A week of climate challenges – and how we move forward with space data

Posted: 29.06.2026

In a week in which The King chatted with Space4Climate’s Chair and Programme Lead about how satellite Earth Observation informs action on super pollutants, we were also involved in a host of climate events. Read Programme Lead Donna Lyndsay’s reflections on our busy and influential five days, June 22-29, and her clear signposts for ways forward.

By Donna Lyndsay, Interim Climate Services Development Manager, Space4Climate

June has been a stark reminder that climate extremes are no longer distant risks, they are here, now. From red heat warnings to localised storms and flooding, the signals are clear: we are entering a new normal and we are not yet fully prepared.

The gap, however, is not one of technology. We already have an extraordinary capability at our fingertips. Earth Observation (EO) and space-based data provide powerful insights into climate risks, environmental change and the actions needed to respond. The real challenge lies in how we adopt, trust and integrate these tools into decision-making at pace and scale.

After a week of climate-focused discussions across sectors, from EO and biodiversity at the University of Exeter, to agriculture with the EO Summit and to super pollutants with the King, it is evident that while awareness is high, action and uptake still lag behind. Importantly, the barriers are now well understood and described by customers.

My diary began on Monday began with a private, one-to-one briefing I was invited to give in Westminster, unexpectedly amid the media circus around the breaking news in Downing Street. From there I joined the EO Summit where I chaired a panel showcasing cutting edge developments, ‘EO for Agroforestry: From Farm to Compliance’, with the speakers including Rushanka Amrutkar, a Senior Advisor for Earth Observation and Remote Sensing in Agriculture at S4C members, the Environment Agency.

On Tuesday I was at Exeter University for the Machine Learning for Earth Observation Conference, to speak on the panel ‘The Role of ML4EO in Biodiversity Net Gain’.

On Wednesday, the venue was St James’s Palace, for the London Climate Action Week reception on ‘Super Pollutants’ where His Majesty The King was very interested to see the Space4Climate App featuring members’ case studies. He spoke animatedly to our Chair, Beth Greenaway, Head of EO Delivery at UK Space Agency, about his views on the important value of the ‘show and tell’ Earth intelligence that satellite data provides – as illustrated by the data visualisations the S4C App features.

Other distinguished guests at the event – designed to accelerate action on super-pollutants – included UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados.

With the record-breaking sweltering heat – even The King was suffering as we wilted at James’s Palace – we hardly needed to raise awareness of the need for our scheduled Thursday afternoon event: ‘Space Data For National Resilience’. It was planned to be in-person following on from our annual S4C Members’ Conference in the morning. But with heat and health alerts issued, we moved the morning session online and postponed the afternoon session, to be rescheduled in September, to the gratitude of our 150 registered participants. They key messages from the conference were:

• • Opportunities to access expert mentorship and support for commercial growth, including funding.
  • S4C members are at the forefront of innovation in transforming satellite EO data into commercial products for decisions, action and adaptation.

So what are the lessons we can all gain from such a frenetic week?

What’s holding back adoption – and how we fix it

1. Trust and transparency

Challenge:
Some industrial users feel that space-based services have been oversold. When outputs don’t match expectations, or appear as ‘black box’ insights, trust can quickly erode. This is especially critical when decisions depend on reliable, explainable data.

Solution:

• Be transparent about capabilities and limitations
• Prioritise explainable analytics over opaque outputs
• Build long-term trust through consistent, validated results
• Use high-quality, well-governed data inputs for AI and models

Rebuilding trust starts with honesty and clarity, ensuring users fully understand what they are using and how it supports their decisions.

2. Cost versus value

Challenge:
Although free datasets (such as the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem) exist, additional, commercial services can appear costly, especially when the value is not clearly articulated or directly linked to business outcomes. This challenge was articulated by government users as well as industry and venture capitalists (discussed in our members’ conference with Greensphere Capital). In a time of tight budgets and competing demands, demonstrating a clear return on investment is key.

Solution:

• Align services with measurable outcomes (efficiency, risk reduction, compliance)
• Offer tiered or modular services to match user needs
• Focus on solving specific, high-value problems

When the value is clear and tied to real-world outcomes, investment in EO services becomes far easier to justify.

3. Interoperability and accessibility

Challenge:
Users are often required to navigate multiple platforms, restrictive licensing and disconnected systems. This creates friction and slows adoption.

Solution:

• Deliver data and insights directly into users’ existing workflows
• Prioritise interoperability and open standards
• Simplify licensing to enable flexibility and reuse
• Move from platform-centric to user-centric delivery models

The goal is simple: users should not have to adapt to the data, data should adapt to the user.

4. Targeting the right users

Challenge:
In some cases, services are aimed at those who need them most (e.g. farmers) but may not be able to afford them. Meanwhile key decision-makers, such as banks, insurers, investors and governments, are better positioned to act and fund solutions.

Solution:

• Align services with those who have both the need and the ability to pay
• Support indirect users through value chain approaches
• Design solutions that meet financial, regulatory and reporting needs

By targeting the right stakeholders, we can accelerate adoption while still delivering benefits across the system.

Turning insight into action

Across all these challenges, one theme stands out: the need to better understand user needs and deliver meaningful value. The science, data, and capability already exist. The task now is to connect them effectively to decision-makers in ways that are cost effective, trusted, accessible and actionable.

Organisations such as Space4Climate, with our growing network of 101 members, are well placed to lead this shift. By combining scientific excellence with a sharper focus on user needs, they can help unlock the full potential of EO data for climate action.

At St James’s Palace on Wednesday, discussions on super pollutants, reinforced this urgency. As highlighted, rapid reductions in emissions, particularly methane, are one of the fastest ways to slow warming, giving us time to decarbonise. The King clearly understands that space-based monitoring can play a critical role here by enabling transparent, near-real-time emissions tracking. This is a clear, actionable opportunity where technology can deliver immediate impact.

A positive path forward

The good news is that we are not starting from scratch. We already have the tools, the data, and the expertise needed to tackle climate challenges more effectively.

By:

• • rebuilding trust through transparency
  • clearly demonstrating value
  • removing barriers to access and integration, and
  • aligning solutions with the right users,

we can accelerate the adoption of space-based climate services.

If we get this right, EO and space data will not just inform the climate conversation, they will actively drive the decisions and behaviours needed to meet the challenge.

The moment for discussion has passed. The opportunity now is to scale what works, remove what doesn’t, and ensure that the insights we already have are fully used to create meaningful, lasting change.

And that is something we can absolutely achieve.

• Read more insights on climate adaptation: Blogs