A bold new plan to protect lives and livelihoods in the world's most climate-vulnerable nations
As climate extremes intensify, the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) Initiative today unveiled its 2030 Strategy: From Delivery to Transformation: Scaling CREWS' Impact to 2030 at COP30 in Belém, Brazil.
The Strategy outlines an ambitious goal: by 2030, all Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) will have the essential early warning and climate services needed to safeguard lives, livelihoods, and economies.
"When a cyclone or flood hits, every second counts - early warnings turn each moment into life-saving measures." said Francis Pigeon, Chair of the CREWS Initiative. "CREWS is not only delivering early warnings at scale, it is transforming how they are financed, governed, and sustained as a public good."
A decisive shift toward systemic change
The launch comes amid record climate losses. In 2024, SIDS suffered over USD 6 billion in damages from disasters such as Hurricane Beryl and Cyclone Mocha, while disaster mortality in LDCs remains 2.5 times higher than the global average.
""When financing is country driven, every dollar becomes a force for resilience, innovation and impact - that's how we build early warnings for all. Over the next five years, CREWS is expected to play an even more important role, scaling up coordinated support, leveraging partnerships and turning the EW4ALL ambition into action." WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo told a side event at COP30.
WMO is one of the implementing partners of CREWS, which is one of the key mechanisms for fast-tracking progress towards WMO's overriding priority, Early Warnings For All.
The CREWS 2030 Strategy calls for a decisive shift from fragmented, project-based efforts toward long-term, country-owned systems built on three priorities:
- Strengthening foundational early warning and climate services in all LDCs and SIDS
- Catalyzing transformation through scaled finance, mobilizing USD 1 billion by 2030
- Driving next-generation systems through innovation, integration, and partnerships.
Proven model, stronger ambition
Since 2015, CREWS has provided early warning and climate services to over 300 million people, leveraged nearly USD 1 billion in additional finance, and supported more than 40 countries to improve national laws, forecasting capacity, and community preparedness.
By 2030, CREWS aims to reach 200 million more people in vulnerable countries, expand anticipatory action frameworks, and pilot AI-based forecasting and cell-broadcast alerting in partnership with local organisations.
"Our goal is not just to predict storms and other natural hazards, but also to provide impact based forecast warning services and early warning systems and services to the people of Tonga." said Mr. Áloisio Fifita, Principal Assistant Secretary and National Ozone Office, Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change and Communication (MEIDECC) and part of the Tonga delegation to COP30. "With CREWS support, we can turn forecasts into anticipatory action that saves lives."
About CREWS
CREWS is a pooled financing mechanism that supports LDCs and SIDS to design and strengthen multi-hazard early warning and climate services. Established in 2015, CREWS is implemented by WMO, UNDRR, and World Bank/GFDRR in partnership with regional and national actors. The IFRC and ITU are in the process of becoming implementing partners.
Through catalytic finance, innovation, and policy influence, CREWS enables countries to protect people most at risk and build climate resilience.
