WELCOME & OPENING REMARKS

SESSION 1 – CLIMATE CONVERSATION

THE STATE OF THE CLIMATE – A discussion on how scientific assessments, such as the IPCC reports, connect to business decisions, and the broader need for public-private-academic partnerships to advance decision support services.

Opening Speaker: Thomas Karl, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information

ADVANCING CLIMATE ADAPTATION – A discussion on how climate data/information is used for business decisions in the area of climate adaptation
Keynote Guest Speaker: John Firth, CEO and Founder, Acclimatise

Discussion / Questions, Moderator: Otis Brown, NOAA’s CICS-NC

SESSION 2 – CLIMATE DATA TO DECISIONS

Applications of weather and climate data for decision making in resources and production inputs.
Speakers: 
Jim Chelius, Engineering Director, Corporate Planning, American Water;
Jeff Williams, Climate Consulting, Entergy;
Jeff Hopkins, Principal Advisor, International Energy and Climate Policy, Rio Tinto

Discussion / Questions, Moderator: Janet Peace, C2ES

BREAK

SESSION 3 – HOW DOES CLIMATE AFFECT MY BUSINESS? (PART 1)

Breakout groups (6-8 people) will brainstorm to identify ways that climate impacts can affect COSTS.

Discussion Leader: John Macomber, Harvard Business School

SESSION 4 – CLIMATE MODELS AS AN INFORMATION SOURCE

Current state of climate models and projections: What do uncertainties, timescales, and scenarios mean for a decision maker? What are the available suites of monitoring and prediction products available from NOAA Climate Prediction Center?
Speaker: Wayne Higgins, Director, NOAA Climate Program Office

Discussion / Questions, Moderator: Joe Casola, C2ES

SESSION 5 – INTEGRATED FEDERAL PERSPECTIVE ON CLIMATE INFORMATION RESOURCES –
A broad discussion on the integrated governmental agency perspective on climate information resources and the future vision.

Presenter: Thomas Armstrong, Executive Director, U.S. Global Change Research Program, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President

Discussion / Questions, Moderator: Joe Casola, C2ES

DAY 1 CLOSING REMARKS

Moderator: Janet Peace, C2ES

Discussion / Questions, Moderator: Joe Casola, C2ES

NETWORKING RECEPTION

DINNER AND CONVERSATION

Location: District Chophouse – The Vault
Ask a Scientist! Q&A session from the corporate attendees about climate science, climate data products, and decision-support tools

Panelists: Joe Casola, C2ES; Amy Snover, University of Washington; Otis Brown, NOAA’s CICS-NC
Moderator: Andrew Hoffman, University of Michigan

Janet Peace, Vice President, C2ES
Otis Brown, Director, NOAA’s CICS-NC

SESSION 6 – HOW DOES CLIMATE AFFECT MY BUSINESS? (PART 2)

Breakout groups (6-8 people) will brainstorm to identify ways that climate impacts can affect REVENUES.

Discussion Leader: John Macomber, Harvard Business School

BREAK

SESSION 7 – EXAMPLES OF BEST PRACTICES

Best practices in corporate strategies for resilience planning

Presenters: John Firth, CEO and Founder, Acclimatise; Michelle Colley, ICF

SESSION 8 – EVALUATING CLIMATE RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES

How can companies best evaluate climate risks and opportunities across weather and climate timescales?

Presenter: Amy Snover, University of Washington

SESSION 9 – GROUP DISCUSSION / QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Moderator: Janet Peace, C2ES

LUNCH CONVERSATION and DISCUSSION

Speaker: Remarks from Susan Ruffo, Deputy Associate Director for Climate Change Adaptation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
Moderator: Joe Casola

SESSION 10 – OPERATIONALIZING CONSIDERATIONS OF RISK AND OPPORTUNITIES

Diving deeper into specific examples, we will discuss the steps involved in assessing risks and opportunities, the types of data required at each step, the partnerships that can facilitate effective decisions.

Discussion Leader: Amy Snover, University of Washington

SESSION 11 – GAPS AND NEEDS FOR ASSESSING RISK AND IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES

In three groups (one for government/academia, one for consultants, and one for private sector end-users) identify the data and information needed to address questions presented in the flow chart. Are there gaps? Who can and should provide the data/information/tools? What key actions are needed to enable companies to gain value from the use of climate data, information, and tools?

Discussion Leaders: John Macomber (Industry), Andy Hoffman (Government/Academia), Joe Casola (Consulting)

SESSION 12 – GROUP DISCUSSION – ACTIONS TO SUPPORT PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IN AN IDEAL WORLD 

Discussion to allow groups to report back, with a focus on summarizing identifying gaps, the actions necessary to address these gaps, and the entities that are responsible.

Discussion Leaders: Andy Hoffman, University of Michigan

SESSION 13 – GROUP DISCUSSION – ACTIONS TO SUPPORT PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS FOR BUILDING RESILIENCE

Panelists, from their perspective, will provide responses and reactions to the Session 12 Group Discussion, surrounding the assessment of climate risk and the identification of opportunities. In examining the key actions of the last session, panelists will discuss the appropriateness of the requirements identified in Session 12, and their capacity to be involved. 

Discussion Leaders: Andy Hoffman, University of Michigan

CLOSING REMARKS and NEXT STEPS

Janet Peace, C2ES
Otis Brown, CICS-NC