Météo-France

73, avenue de Paris 94165 Saint-Mandé Cedex

Phone: +33 1 77 94 77 94 Fax : +33 1 77 94 70 05

www.meteofrance.com

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Météo-France is certified to ISO 9001 by Bureau Veritas Certification

© Météo-France 2012

Copyright April 2012

ISSN: 2114-4532

Design Philippe Dos, Météo-France

sustainable development report 2011

Meteo France

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2011 SuStainable Development RepoRt

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ContentS

editorial ………………………………………………………………………………................................................ .3

1. Helping in climate change mitigation …………………………............................................................... .4

Energy:.careful.consumption.and.alternative.sources.……………………………………................................ .4

....Contributing.towards.sustainable.agriculture.…………………………………………………............................ .6.

....Contributing.towards.the.control.of.road.transport.emissions.…………………............................................. .7

2. Developing sustainable air transport ………………………………………….......................................... .8

Weather.data.to.support.route.optimisation.…………………………….......................................................... .8

.....Weather.data.to.support.the.optimisation.of.airport.capacity..……………….............................................. .11

3. adaptation to climate change ……………………………………………................................................. .12

..Producing.and.disseminating.information.on.the.climate.of.the.future.………………………………............ .13

.....Regional.development.………………………………………………………..................................................... .14

4. Health and the environment ………………………………………………………………........................... .16

Health.hazard.prevention.……………………………………………………..................................................... .16

......Pollution.and.air.quality.…………………………………………………………................................................ .18

.....Drift.and.pollutant.dispersion.forecasting.………………………………….................................................... .19

5. météo-france expertise in support of international cooperation………....................................... .20

Strong.prospects.and.initiatives.within.the.WMO.coordination…………………………............................... .20

....Météo-France.as.aid.partner.for.sustainable.development.in.Africa.………………..................................... .22

....Training.initiatives.for.foreign.weather.services.………………...................................................................... .23

6. education and awareness …………………………………………………………...................................... .24

..Staff.training.……………………………………………………………….......................................................... .24

....The.specialised.training.offering.…………………………………………………………................................... .26

....Awareness.initiatives.………………………………………………………………............................................. .27

7. an exemplary approach to environmental responsibility ……………………………….................... .28

.Changing.our.approach.to.travel.………………………………………………………..................................... .28

.....Developing.a.strategy.for.rationalising.and.planning.our.properties............................................................ .29

.....Developing.the.socio-environmental.side.of.purchasing.and.managing.consumption.…........................... .30

Glossary of initials, acronyms and abbreviations …………………………………………................... .31

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eDitoRial

I n 2011, as in previous years, Météo-France has endeavoured to contribute its expertise in support of public

policies for sustainable development and the adaptation of territories.

In all of its work, Météo-France has drawn on the considerable progress made by its scientific and technical staff

in terms of the understanding, simulation and forecasting of the mechanisms associated with the atmosphere,

waves, storm surges, transport of pollutants and avalanche risk.

In March 2011, as part of its international responsibility for monitoring accidental chemical and nuclear

discharges, Météo-France provided the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] with real-time forecasting

for the radioactive plume from the Fukushima nuclear power plant (Japan) and worked with the IRSN

[Institute for radiation protection and nuclear safety] to provide estimates for the amounts deposited on the soil

after the accident.

This report details a number of different areas where the organization has committed resources, providing illus-

trations of its involvement in domains as diverse as sustainable farming, health risk prevention, combating pol-

lution of the atmosphere and the oceans, energy management, the development of alternative energy sources

and support for sustainable development in Africa.

Alongside these areas of support, Météo-France has been committed to an exemplary ecologically responsible

approach for a number of years now, the objective being to considerably reduce its environmental footprint

by means of rigorous management of travel and consumption, an appropriate real-estate management strategy

and a sizeable reduction of energy costs.

françois Jacq

President, Chief Executive Officer

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METEo FRANcE - 2011 SUStaInaBLe DeveLopment report

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1 > HELPING IN CLIMATE chaNge MITIgaTION

Météo-France is working to enable a range of different professional networks to meet Grenelle Environmental Forum commitments. The commitments made by the organisation relate in particular to improving energy efficiency, developing renewable energy by 2020, raising the environmental requirements of agriculture and reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector.

Given that meteorology is an essential factor in ensuring good energy mana-gement, Météo-France has long been a partner to electricity producers and

transporters. a study financed by the Regional council of Brittany has made it possible to evaluate the contribution made by wind power during cold weather to the electricity grid in Brittany, a network located at the end of the line that can be vulnerable during periods of high consumption. Data from the

aLaDIN model has been used to analyse wind and wind power potential during recent cold spells on 150 dates selected throughout the period 2001-2010.

The evaluation includes not only the contribution from all land-based wind farms that are currently installed (600MW), but also those planned over the next few years (500MW by 2015 and an additional 500MW by 2020) as well as offshore farms (1 to 2gW).

Energy: careful consumption and alternative sources

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heLPINg incLIMaTechanGe MiTiGaTiOn

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MeTeO FRaNce - 2011 SUSTAINABLE dEvELoPMENT REPoRT

Percentage of production in relation to power level installed, evaluated during a period of intense cold on 16th december 2001 at 06.00 UTC. The map shows the strong disparity between regions with wind power production potential, varying from between over 90% and under 10% for different locations.

New deterministic and probabilistic forecasting options are being developed for wind power, and also for solar power, with the availability of cloud condition forecasting based on model output statistical adaptations and high-resolution versions of the aROMe model focused on areas of interest.

distribution of wind farm clusters built in Brittany by the beginning of 2011.

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1 > HELPING IN CLIMATE chaNge MITIgaTION

Quality weather information for agricultural activity means water management can be optimised in irrigated areas and the use of crop protection products

controlled.

This year devised a new product for the agricultural sector – a module developed in partnership with the Regional chamber of agriculture in corsica for recommending daily irrigation periods. The mo-dule has the specific feature of taking into account weather conditions with the requirements of fruit trees and the specifics of the irrigation system. Météo-France has also become a partner in the agaDaPT research project, run by the INRa [national institute of agronomic research], to optimise water-use in agriculture against the background of climate change.

Under a partnership with the IFVV [French vine and wine institute], kilometre-scale mapping of mildew, which was started in the Bordeaux vineyards in 2007 has been extended across nearly all French vineyards. This initiative is a major contribution to the ecOPhYTO plan, which aims to halve the use of pesticides by 2018.

Contributing towards sustainable agriculture

Finally, Météo-France has become a member of agriMip Innovation, the agricultural competitiveness centre set up to promote the use of innovative climate services in agriculture.

vine contaminatedby mildew.

Irrigation support module: evaluation of daily needs and recommendation for almond trees.

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MeTeO FRaNce - 2011 SUSTAINABLE dEvELoPMENT REPoRT

Using its oPTIMA tool, Météo-France provides updated gPS data on weather conditions on the road network every 5 minutes, for 5km sections of road.

Users can take precautions to prevent traffic jams from forming, reduce accident risk and limit envi-ronmental impact.

The 2010-2011 winter season saw the introduction into the OPTIMa system of information on snow potential (snow depth likely to accumulate) in the next hour. This parameter, a function of snowfall intensity (low, moderate, strong) and snow charac-teristics (powdery, dry, damp, damp to wet, wet), enables road system managers to anticipate the conditions under which winter treatment needs to be applied.

OPTIMa specifically identifies potential snow accumulation exceeding 5cm within a single hour, the point from which snow clearing equipment proves to be ineffective, especially in urban areas. To provide the best warning of this type of severe conditions, OPTIMa information is accessible for periods longer than a single hour.

The usefulness of this approach was confirmed during the disruption period caused by snow in December 2010. The progress made in developing geolocalized information for winter events allows for improved understanding of weather situations and thus contributes to the optimisation of resources and surface treatments.

Traffic conditions in Paris on 8th december 2010.

oPTIMA product: potential snow accumulation for 8th december 2010 at 14.00.

Contributing towards the control of road transport emissions

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2 > Developing sustainable air transport

To be sustainable, the air transport system must minimise its envi-ronmental footprint, notably through optimum route and airport capacity management, whilst at the same time controlling costs. Weather forecasting has a major role to play in achieving these goals as the optimisation of routes and airport approaches according to weather conditions is one of the best ways to reduce flight times and thus associated consumption as well as air and noise pollution. Météo-France contributes to this through its involvement in the weather arm of the SESAR (Single European Sky Air traffic mana-gement Research) European research programme, a major goal of which is to reduce the environmental impact of all flights by 10%. The organisation has stated the nature of its involvement in this programme in 2011 and has begun work on this.

Involvement in the CLEANSKY projectUnder the european CleAnSKY project, the “Sys-tems for green operations” programme is tasked with analysing aircraft route and fuel consumption management. Météo-France’s role here is to

develop a weather conditions simulator: the SiMeT project. Until now, route calculation methods had been evaluated from theoretical conditions. By using realistic conditions, the new tool will make it possible to carry out a full evaluation of the

Weather data tosupport route optimisation

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Developing sustainableAir TrAnSporT

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MeTeo FrAnCe - 2011 sustainable development report

latest generation of systems to be used to optimise flight management, taking better account of environmental considerations (Co2 emissions, noise reduction, etc.)

the weather condition simulator provides a user-friendly interface for looking at specific weather conditions across the globe or in a particular area.

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2 > Developing sustainable air transport

in 2011, Météo-France acquired three lidars and scheduled a number of experiments for 2012 to evaluate operational quality and maintainability. Here, the goal is to deploy a network across the whole country from 2013 on.

Controlling the impact of volcanic ash on air trafficThe economic impact of the eruption of the eyjafjöll volcano in 2010 underscored the vulnerability of the aviation sector to this type of phenomenon, demonstrating the value of lidars (instruments emitting a laser beam for measuring light scatte-red by particles) for detecting dust and obtaining indications of concentration and diameter.

signal provided by the sirta lidar (instrumental site for research via atmos-pheric remote sensing loca-ted at palaiseau) between 16th and 20th april 2010. the black points indicate the altitude of the top of the mixed layer. the ash layer appears clearly above, mainly between 4 and 6km altitude on the 16th and around 2km on the 18th.

eruption of the eyjafjöll volcano in iceland in 2010.

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MeTeo FrAnCe - 2011 sustainable development report

Weather station for the detection and quantification of runway contaminants: pools of water, hoarfrost, snow, ice, etc.

experiments carried out at roissy-Charles-de-gaulle (CDg) Airport have been quite encouraging, leading to the operational use of these forecasts at CDg and lyon-Saint-exupéry Airport hubs for the 2011-2012 winter. information is provided in real time with runway temperature observations from local managers. The plan is to continue this kind of experimentation at orly and Bâle (Basel) -Mulhouse Airports.

Weather data to support the optimisation of airport capacity

The management of winter conditions at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle AirportSince 2010, Météo-France has been involved in a programme of initiatives aimed at improving the detection and nowcasting of low-visibility snow phenomena likely to restrict aviation capacity at roissy-Charles-de-gaulle Airport. A major initiative involves deploying new “real-time” sensors for determining snow depth and the state of the ground for a wide perimeter encircling the hub.

As part of this initiative Météo-France set up a weather station at the plessis-gassot site in 2011 for the detection and quantification of runway contaminants: pools of water, hoarfrost, snow, ice, etc. Forecasting runway temperatures: the ARISP projectSince 2010, Météo-France has been working with airport authorities to set up a system for forecasting runway temperatures that is specially designed to aid decision-making for winter weather monitoring.

Known as AriSp (AroMe-iSBA-piste), the system feeds data from the AroMe weather forecasting operating model into the iSBA (interface-Soil- Biosphere-Atmosphere) surface model, which has been adapted to the physical properties of a runway and simulates in fine humidity and temperature profiles.

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3 > AdAptAtion to climate change

Météo-France has been heavily involved in developing the National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change [PNACC] from national consultation stage at the beginning of 2010 until the plan was published in June 2011. The organisation helped to develop reference climate scenarios and present them in an informative way to those involved in adaptation. The PNACC covers a wide spectrum, organising numerous initiatives structured in 2011 and making recommendations for the period 2011-2015. Météo-France is going to help organise the PNACC at territorial levels, in support of Government services(the inter-ministerial delegation for land management and regional attractiveness - DATAR, the regional office for the environment, planning and housing - DREAL, regional offices in setting up regional Climate, Air and Energy Schemes [SRCAE] and Territorial Climate-Energy Plans [PCET]). The organisa-tion will also continue to develop integrated research projects on the impact of climate change on a range of areas and business sectors.

Mount Vallier in the pyrenees.

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meteo France - 2011 SUStAinABLE dEVELopMEnt REpoRt

basin, and in contributing to study projects for the adaptation to climate change in africa (cordeX), the indian ocean (acclimate) and mountainous areas in europe (ScamPei).

the driaS project, sponsored by météo-France, the cerFacS [european centre for research and advanced training in scientific calculation] and the iPSl [Pierre-Simon laplace institute], is aimed at setting up an access portal to data and products resulting from regional French climate scenarios. this initiative also aims to guide users, whether

over and above carrying out global simulations for the 21st century for the iPcc [intergovernmental Panel on climate change] reports, météo-France

has developed recognised expertise in producing regional climate simulations that are of more direct use to adaptation policy-makers. the main focus of these studies has been the regions of the French mainland and the overseas territories, the mediterranean basin and the african continent. météo-France is strongly involved in the miStralS work on the future habitability of the mediterranean

Producing and disseminating information on the climate of the future

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3 > AdAptAtion to climate change

they are scientists wanting to study the impact of climate change in a specific area, economic opera-tors affected by this issue or local stakeholders facing the need for adaptation with their fellow citizens. the project focuses on them in a major way, and is closely monitored and supported by the meddtl [ministry of ecology, sustainable development, transport and housing] under the gicc [climate change impact management] programme.

The EPICEA (multi-disciplinary study of the impact of climate change on the Paris metropolitan area)météo-France is working on the ePicea project incollaboration with the city of Paris and the Scientific and technical centre for Building and construction [cStB] with the aim of quantifying the impact of climate change and the influence of the built envi-ronment on urban climate conditions in the context of territorial adaptation. Fine-scale modelling of the Paris metro area during the 2003 heat-wave has enabled us to analyse the heat island effect and identify the most vulnerable districts. the sensitivity tests (spacing between walls and roofs, city planting, road surface watering) that were carried out suggest a number of options for adaptation.

Urban heat island effect in the paris metro area. Mapping average temperatures at a height of 2m (in °C), simulated at 02.00, 03.00 and 04.00 UtC for the nights of 8th to 13th August 2003 during the hottest period of the heat-wave in the summer of 2003, shows the presence of a major urban heat island at night.

Figure 3.1: Home page of the portal for the dRiAS project giving access to data and products resulting from regional French climate scenarios.

Regional development

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meteo France - 2011 SUStAinABLE dEVELopMEnt REpoRt

The Pyrenees Climate Change Observatorymétéo-France is actively involved, mainly as a scientific consultant, in the work of the Pyrenees climate change observatory. created in 2010by local communities of the Pyrenees, the obser-vatory aims to make improved observations and acquire a better understanding of climate change in the Pyrenees and develop a framework of action shared between various regional stakeholders in order to prepare for the impact of such change. in 2011, initiatives run with the aemet [Spanish state weather agency] and the cenma [andorra centre for snow and mountain studies] has helped to prepare for a project, with european funding, to consolidate and homogenize the detection of climate change on both sides of the Pyrenees and develop useful indicators for identifying it.

The geo-technical consequences of droughtin clay-soil areas, drought leads to considerable shrinkage of the earth, with serious consequences for the built environment. Since 1990, the natural disaster regulatory system includes the recognition

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of this type of phenomenon, which is identified by a number of criteria set out by an inter-ministerial commission. météo-France is providing the commission with climate studies relating to past weather conditions (rainfall and humidity of the earth’s surface) and comparing them against previous years. Since 2009, météo-France has been making these calculations using the SaFran-iSBa-modcoU (Sim) operational system, modelling water figures across the whole of France. in 2011, a reanalysis of the Sim system since 1958 was carried out under the climSec project to identify the impact of climate change on this phenomenon. a special study was also carried out for the caisse centrale de réassurance [re-insurance fund] to produce a retrospective account of geotechnical drought events in France in the last 50 years. this showed a high level of natural variability for this type of situation; 1990 and 1989 were identified as exceptional years in terms of winter drought, and 2003 and 1976 for summer events. the study also reveals strong regional variations for this phenomenon,affecting the mediterranean and south west areas of France more regularly in winter and the Paris Basin and the north of the country in summer.

Wall planting at the "Musée du quai Branly" in paris.

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4 > HealtH AND tHe environment

By helping to better understand health hazards, within national and European frameworks, that are related to climate conditions, atmospheric environment conditions and their future trends, Météo-France is actively involved in managing them – a major area of public policy making. With regard to atmospheric pollution the organisation is providing support for national management of air quality. It is also involved in developing atmospheric services for the GMES (Global Monito-ring for Environment and Security) programme alongside French and European partners. Finally, Météo-France is helping to manage the accidental risk of marine and atmospheric pollution, in particular radiation related.

Weather has a major impact on a great number of potentially hazardous situations such as those associated with periods of extreme cold and heat, UV

rays, pollen and mosquito-borne epidemics.

In 2011, Météo-France, the national institute of health monitoring [INVS] and the government’s central bureau of health [DGS], held discussions to define objectives for health hazards manage-ment outside the vigilance system related to cold weather.

Health hazard prevention

HeAltH and tHe eNVIroNMeNt

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Meteo FrANce - 2011 SUStainaBle development report

With regard to the sun’s radiation hazards, UV index forecasts are now operational in the overseas territories and new products developed for UV at elevated areas will soon be available for users at winter sports resorts.

Météo-France is also helping with the prevention and study of the impact of pollen on health. A statistical model for forecasting the dates when pollination begins for two pollen varieties was set up in the spring of 2011 for use by the national aerobiological inspection network [rNSA]. Interna-tional collaboration undertaken under the european coSt [european cooperation in the field of tech-nical and scientific research] programme and the Monitoring Atmospheric composition and climate (MAcc) project have made it possible to simulate the atmospheric concentration of birch pollen with the MocAGe model operating in research mode.

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Hazel pollen is released by the catkins that flower in winter, between december and march.

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4 > HealtH AND tHe environment

Finally, under a project studying the impact of climate change on the vectors of rift Valley fever (ADAPtrVF) in Senegal, seasonal forecasts are now combined with information on replenishment of natural pools provided by the National Space Agency [cNeS].

they are used to detect mosquito zones and combat the hazard that they represent to cattle. In 2012, the PAlUclIM project will be launched in Burkina-Faso to evaluate the spread of malaria on the basis of seasonal forecasting and vegetation mapping.

at the prev’air site: 2-day moCaGe ozone concentration forecast.

a study site for the adaptrvF project to combat the hazard represented by vectors of rift valley fever.

mapping of areas potential occupied by mosquitoes that are propagating the rift valley fever.

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Pollution and air quality

Météo-France is also helping to manage air quality at national level under the PreV’AIr umbrella, providing certified air quality moni-

toring associations [ASSQA] with meteorological expertise. In 2011, the provision of products and data was the subject of a new framework agree-ment with the ministry’s Department of climate and energy [DGec].

In France, the MocAGe model now uses forecasts produced by the AroMe operational model, ma-king it possible to simulate the chemical composi-tion of the atmosphere much more accurately. this new development will soon be supplemented by using a high-resolution spacialized national register of pollutant emissions [INS].

In europe, a new emissions register (developed by the tNo, the Dutch organisation for applied scien-tific research) has significantly increased the dis-tinction that can be made between urban and rural zones, helping to improve the services provided by PreV’AIr. In addition to this, the inclusion of a

further reference year (2005) has revealed a marked drop in concentrations of sulphur dioxide (So2) in the atmosphere in europe, especially France.

Finally, a plan has been prepared for uplifiting to operational grade the air quality forecasting sys-tems developed under the Monitoring Atmospheric composition and climate (MAcc) project and to maintain their improvement. Forecasts produced in this way will be based on combined data from seven european partner models.

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Meteo FrANce - 2011 SUStainaBle development report

motHY ensemble forecast for edF nuclear power plants. in this diagram, the vigilance zone is within the green lines; the coloured plume (from green to black) shows the probability (as a %) of the presence of pollutants as a function of wind conditions shown as wind barb symbols.

With regard to the atmosphere, two models are used by Météo-France to fulfil its international responsibilities for monitoring accidental chemical and nu-

clear discharges: MocAGe-Accident at continental and global level and Perle at local level (up to 200km from the source). A network using meteoro-logical fields produced by the european centre for medium-range weather forecasts [ecMWF] model can now be employed anywhere in the world. this year, these models were especially useful for provi-ding the IAeA [International Atomic energy Agency] with real-time forecasts for the movement of the radioactive plume caused by the accident at the

Drift and pollutant dispersion forecasting

nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan in March 2011, and for working with the French Institute for radiation protection and nuclear safety [IrSN], to estimate the volume of radio-active components deposited on the soil after the accident.

In the marine sector, in 2011, Météo-France improved its forecasting of oil-slick drift, coupling the MotHY model with its atmospheric forecas-ting counterpart. this tool is particularly useful for forecasting drift, the probability of a slick reaching the coast and its speed of approach. For example, it is used to provide support to eDF nuclear power plants located on the coastline, with regard to their cooling systems.

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5 > Météo-France expertise in support oF international cooperation

Météo-France contributes to global sustainable development through its cooperation with a numberof weather services in developing countries, either as part of its international activity or via its Meteo France International (MFI) subsidiary. The organisation is also involved in developing the GFCS [Global Framework for Climate Services] of the WMO, providing support for adaptation to climate change in particular.

In 2011, as in previous years, Météo-France has been actively involved in the work of the regional councils of the WMo, of which France is an important member.

in the ra-iV (north america, central america and the caribbean), the organisation is continuing its

support for the cnM [national weather centre] in Haiti with its training of five technicians at the French national weather school (enM), sup-plemented by refresher courses at the Météo-France antilles-Guyana regional office. this same regional office hosted a forecasting unit for Haiti

Flooding on tikehau, an atoll in French polynesia.

Strong prospects and initiatives within the WMO coordination

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Haitian meteorologists standing in front of their office at port-au-prince airport (Haiti).

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until november, with the participation of British and canadian forecasters. We are looking for a long-term solution for 2012, working with the WMo, environnement canada, the national oceanic and atmospheric administration (noaa), the uK Met office and Meteo France international (MFi), the plan being to restructure the cnM in line with France’s aid policy to Haiti.

For the WMo severe Weather Forecast Demons-tration project, Météo-France has set up a dedicated extranet site in réunion island to be used by the weather services of the 15 countries of the ra-i (africa, countries bordering the indian ocean) cyclone committee.

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5 > Météo-France expertise in support oF international cooperation

Météo-France provided support for the acMaD [african centre for Meteorological applications for Development], based in niamey,

nigeria. Working with MFi, the organisation has upgraded the forecasters’ sYnerGie worksta-tions, with installation planned for the beginning of 2012. it has also made its expertise available to the ViGirisc project, funded by the French global environment fund [FF eM], managed by acMaD, with a budget of €4M, aiming to increase the capacity of african countries to prevent the hazards and socio-economic impact associated with climate variability.

in niamey, Météo-France experts have also been involved in renovating the climate laboratory of the eaMac [african school of meteorology and civil aviation].

the arpÈGe-cliMat seasonal forecasting system, coupled with the ocean, developed by Météo-France, was installed on the new computer of the Moroccan national weather service, due to be operational by the end of July.

Météo-France, as aid partner for sustainable development in Africa

an agreement was signed with the Ministry of Foreign and european affairs in august 2011 to upgrade the WMo global telecommunications system in the western indian ocean. the aim is to improve the dissemination of multi-hazard alerts. the countries involved are Madagascar, Mauritius and the seychelles. the operation will be carried out by MFi with support from the Météo-France regional office in réunion island.

With a view to defining and sharing scenarios for climate change adaptation in the region, a semi-nar was organised in réunion island between the 27th and 30 th september with the other weather services of Member states of the indian ocean commission (Madagascar, comores, Mauritius, seychelles) under the accliMate adaptation to climate change study in the indian ocean project, funded by the FFeM.

acclimate project seminar in réunion island in September 2011.

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In line with policies for promoting French expertise and development aid, links with French embassies have been improved and 45 meteorologists have now received training

in Météo-France techniques and methods at trai-ning courses in forecasting and satellite meteo- rology in toulouse and lannion. euMetsat have also funded 4 satellite meteorology training sessions for african nationals at the Météo-France satellite centre in lannion.

technical course at the enm [French national school of meteorology] in September 2011.

Training initiatives for foreign weather services

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lattendees came from the weather services of 26 countries: algeria, armenia, Benin, Belarus, Burundi, comoros, ivory coast, egypt, ethiopia, Gabon, lebanon, latvia, lithuania, Madagascar, Morocco, Mauritius, niger, rwanda, senegal, serbia, seychelles, swaziland, tanzania, togo, tunisia and Zambia.

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6 > Education and awarEnEss

For a number of years Météo-France has been committed to raising awareness and educating people in sustainable development, both internally and in sup-port of external partners. As in previous years, the organisation has been involved in a number of projects aimed at raising the awareness of youngsters. Principal new education initiatives carried out in 2011 by the ENM were aimed at the challenges of climate change. Working with all those involved at the national polytechnic institute of Toulouse [INPT], an application has also been submitted for the creation of a new curriculum entitled “sustainable development engineer”. Awareness was raised in Météo-France staff via a number of national courses on eco-driving and the implementation of awareness models during initial training courses at the ENM.

T he goal of training a great number of staff members in climate change issues without overloading the experts with work or involving a lot of travel has rapidly

convinced us of the need to adopt a distance-learning approach. However, the methods used

go beyond simply this alone: a major body of documentation has been made available to course members, mentoring organised and assessments carried out. Training, alternating self-learning phases with web conferences over 8 weeks for 12 course members, was based on simulations

careers fair organised in toulouse on 31st March 2011.

Staff training

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“climate change issues” distance learning methods.

via discussions with national experts. all agree that the effort put in, much more demanding for trainers and course members than traditional teaching methods, meant that the topics covered were taken on board to a much greater degree, contradicting the often dominant view that distance-learning is of a lesser quality. The experiment will be repeated, and a number of sessions will be organised in 2012.

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6 > Education and awarEnEss

school) and the agronomy school (inP-EnsaT) in Toulouse. This training combines general academic teaching, hands-on teaching, meetings with professional bodies, conference cycles, operational group-projects, internships and a professio-nal thesis.

To increase the involvement of experts whilst keeping travel requirements low, the EnM acquired a video conferencing system in 2011, compatible with the organisation’s switchboard and suitable for use in an auditorium. speakers can now interact with the audience face to face, but can also record their contribution and disseminate it across most existing video conference networks in the business, teaching and research sectors. The system is also used to give access to EnM training to foreigners and to involve international experts in committees for reviewing theses and specialised courses.

The specialised training offering

In 2011, professional training being offered was updated with a new type of climate change training for the French agency for Environment and Energy Management [adEME].

in partnership with the six other schools of the inPT, the EnM devised a new curriculum for sustainable development engineering students, an application for which was made to the Education Ministry’s commission for Engineering degrees in the summer of 2011. if the outcome is positive the first intake will arrive in the autumn term of 2013. The originality of this type of training lies in com-bining the expertise of schools that show strong technical and scientific competencies. Beyond the areas of weather and climate, these academic bodies have large capabilities in subjects as varied as chemistry, agronomy and hydraulics, and this will provide the curriculum with a cross-disciplinary approach for mastering complex systems. all in all, we expect to deliver a unique kind of sustainable development curriculum.

Finally, at the end of 2011, nine students obtained their specialised Masters degree in “sustainable development and climate change management”, accredited by the cGE (conférence des Grandes écoles) and organised with the Esc (business

inpt poster: “sustainable development engineer ”.

video conference system used for teaching at the EnM.

I N S T I T U T N A T I O N A L P O L Y T E C H N I Q U E D E T O U L O U S E

I N S T I T U T N A T I O N A L P O L Y T E C H N I Q U E D E T O U L O U S E

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Awareness initiatives

Started in 2009 by Météo-France and the Pa-ris Academy, “Weather school” is a “school pro-ject” for 4th and 5th grade. The aim is to use meteo-rology, a subject familiar to pupils, to teach simple scientific concepts. Sabine Le Goas tells us

why is has been so successful.

What attracted you about the idea of a school project based on the weather? The “active investigation” aspect attrac-ted our attention straight away. official instructions from the national education system ask teachers to enable pupils to acquire knowledge through experiments that they carry out for themselves. From what we can see, weather is an ideal topic for this kind of approach. also, this project not only refers to scientific concepts – it also touches on areas covered by 4th and 5th grade geography, technology and language teaching programmes.

What did classes make of the project? school project proposals are put to the teachers at the start of the school year. For the first round of the “weather school” project, 18 classes at the Paris academy signed up. in year two, this rose to 36, from the Paris academy, the Val-de-Marne, the Tarn and Maine-et-Loire regions. once the projects were

launched, class feedback was very positive. Teachers who became involved in the project were convinced that the weather was a good way of developing pupils’ knowledge and expertise. The pupils themselves were highly commit-ted and enthusiastic.

How do you explain this success?i believe that an important factor was the support given to teachers, especially through the teaching events organised by Météo-France and overall coordi-nation by secondary school teachers. Teachers also like the experiments booklet, which they see as attractive and well produced. also, the event organised at the end of the year enables all the classes involved to meet and exchange stories. They like this because it marks the end point of their work, and it is both fun and educational at the same time.

SABINE LE GOAS,NATIONAL EDUCATION INSPECTOR FOR 1ST DEGREE SCIENCES, AT THE PARIS ACADEMY

QuEStIONS FOR

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In 2011, Météo-France was involved in a number of projects aimed at raising the awareness of young people in terms of the observation and physics of the atmosphere.

initiatives were conducted throughout France in the form of conferences and exhibitions (Mont-aigoual resort, air and space Museum in Toulouse, nausicaa in Boulogne-sur-Mer, etc.), and collabo-rations with the Ministry of Education and various educational and cultural non-profit organisations : the ”weather at school” project run in partnership with the “science at school” association, “weather school” and “regional youth weather events”, which every year in the Midi-Pyrénées region gather over 200 young people who have devised a project relating to the weather or climate.

in addition to sustainable development awareness modules organised under EnM teaching initiatives, a special eco-driving awareness initiative was run for Météo-France staff whose work requires them to travel a great deal by road (mainly territorial observation network maintenance). These initia-tives, organised locally but coordinated at national level, trained 85 staff on half-day practical courses. comparative measurements made at the start and end of the sessions show an average reduction in fuel consumption and co2 production of the order of 14%.

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7 > An exemplary ApproAch to environmentAl responsibility

The work of Météo-France is essentially scientific and technical. No industrial processes are involved, considerably limiting its impact on the environment. In spite of this, the organisation has a strong desire to invest in sustainable development. Major areas for action are:• controlling travel;• the impact of the built environment, particularly the reduction of energy expenditure;• the socio-environmental side of purchasing.2011 also saw the start of our carbon footprint assessment and the setting up of reviews every three years.

Given the organisation’s structure and type of activity, travel is a major component of its carbon footprint.

this year we reduced our vehicle fleet by around 10% and 64 old or polluting vehicles were decom-missioned.

At the same time, we reduced journeys by air, by more than 20% in 2010, mainly with the use of video conference systems and Webex tools that deliver environmental efficiency and make life easier for users at the same time.

technical room of météo-France’s HQ in saint-mandé (Val-de-marne) for heating/cooling using geothermics.

Changing our approach to travel

An exemplAry ApproAch to environmentALresponsibility

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meteo FrAnce - 2011 sUstainable deVelopment report

photovoltaic panels on the roof of the météo-France HQ in saint-mandé.

Video conference between météo-France services in paris and toulouse.

the météo-France multi-year real-estate strategy has been validated by France Domaine [nFt: agency that coordinates all government-owned real-estate] and

our supervisory bodies. this strategy will allow us to address the environmental impact issue from various standpoints: occupation ratios, energy expenditure, etc.

We have contracted a study to assess the cost and efficiency of work that would enable us to

Developing a strategy for rationalising and planning our properties

improve energy expenditure across our assets in toulouse. We have also issued a call for tenders for an energy audit combined with an audit of our building infrastructure at eight regional weather centres (5 in mainland France and 3 in overseas territories).

extending the regional weather centre at lyon-bron has enabled us to bring together some staff initially dispersed over several sites under one environmentally-friendly facility.

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7 > An exemplary ApproAch to environmentAl responsibility

the sustainable purchasing platform conti-nues to evolve, providing our departments with information designed to facilitate procurement procedures for eco-friendly

contracts, reducing the risk of litigation at the same time.

the various players have now taken the concept of ecologically responsible purchasing completely

Developing the socio-environmental side to purchasing and managing consumption

At the same time, the moving of météo-France’s hQ to saint-mandé (val-de-marne) has now been completed. energy management, hygrothermal comfort, the use of geothermics for heating and cooling and reinforced insulation without false ceilings are all great ways of making savings and reducing pollution generated by the building, which is not only compliant with heQ (high environmen-tal Quality) standards , but with bbc (low energy consumption building) standards, too. it is the first ever Government building to be given both of these certifications.

teisserenc de bort building at the toulouse site.

on board. the allotment of contracts and the introduction of socio-environmental clauses (with adapted weighting) make it possible to ensure effective implementation in this area. in this way, whilst still compliant to public procurement regula-tions, purchasing procedures favour companies employing persons in a situation of insecurity or difficulty.

Finally, there is the current teisserenc de bort buil-ding project, complying with the same hQe criteria, at the toulouse site, which will house a number of observation system departments from mid 2012.

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meteo FrAnce - 2011 sUstainable deVelopment report

assQa: certified air quality monitoring associationaCClimate: study on adaptation to climate change for the indian oceanaCmad: African centre for meteorological Application for DevelopmentadaptrVF: impact of climate change on the emer-gence of vectors of rift valley fever in senegalademe: Agency for environment and energy managementaemet: Agencia estatal de meteorología, spanish state weather serviceaGadapt: Adaptation of water usage in agriculture aladin: limited area model, dynamic adaptation, in-ternational development; AlADin is also a consortium for scientific collaboration in the field of atmospheric modellingarisp: Arome-isbA-piste system for forecasting aircraft runway temperaturesarome: Applications for meso-scale operational research (météo-France high-resolution non-hydrostatic numerical prediction model)arpÈGe: small- and large-scale research initiative (météo-France global-scale numerical model)bbC: low energy consumption building CdG: roissy-charles-de-Gaulle AirportCenma: Andorra centre for snow and mountain studiesCerFaCs: european centre for research and advanced training in scientific calculationCGe: conférence des Grandes Écoles CleansKy: european project for making the aircraft industry less damaging to the environmentClimseC: impact of climate change on drought CmsC: Global framework for climate services Cnes: French national space agencyCnm: national meteorology centre, haitiCordex: coordinated regional climate Downscaling experiment Cost: european cooperation in the field of technical and scientific researchCstb: scientific and technical centre for builings and construction Cti: national commission for engineering degrees datar: inter-ministerial delegation for planning

and regional attractiveness dGeC: Department of climate and energydGs: central bureau of of health (health ministry)dreal: regional office of the environment, planning and housingdrias: project for access to regionalised French climate scenarios for the impact and adaptation of societies and environmentseamaC: African school of meteorology and civil aviationeCmWF: european centre for medium-range weather forecastseCopHyto: plan for reducing and making safe the use of crop treatment productsenm: national meteorological school, toulouseensat: toulouse national school of agronomyepiCea: multi-disciplinary study of the impact of climate change on the paris conurbationesC: Graduate business schooleUmetsat: european organisation for the exploitation of weather satellitesFFem: French global environment fundGiCC: climate change impact managementGmes: Global monitoring for environment andsecurityHQe: high environmental qualityiaea: international Atomic energy AgencyiFVV: French vine and wine instituteinpt: national polytechnic institute of toulouse inra: national institute of agronomic researchinVs: national institute of health monitoringipsl: pierre-simon laplace instituteirsn: institute for de radiation protection and nuclear safetyisba: earth-biosphere-atmosphere interface modelmaCC: monitoring Atmospheric composition and climatemaee: ministry of foreign and european affairs meddtl: ministry of ecology, sustainable development, transport and housing (our mainsupervisoiry body)mFi: meteo France international mistrals: Work on the future habitability of the mediterranean basin

Glossary of initials, acronyms and abbreviations

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GlossAry oF initiAls, Acronyms AnD AbbreviAtions

moCaGe: large-scale atmospheric chemistry modelmoCaGe-aCCident : mocAGe version applied to the atmospheric dispersion of point source discharges on regional to continental scalesmodCoU: coupled surface-underground hydrological modelmotHy: ocean model for the transport of hydrocarbonsnoaa : national oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationoptima: road-weather information production tools palUClim: impact of climate factors on the production of malaria vectors in the sahel rural zone and adaptation strategiespCet: territorial climate-energy plans perle: programme for the evaluation of local effluent dischargespnaCC: national plan for adaptation to climate change preV’air: Air quality forecasting systemra: regional associations of the World meteorologicalrnsa: national aerobiological inspection network

saFran: system for the analysis of atmospheric forcingsCampei: study of adaptation to climate change in european mountain zonessesar: single european sky Air trafficmanagement researchsim: sAFrAn-isbA-moDcoU hydrological modelling operational systemsimet: project for the analysis of the environmental gain linked to the improved consideration of weather factors in the calculation of aviation routessirta: Atmospheric remote sensing instrumental research sitesrCae: regional climate, air and energy schemessynerGie: French forecasters’ workstationtno: Dutch organisation for applied scientific researchUV: UltravioletViGirisC: climate change vigilance system in Africa Wmo: World meteorological organisation

Météo-France

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Phone: +33 1 77 94 77 94 Fax : +33 1 77 94 70 05

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© Météo-France 2012

Copyright April 2012

ISSN: 2114-4532

Design Philippe Dos, Météo-France

sustainable development report 2011

Meteo France