Scaling knowledge interoperability for accelerated climate action through the Climate Connectivity Hub and Taxonomy

Accelerating learning and implementation is necessary to address the urgency of the climate crisis. This requires finding, using, and building on previous knowledge rather than replicating what already exists. The Climate Connectivity Hub and underlying Taxonomy seek to enable this by visualizing and connecting dispersed online climate information. Together, these tools increase the interoperability and discoverability of existing research and promote a shared understanding of different types and domains of knowledge and their applicability in policy, research and practice. To reduce climate knowledge silos and to scale up and accelerate climate action that builds on past experience, this paper has three key objectives: (1) to show that useful taxonomies can emerge from existing project results supporting interoperability, discoverability and the identification of knowledge gaps; (2) to visualize the domain expertise of different organizations and increase connectivity between projects; and, (3) to show that a shared interpretation of language and terminology can add value to research, policy and practice. This study illustrates how taxonomies can advance findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable (FAIR) knowledge in a robust yet dynamic way for: better platform knowledge management and interoperability; more intuitive user interfaces in tool development e.g. through interactive glossaries; and, enhanced climate action by decision makers, planners, researchers, and policy makers. Next steps will include (1) expert verification and validation of the evolving taxonomy, including assessing its accuracy, relevance and the nuances of interpretation in both technical terminology and diverse languages; (2) introducing more hierarchy and potential relationships to aid the taxonomy’s transition towards a more expressive ontology or knowledge graph; and, (3) identifying gaps in domain knowledge through orphaned projects and expert consultation.