Earth Observation

Space-based services, such as Earth Observation services, provide a wealth of satellite and non-satellite generated data across a range of sectors and purposes, including those of interest to local authorities for informing the development, implementation and monitoring of their Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAP). 

Exploring interest and current barriers 

Recognising this, the Covenant Office has begun exploring current CoM-munity engagement with this topic, as well as barriers to the use of such services. In recent consultations on this topic, Covenant practitioners expressed strong interest in Earth Observation, while at the same time indicated that: 

• Many of the existing services are not known to all local authority actors 
• Some data provided by these services are not necessarily at the right level of granularity to inform decision-making 
• The interfaces for accessing and analysing this data are not necessarily user friendly for local authorities with fewer resources or technical capabilities 
• Not all energy and climate-related data needs of local authorities are yet met by the current suite of space-based services. 

Collaborations to support our community on this topic

The EU Covenant is collaborating with key institutions including the European Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) to see if and how these voiced barriers can be overcome.  

The focus of this work is initially on building Covenant CoM-munity awareness of earth observation services, as well as building the capacity to use them. Having gathered the needs of many of our Co-Munity members, the Covenant team will also identify opportunities to share these needs with institutions developing new or refining existing services. 

Events and capacity building opportunities 

Upcoming 

This year’s Barcelona Smart City Expo World Congress presents several opportunities for EU Covenant CoM-munity members to build their knowledge around how Earth Observation can inform climate and energy efforts.

SPACE4Cities Workshop | 6 November 2024 | 10:00 - 12:00 CET 

Smart Cities Marketplace presentation of their Earth Observation focus group | 5 November | 16:30 - 17:15 CET

Other upcoming opportunities outside of Barcelona:

The VALORADA project is organising two interactive workshops focusing on climate risk data and assessment:
1) Data for Climate Risk Reduction and Adaptation | 5 November 2024 | 10:00 - 11:00 CET  

2)  Climate Data Services and Tools: Copernicus Climate Change Service Support to Regions and Cities | 19 November 2024 | 13:00 - 14:00 CET  

Past 

URBIS24 (esa.int) 

Urban Development (euspa-ucp.eu) 

Find all our latest resources on Earth Observation here! 

Keeping you updated on upcoming opportunities

This page will be regularly updated with new opportunities to engage on this topic. We also invite you to sign up to a dedicated mailing list on this topic, so we can reach out to you directly on tangible opportunities.