The UK Space Agency’s role as CEOS Chair will be to oversee the activities of CEOS and ensure it is achieving the objectives of its work plan….reports Asian Lite News
As CEOS celebrates its 40th anniversary at the annual CEOS Plenary in Montreal, the CEOS Community of space and meteorological agencies and other groups has also renewed its collective commitment to CEOS’ mission and efforts in responding to global challenges for the good of humanity, with the agreement of the Montreal Statement.
Satellite Earth observation data can deliver significant public benefits in areas ranging from climate and biodiversity monitoring, disaster management, clean energy and urban planning.
The UK is involved in a range of Earth observation missions that contribute to global capabilities. These include leadership of the European Space Agency’s TRUTHS mission, which will improve confidence in climate forecasts; Biomass, which will monitor the world’s forests; Microcarb, a ground-breaking French-UK satellite mission for carbon monitoring; and the various Sentinel missions of the European Copernicus programme with its associated user-facing Services. As well as these missions, the UK are experts in the use of the data for applications ranging from cutting edge science, operational services, new commercial and public sector services.
The UK Space Agency’s role as CEOS Chair will be to oversee the activities of CEOS and ensure it is achieving the objectives of its work plan. The UK Space Agency has proposed four priorities to champion data-driven solutions for major global challenges over the 12-month period as Chair, within the theme of ‘Unlocking Earth Observation for Society’:
Increasing use of space data in the Global Stocktakes of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Dr Paul Bate, CEO of the UK Space Agency, said, “For 40 years, CEOS has been uniting the global community to champion the transformative potential of satellites and Earth Observation. I’m proud to be chairing this globally-valued committee and will use the next year to demonstrate how, by working together across borders, we can harness space technology for the benefit of our societies, our shared environment, and our economies.”
The UK will create opportunities for CEOS’ agencies to share their national perspectives and explore how to bridge the gap between data and public sector services, including hosting a workshop in September 2025 ahead of the UK’s CEOS Plenary 2025, in Bath, Somerset in November. This supports work to get Earth observation tools and information embedded it on UK public sector policies at the national and local scale.
Éric Laliberté, CEOS Chair 2024 on behalf of the Canadian Space Agency said, “We congratulate the UK Space Agency on assuming the chairmanship role and are committed to ensuring that data-driven decisions pave the way for increasingly sustainable practices. Together, we are advancing the role of satellite Earth observation in creating sustainable solutions for the future of our societies and natural environments.”
The Global Stocktake of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is a process for evaluating progress on climate action at a global level and identifying gaps. Over the next 12 months, the UK will work closely with Japanese Space Agency, JAXA, and the CEOS working group on Climate to study lessons learned from the previous Global Stocktake. The aim is to refine CEOS strategies to enhance the use of Earth observation data in the next Global stock-take for global climate action.
Professor John Remedios, NCEO Director, said, “The National Centre for Earth Observation is very pleased to see the UK taking on leadership on the world stage. The UK is able to contribute world-leading capability and methods in Earth Observation to the global community.”
Through this role in CEOS, the UK will be able to support the important collaborative efforts that agencies need to achieve to meet the challenges of climate and of resilience with commitment, rigour and Earth intelligence. We are delighted to be supporting the UK Space Agency in its delegation with scientific advice and connectivity to the leading research in environmental science.
