Letter to Congress Calls for Strong Public-Private Sector Collaboration

“Jupiter has consistently recommended that the federal government consider requiring the incorporation of future conditions into the design and construction of any physical asset it owns, funds, subsidizes, or regulates. Undertaking this step alone would represent enormous progress, especially for national security, government-sponsored enterprises, and critical infrastructure sectors.

Jupiter strongly recommends that, wherever possible, the federal government should leverage the extensive private sector investments to date in climate services, and seek consistency with information used by the private sector. Doing so also will help leverage and optimize federal support, and provision of financial and technical assistance, to state and local governments, especially to underprivileged and/or underserved or under-resourced communities.”

—Rich Sorkin, CEO of Jupiter

Underscoring the historic collaboration among government, academia, and the private sector in advancing scientific breakthroughs, Jupiter CEO Rich Sorkin strongly urges the U.S. government to invest in climate information services that enable the “long overdue and sorely needed” planning and development of more robust and climate-change-resilient critical infrastructure across all segments of society.

His April 2021 written testimony to the United States House of Representatives’ Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Subcommittee on the Environment, also supports the creation of a Federal Climate Service to coordinate strategic climate risk information and actions.

Mr. Sorkin’s remarks, entered into the Congressional Record, state: “… the federal government has an opportunity, if not an obligation, to invest in—and enhance the quality of—climate information services, as well as the attendant research, development, and deployment to facilitate greater preparedness. This is especially the case with respect to the forecasting, planning, and preparedness that must be part of future decisions across all critical infrastructure sectors.”