A review of Space4Climate’s busy 2024 with our members and the national and international Earth Observation community includes our picks of the year
End of our anniversary year
Looking back on 2024 also means reflecting on the progress of Space4Climate as we celebrated our 10th anniversary.
It has been a busy 12 months of growth for the UK’s climate data from space sector. Reviewing our social media channels and newsletters reveals countless posts congratulating our members on headline achievements: new projects, fresh initiatives, innovative products, contracts signed and investment secured. Many of our members in policy, academia and industry have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that the infrastructure, support networks and governance needed for this exciting growth are firmly in place in the UK and beyond.
Collaboration also took centre stage, with the UK officially rejoining the Horizon Europe climate research funding programme on January 1st.
This growth is reflected in our increasing membership. Having welcomed eight in February, six in spring and three in September, at our final S4C Board Meeting of 2024, two more new members – PCI Geomatics and Réseau Consulting – were welcomed, bringing our total membership to 82. We look forward to introducing them to the wider group in 2025.
In between our busy diary of 2024 commitments and activities, we provided briefings on EO in the UK as well as current and emerging capabilities and technologies. The audiences for these included members of the new Government and their policy teams, and representatives taking part in national and international discussions, including the UK negotiation team at COP29.
A year of events and engagement
Our first task of 2024 was following up with the many contacts we made at COP28 in Dubai in December 2023. The benefits of our busy stand and events there are still unfolding a year later!
Growth in the UK Earth Observation (EO) community has also led to a surge in conferences, exhibitions, and opportunities to exchange knowledge, experiences, and news of exciting developments.
- March: We were honoured to exhibit at the invitation-only international Geospatial Summit in London, where we also participated in roundtable discussions.
- April: At the larger-scale Innovation Zero industry and policy event at Olympia, we connected with businesses new to Earth Observation and showcased members’ services and the potential of climate data from space for decision-making and product development.
- May: A key highlight was our Members’ 10th Anniversary Conference at ECSAT in Harwell, where we celebrated with a 10th birthday cake. While looking to the future, we reflected on achievements since our formation in 2014 and progress made and influence by our members across the EO sector.
A packed audience for the S4C panel at GEO Business - June and July: Space4Climate hit the road, participating in Ignite Space in Leeds, GEO Business, the new EO Summit in London, the Harwell Open Day in Oxfordshire, and the Farnborough International Air Show in Surrey.
- September and October: These months were packed with major events, including the UK EO Conference in York, organised by the National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO), and the UK launch of World Space Week in Belfast. The latter was co-hosted with NI Space, NCEO, and the Northern Ireland Regional Cluster. We also made our debut with NCEO and the National Centre for Atmospheric Science at New Scientist Live, where the S4C App on the PufferTouch captivated audiences of all ages.
- December: Our events calendar closed with the Space East Regional Cluster, where we delivered one of our popular introductory sessions on EO for other sectors, including public services.
Don’t forget to keep track of events in our weekly Members’ Newsletter and check the EO & climate events 2025 calendar on our website!
Climate Satellites: 2024 Highlights
Keeping abreast of the emerging climate technological and data developments is a huge job and what a 12 months it has been for satellite launches that deliver new data streams and with them, new opportunities for climate applications.
In February we joined the UK community in wishing ‘Bon Voyage’ to MicroCarb as the UK-conceived satellite left Harwell, Oxfordshire, for Toulouse after passing its testing process at STFC RAL Space with flying colours! MicroCarb is an exciting climate mission that will measure and monitor carbon emissions, including at city level. It is led by the French Space Agency CNES, and we are already planning to promote and mark its launch, scheduled for June/July 2025.
As well as new data streams, the continuous and consistent supply chain of established data is crucial for climate decision-making and for the support of existing and new climate services. The European EO programme, Copernicus Climate Change Satellite Service, launched Sentinel-2, in September, and Sentinel-1C at the start of December, which has already started sending back stunning images.
But for us, the title of most anticipated satellite launch of 2024 goes to EarthCARE!
With four new instruments it is the most complex EO satellite ever delivered by ESA. It is a real showcase for UK capabilities with a staggering 23 UK-based organisations across academia, industry and policy from its inception 30 years ago. Space4Climate and National Centre for Earth Observation worked closely to tell this great story of UK expertise in the context of an international collaborative success. After our UK Media Briefing, hosted by ESA at Harwell with tremendous support from our members who agreed to be interviewed, EarthCARE’s launch on May 28th made national and regional headlines. The success story continued for the rest of the year as each of its four instruments were successfully deployed and sent back data that has already exceeded expectations.
Breaking Barriers
Space4Climate also celebrated the culmination of three collaborations funded under our Market Breakthrough initiative.
Recognising that uptake of space-enabled climate services has been slow in some sectors, we supported expert groups in developing navigation aids for:
- Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions tracking
- Agriculture
- Climate-related disclosure compliance
Each group focused on overcoming common barriers to using Earth Observation for climate data, creating open-access resources that we look forward to sharing with the EO community in 2025.
UK leadership on the global stage
There have been key international landmarks in 2024, as the UK’s influence spreads across the global Earth Observation community.
It was a wonderful surprise when in July Space4Climate’s Climate Services Development Manager, Krupa Nanda Kumar, was named a Rising Star in Via Satellite’s global Top 25 of influential people to watch in the industry! Then in October Krupa was chosen to join the UK’s Global Expert Mission on Climate Tech to California, championing satellite Earth Observation and building relationships with US partners. Jonathan Hendy, from our members 4Ei, was also part of the busy trip.
At the end of October the UK took over as Chair of the international Committee of Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) issuing a statement at this year’s COP29 in Azerbaijan where the UK Space Agency also played a part in Earth Information Day with climate world leaders. Space4Climate was delighted to be able to contribute to pre event briefings, including on the CEOS Statement to the 61st Session of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) delivered at COP in November by our Chair, Beth Greenaway, Head of EO and Climate at the UK Space Agency.
As we look forward to supporting the UK during its year as CEOS Chair and its priorities in this important role, we are already planning for another busy year in the UK’s thriving EO community and internationally.