The decadal time scale (∼1–10 years) bridges the gap between seasonal predictions and longer-term climate projections. It is a key planning time scale for users in many sectors as they seek to adapt to our rapidly changing climate. While significant advances in using initialized climate models to make skillful decadal predictions have been made in the last decades, including coordinated international experiments and multimodel forecast exchanges, few user-focused decadal climate services have been developed. Here we highlight the potential of decadal climate services using four case studies from a project led by four institutions that produce real-time decadal climate predictions. Working in co-development with users in agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and insurance sectors, four prototype climate service products were developed. This study describes the challenge of trying to match user needs with the current scientific capability. For example, the use of large ensembles (achieved via a multisystem approach) and skillfully predicted large-scale environmental conditions, are found to improve regional predictions, particularly in midlatitudes. For each climate service, a two-page “product sheet” template was developed that provides users with both a concise probabilistic forecast and information on retrospective performance. We describe the development cycle, where valuable feedback was obtained from a “showcase event” where a wider group of sector users were engaged. We conclude that for society to take full and rapid advantage of useful decadal climate services, easier and more timely access to decadal climate prediction data are required, along with building wider community expertise in their use.

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<p>The MED-GOLD H2020 project held its final showcase event online on 29-30 March 2022, with more than 200 participants, to disseminate and share end-user success stories from early adopters of the pilot climate services developed under the MED-GOLD project for Grape/wine, OLives/olive oil and Durum wheat/pasta sectors. See https://www.med-gold.eu/event/med-gold-final-showcase-event/  </p> <p>A major focus of the event was to provide a hands-on approach to understanding and using the uncertainty associated with climate services. The attendees had the opportunity to learn about the climate services developed throughout this 4-year EU-funded project and how they can help the agriculture sector face the challenges posed by climate change.</p> <p>The two-day event provided an insight into the lessons learned during the project. MED-GOLD users from the agriculture sector, representing the grapes, olives and durum wheat crops – the Portuguese wine company SOGRAPE, the Spanish cooperative Dcoop, and the Italian food company Barilla – presented their success stories as early adopters of the MED-GOLD climate services. The users also stressed the importance of a co-production approach in creating useful and usable tools for the agriculture sector. The event was also the opportunity to discuss the climate and policies nexus for enlightening cross-beneficial needs, success stories and best practices in supporting adaptation and green transition action. Involved panelists, with a wide range of personal and professional experiences, discussed the gap between knowledge and action, bringing their evidence to identify success stories and the missing gaps.</p> <p>Attendees also had the chance to engage in discussions with the presenters and other project participants, as well as to visit the virtual stands and view the posters, videos, and other materials produced by the MED-GOLD team.</p>