Director Ha Kyungja) announced that, together with the APEC Center for Technology Transfer (APCTT), they hosted the "2026 APEC Climate Symposium" on August 18 at the Dalian International Convention Center in China.

This year’s symposium, held both online and offline, was organized under the theme of "Technological Innovation for Extreme Weather Risk Management in the APEC Region." It was held in conjunction with the Third Senior Officials’ Meeting’s Policy Partnership on Science, Technology, and Innovation General Assembly (2026 SOM3 PPSTI).

On the 18th, participants of the 2026 APEC Climate Symposium stood in front of the cameras at the Dalian International Convention Center in China.

During the opening ceremony, the welcome address from Ha Kyungja, Director of the APEC Climate Center, was delivered on her behalf by Kim Hyeongjin, Director-General of the Climate Business Headquarters. Park Hwanil, Chair of the APEC Policy Partnership on Science, Technology, and Innovation (PPSTI), delivered a congratulatory speech, and Vice Chair Yang Xuemei gave a welcome address.

The keynote session, themed "Technological Innovation for a Strong and Future-ready APEC in the Face of Climate Crisis," explored proactive responses to abnormal climate events and strategies for utilizing climate forecasting technologies. Participants discussed the need to integrate scientific forecasting with disaster response systems to address the rapidly changing climate environment.

Session 1, themed "Strengthening Preparedness for Abnormal Climate: Advanced Forecasting and Early Warning Systems," featured presentations by experts from APEC member economies, including Professor Marta Yebra of the Australian National University and Dr. Wenli Hua of the China Meteorological Administration.

Presentations highlighted predictive technologies such as wildfire monitoring and intelligent early warning solutions, as well as cases of "co-production," where scientists and on-the-ground users collaboratively develop climate information.

The panel discussion, under the theme "From Science and Technology Innovation to Policy: Action-oriented Science for Extreme Risk Management," focused on ways to translate climate information into disaster response policy.

Panelists included Yujun, Officer at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific; Kang Su-il, Coordinator at the UNEP Climate Technology Centre and Network (UNEP CTCN); and Diana Patricia Mosquera Calle, Deputy Head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. They presented strategies for utilizing climate information and promoting regional cooperation.

Ha Kyungja, Director of the APEC Climate Center, stated, "This symposium reaffirmed that the APEC Climate Center is a key institution driving technological innovation in climate response and tangible action in the Asia-Pacific region."

Director Ha emphasized, "We will continue to further strengthen regional climate cooperation systems so that advanced climate forecasting science can be directly linked to effective disaster response policies for each APEC member economy."

The APEC Climate Symposium is a professional academic conference discussing the utilization of climate information and cooperation strategies among APEC member economies. It is held annually at the APEC summit venue with the support and cooperation of local authorities and institutions.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.