Space is playing an increasingly important role in helping us monitor and tackle climate change. RHEA spoke to Simonetta Cheli, Director of Earth Observation Programmes at the European Space Agency (ESA) and Head of the ESA Centre for Earth Observation (ESRIN), to find out how space is helping, which current ESA missions and initiatives are important, and the Agency’s plans for further related missions and programmes.
This is an extract from the latest issue of OpenSpace magazine.
Climate change due to human activities is undeniable. In the decade up to 2020, the Earth’s global surface temperature reached 1.1°C above the level in 1850-1900, primarily through the emission of greenhouse gases due to human activity[i]. In May, the World Meteorological Organization estimated that the global average temperature could exceed 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by as soon as 2027[ii] – a level seen as significant in terms of being able to avoid or reduce adverse impacts and related losses and damages. There have already been widespread changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere, including increasing numbers of extreme weather events, melting ice, snow and permafrost, and rising sea levels.
We can be confident about the extent of many of these changes because of measurements made from space. Data on some of these areas has been collected for decades; other measurements are relatively new, thanks to novel instruments launched relatively recently to add to the breadth of our knowledge.
Among the organizations playing a key part in gathering such data, turning it into meaningful information and making it available is ESA. The primary section of ESA involved in climate change-related activities is the Directorate of Earth Observation Programmes, the biggest directorate in terms of 2023 budget share, with around a quarter of the overall budget of €7 billion. This is as a result of funding decisions taken by the 22 ESA Member States at the Ministerial meeting in November 2023, in response to the increasing relevance of the environmental domain at a political level and changing priorities associated with climate change.
At the ESA Ministerial meeting, Member States agreed to allocate €2.7 billion to ESA’s Earth observation (EO) programme. This funding will enable the continuance of existing missions to ensure continuity of collection of data, which is essential to monitor changes to the climate, and ambitious new missions. The funding agreed for FutureEO, ESA’s Earth science, research and development programme, was not as high as had been proposed, but at €1.2 billion it still exceeds any previous annual funding levels.
ESA and climate change
Simonetta Cheli, Director of Earth Observation Programmes, summarizes ESA’s position on climate change: “Today we have 16 missions in operation and more than 40 in the making that can support activities around the climate crisis. Then we have programmes such as our new Climate-Space, which is devoted to integrating satellite data into models that support the Climate Variables, which are indicators associated with monitoring the world from the climate point of view. Our work through Climate-Space supports more than half of the 56 Climate Variables, and this number will increase with our increased funding.”
“In addition, we attend all COP [United Nations Conference of the Parties] meetings as observers, supporting the Convention and making it clear to decision-makers how satellite data and space in general are relevant, and the proactive work we do in the context of the UNFCCC.
“Then there are the priorities set out in ESA’s Agenda 2025, our current programmatic policy framework, of which sustainability and tackling climate change are key elements.”
ESA’s activities around climate change are supported by huge archives of climate-related data. “When you work on climate issues, you need long-term datasets. In Europe, we have the biggest wealth of valuable data available to support environmental challenges and the climate crisis worldwide, both in the archives spanning over 30 years and from current Copernicus and science missions. And we have arrangements with third parties to access relevant data from their missions.
“This is one element showing how space in general, but in particular EO missions, can support the European Union’s (EU’s) Green Deal priorities. In support of EU regulations related to the reduction of CO2 emissions, for many years we have been using satellite data to study many parameters linked to climate, including the quality of the atmosphere, deforestation and melting ice.”
ESA’s climate missions
ESA develops and operates satellite missions that provide a broad range of data on the Earth.
“The Copernicus missions contribute to climate monitoring in support of the climate change crisis in different ways, and in support of related EU policies, such as its Arctic and forestry policies,” says Simonetta Cheli. “For example, LSTM will help not just by monitoring the evolution of agriculture coverage but land cover more generally, complementing data from Sentinel-2, which looks at forestation.
“In another example, Sentinel-5P looks at methane and NO2. It is very important to be able to identify, for example, methane leaks from pipelines or discharges from dumping trash.”
“Operationally, we are working with industry and institutions to develop and use satellites not only in support of EU policies but what is happening overall in the world in terms of changes in the environment.”
Existing and new initiatives
The increase in the Earth Observation Programmes Directorate budget following the 2022 Ministerial will enable ESA to continue with its existing plans and start on new initiatives.
Work on the next generation of Sentinel satellites is already underway to continue the impressive output of the first generation. Aeolus-2 will follow on from the hugely successful Aeolus science mission, which ended recently, having delivered valuable data about Earth’s winds for 4 years.
Among the new missions are the tenth Earth Explorer, called Harmony, and the Next-Generation Gravity Mission, which will form part of MAGIC (Mass Change and Geophysics International Constellation), a cooperative venture with NASA. The Harmony mission will deliver a wide range of high resolution observations of motion that occurs at or near the Earth’s surface. Among the areas it will help us study are interactions between the oceans and the atmosphere, changes in ice sheets and glaciers, and shifts in land surface related to earthquakes and volcanic activity. Meanwhile, MAGIC is designed to deliver measurements of gravity that will enable studies of where Earth’s water – in liquid and solid form – is stored and how it moves.
In addition to cooperating with NASA, ESA also works with the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) on meteorological missions, such as MTG-I1, launched in December 2022.
Changing the future
All of these missions and initiatives are providing huge amounts of data, but this in itself will not slow down the impact of climate change. It is yet to be seen how many decision-makers will make use of digital twins and climate dashboards. So can space really make a difference?
“Satellite data and space-related tools are extremely valuable for decision-makers, not only in terms of monitoring the implementation of the regulations that they set in place, but also in terms of taking informed decisions about what needs to be done. They have a strategic role in the planning of regulations and their implementation, and in analyzing the geopolitical evolution of regions where the availability of natural resources may change.
“Space data and tools are also useful for citizens, because if you are a citizen, there are lots of regulations associated with the Green Deal and the ambitions for the decarbonization of Europe that are impacting citizens, such as recycling, electric vehicles and so on. If citizens can access the data, we can show them that the efforts they are making are useful.”
The actions of citizens and decision-makers are both important for tackling climate change. What is clear is that we need a clear picture from space of as many aspects as possible related to climate change in order to fully understand and address the challenges that lie ahead for all of us. And for that, the work of ESA’s Directorate of Earth Observation Programmes is essential.
Find out more
- Read about the Sentinel-5P mission that is mapping Earth’s atmosphere (case study).
- Discover more about how the Copernicus programme can help us tackle climate change, featuring an interview with Susanne Mecklenburg, Head of the ESA Climate Office.
Main image: © ESA
[i] IPCC; AR6 Synthesis Report – Climate Change 2023
[ii] https://wmo.int/news/media-centre/global-temperatures-set-reach-new-records-next-five-years
