Tuesday, 13th April, 2021.
Following the conferences on Space (Jan 28/29), Climate Change (Feb 25/26) and a discussion (15 March) on nature-based solutions and COP26, this session was convened to explore uses for high-resolution (HR) satellite data to monitor the progress of nature-based-solutions specifically in the framework of COP26.
Chaired by The Rt Hon. the Lord Willetts this session brought together representation from Satellite and Space companies, the Satellite Catapult, the Government’s Geospatial Commission and Earth Observation Centre, climate negotiators and specialists in ocean and nature-based solutions.
Satellite technology has accelerated rapidly offering many new applications. Imagery can now be deployed in support of the nature-based-solutions that will be proposed by countries at COP26 as their means to reduce CO2 and contribute to the efforts to prevent global temperature rise.
To be included in Nationally Determined Commitments, nature-based solutions must be monitored so that carbon reduction and other claimed benefits can be verified.
High-resolution earth observation data could make a major difference in monitoring marine and other ecosystems. Further action was proposed to define what was needed for particular uses cases: seagrass, mangroves, illegal fishing or shoreline change.
The opportunity for the UK, with its strengths and assets in Space and Earth Observation, its ambitions in science and technology and as the co-host of COP26, is to provide the necessary leadership to make satellite imagery available to countries who can use it to support their climate action.