The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released details about its Fiscal Year 2022 (FY 2022) budget, which will be used to deliver the science, data and services Americans need to address climate change.
For FY 2022, NOAA proposes a budget of US$7bn in discretionary appropriations, an increase of US$1.5bn from its enacted FY 2021 budget. This budget increase will accelerate NOAA’s efforts to research, adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change, in support of the administration’s efforts to tackle the climate crisis.
“This historic increase in NOAA’s budget will put American businesses, workers and communities in a better position to respond to the climate crisis,” said US secretary of commerce Gina M Raimondo. “Our economic competitiveness relies on our communities’ resilience and our ability to make informed decisions, especially when it comes to climate change and extreme weather. For decades, NOAA has provided critical weather and climate guidance that supports our economy, infrastructure and security, and this historic investment will enable NOAA to deliver on its mission.”
The budget will be used to strengthen NOAA’s core research capabilities for improved climate forecast products and services. These improved products and services will help communities prepare for and adapt to impacts of extreme weather and climate disasters that have become much more frequent and costly in recent decades.
NOAA will also look to expand its delivery of the best available climate observations and information (physical, biological, social, economic) to understand, prepare for, and adapt to future conditions and support job creation in frontline and underserved communities that are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
The budget will also be used for ecological restoration and community resilience, offshore wind development, and to enhance its integration of equity across the organization, from management, to policies, to service-delivery.
The FY 2022 budget also strengthens investments in NOAA’s vessels, aircraft and satellites, as well as space weather observation and prediction services that protect critical infrastructure such as the electrical grid, aviation and satellite communications.
NOAA will invest in key components of its environmental at-sea observation platforms and facilities, by enabling a single-phase mid-life maintenance on the NOAA Ship Ronald H Brown and construction of a dedicated marine operations facility (Pier Romeo) in Charleston, South Carolina – the homeport for NOAA Ships Ronald H Brown and Nancy Foster.
NOAA will make crucial, timely investments to ensure that its next-generation satellite systems not only improve existing services, but that they also expand delivery of essential climate, weather, atmospheric, and oceanographic information to meet the needs of the American public. In support of Executive Order 14008, NOAA’s data and information infrastructure will expand the use of the best available observations, from NOAA and partner satellites and systems, to enhance the understanding of climate change-related trends and patterns, and deliver essential products, information and climate services to inform decision makers.
NOAA will also continue to build toward a space weather prediction capability that will ensure national and global communities are ready for and responsive to space-weather events.