Funding meteorological services

Abstract

Different options for funding the provision of meteorological services and for charging for the information provided are described and evaluated. The basic infrastructure and general forecasts and warnings have public good properties of non rival consumption and high costs of exclusion. For these, direct government funding and free provision to all are favoured. Value added meteorological services for use by small groups of specialised users have mixed good properties, and in some cases private good properties. In this case, setting fees at marginal incremental costs for value added services is favoured for reasons of efficiency and practicality. The other options considered include government funding with zero price, and loading user fees for a contribution to funding the public good supply costs.