Meeting the world at COP28

4 events; 3 hard-working COP28 volunteers; 2 satellite contract signings; 1 launch of our new Space4Climate App on the PufferTouch and more than 850 conversations with senior figures in climate action from around the world – we certainly packed in plenty of achievements during COP28!

Published December 18^th, 2023

By Sally Stevens, Space4Climate Communications & Engagement Manager

It was only the second time that Space4Climate has had a stand at the world climate summit. In 2021 at COP26 in Glasgow we focused on space as a source of climate data now and in the future. In UAE at COP28 we put the spotlight on upcoming climate satellite missions led by or involving UK expertise and the role of space-sourced data to underpin climate decisions, policy and actions. MicroCarb, BIOMASS and TRUTHS took centre stage in the design of our stand, which was in the first ever COP Space Pavilion, hosted by the UAE Space Agency.

Being in the Green Zone meant that although the majority of our visitors were from the next door Blue Zone – the area dedicated to world leaders and national delegations – we also welcomed senior business and industry executives from around the world, international academics, pupils, students and the general public. Our youngest stand visitor was four and loved the S4C App on the PufferTouch and we will never forget the swarm of 24 six-year-olds whose enthusiasm was overwhelming! School lessons had focussed on climate change and COP28 so students and their teachers were keen to explore our climate data visualisations on the S4C App. We look forward to seeing some of them presenting at future COPs!

Representing our members

Being at COP28 in person gave us the opportunity to represent the UK’s thriving climate data from space community to public and private senior figures from around the world; they came to our stand with specific requests for information and connections, which we will be passing on to our members. They were grateful for the chance to speak to UK representatives and experts on the spot and followed up by joining audiences for our events. A larger percentage were accredited delegates from the Blue Zone than in Glasgow and many came from the Middle East and Africa – connections we would be unlikely to form in any other way. They included representatives from energy companies eager to find out about whether satellites can monitor pipeline leaks and what information can support the transition to renewables. Other enquiries came from financial institutions, covered capacity building, education, potential collaborations and trustworthy sources for freely available data or commercial sources, among many others.

One of the earliest events was the launch of the UAE Space Agency‘s Space for Sustainability Space Pavilion stage, led by HE Salem Al Qubaisi, Director General of the UAE Space Agency. He told the audience that the first COP Space Pavilion would highlight the potential of space and emerging space technology and over the next days Space4Climate and our colleagues from the UK Space Agency, GHGSat, Agtelligence, Ordnance Survey, 4Ei, NPL, Retina Space and National Centre of Earth Observation did just that. We also welcomed DESNZ Chief Scientific Adviser Paul Monks, UK Space Agency CEO Paul Bate & Director of Missions & Capabilities Harshbir Sangha MBE FRSA and UK European Space Agency – ESA Reserve Astronaut Meganne Christian, the Lord Mayor of London, Michael Mainelli, who is an international ambassador for the UK’s financial and professional services sector, plus many others.

New S4C App launched

COP28 marked the official launch of our new Space4Climate App (S4C App) on the eye-catching interactive display globe, PufferTouch. After months of compiling and presenting visualisations of 30 global climate datasets and 36 compelling case studies of members’ products, services and data applications around the world, it was rewarding to see how the new S4C App captured attention – regardless of the technical experience of users. Categories by climate datasets, case studies by theme, by location, future scenarios, background on Earth Observation, UK expertise, and even images of climate satellites gave information clearly with QR codes signposting to more scientific details, sources and to the relevant organisations. You can watch the video case studies from the S4C App on the Space4Climate YouTube channel.

Thanks to the UK Space Agency and NCEO, we were able to take three volunteers to COP28, chosen from a very talented list of applicants. Momin Ashraf is a Geospatial Consultant at Satellite Applications Catapult, Isabelle Crozier-Morris is an Innovation and Research Scientist working for Ordnance Survey and Charlotte Morrison, a Systems & Optical Engineer at Thales Alenia Space UK. Despite having only a few hours together in advance, all three quickly fitted into the UK COP28 team, representing the UK space sector on the stand, answering so many questions, impressing visitors with their professionalism, knowledge and enthusiasm – not to mention their stamina! They were a credit to their organisations and will be a huge asset to the whole community in engaging on national and international stages in the future.

Read more about them here.

Hear about our volunteers’s experience at COP and how this conference shapes how they could promote the use of satellite data to assess and use comprehensive climate information.

Being able to promote our members’ climate research and innovative climate products, clearly and visually answering the ‘so what?’ question, both internationally and nationally, is a key part of our role. Space4Climate and our members put a huge amount of work into preparing for COP28 and we are confident that it will have a legacy of new connections and exciting relationships and collaborations in the future. Capturing the detailed impacts are a challenge but we will be sharing further information with our members.

We are indebted to the UK Space Agency for making it possible for Space4Climate to host a stand and to present events. Our grateful thanks also go to our members who joined us on the stand and supported our activities from the UK, both in advance and during COP.

Finally, hear from Space4Climate Climate Services Development Manager Krupa Nanda Kumar share her exciting thoughts about how conversations during COP can be continued forward through various expertise in Earth Observation and Climate Action.