“Turning Climate Resources into Economic Value Requires Innovation,” Says WMO’s Churchill at China Blue Book Release

Chongqing - The discussion of how climate data can be turned into economic value took center stage on December 25 in Chongqing, where officials, scientists, and industry representatives gathered for the 2nd Science and Technology Exchange Conference on Transforming Climate Resources to the Economy.

The meeting featured a video address from Ben Churchill, director of the World Meteorological Organization's (WMO) Regional Office for Asia and the South-West Pacific (RAP). "Scientific innovation is essential to turning climate resources into economic value," Churchill said, emphasizing collaboration among meteorological agencies, governments, and businesses. Such coordination, he added, is necessary to ensure climate resources are used effectively and sustainably.

Churchill highlighted the work of the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) Economic Transformation of Climate Resources Key Laboratory. The laboratory focuses on five areas, including climate-economy big data assessment, valuation of climate resources, transformation technologies, policy pathways, and climate–economy linkages. 

Based in Chongqing, it leverages the region's diverse terrain, three-dimensional climate, and ongoing low-carbon and carbon trading pilots to advance practical models for turning climate resources into economic assets.

He described the laboratory as an example of cross-sector innovation and noted its goal of positioning Chongqing as a research hub for climate-driven economic applications.

Climate data, once primarily used for forecasting, is increasingly being treated as an economic asset, Churchill said. He pointed to global frameworks such as the Global Framework for Climate Services, which aims to integrate climate information into policy and investment decisions to better manage risks linked to climate variability and change.

The laboratory has also explored how climate data can support finance. Wu Ping, director of the Yunyang County Meteorological Bureau, described how banks now incorporate climate indicators into credit assessments. These indicators evaluate long-term climate suitability and weather-related risks alongside traditional financial metrics.

Using this approach, a local bank issued Chongqing's first "climate loan," providing 400,000 yuan (about 56,911 U.S. dollars) to a pig-breeding enterprise at a reduced interest rate, saving the borrower about 4,000 yuan annually. According to Wu, the climate-based risk assessment gave lenders confidence that weather-related risks were relatively low, allowing more favorable loan terms.

Churchill said WMO is keen to see lessons from Chongqing's pilot projects shared internationally, particularly as countries look for practical ways to link climate data with economic resilience and sustainable growth.

The conference also saw the release of China's first Blue Book on the Economics of Climate Resources, a report examining how climate conditions are being translated into economic outputs across agriculture, energy, tourism, healthcare, and low-carbon industries. The report aligns with China's national goals to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

Among its findings, the Blue Book notes that climate assessments have supported food security by reshaping agricultural planning. In northeastern China, warming trends have pushed the country's corn belt northward by about 61 million mu, expanding planting areas. In the energy sector, the report says improved wind and solar forecasting can reduce disaster losses and help stabilize power grids- an important factor as renewables expand rapidly across western China.

Tourism is another growing application. Researchers in Chongqing have developed climate-suitability indices and weather-based landscape forecasts, including fog and drizzle predictions, to support tourism planning in areas known for seasonal climate conditions.