OBSERVER: 5 Days Until the Copernicus and the EU Green Deal Workshop!
OBSERVER: 5 Days Until the Copernicus and the EU Green Deal Workshop!
motta@spacetec…
Fri, 18/03/2022 – 14:49
How is climate change currently affecting Europe’s landscapes and European’s livelihoods? How will this phenomenon continue to be felt in the future? What are the EU’s plans to tackle this existential threat? How is the European Union preparing itself to mitigate and adapt to a warming climate? These are some of the questions that will be answered during the upcoming workshop on 22 & 23 March 2022 hosted by the European Commission.
Copernicus and the Green Deal Online Workshop
What is the Green Deal and why do we need one?
The natural environment is changing rapidly. Rising global temperatures, pollution and the unsustainable use of natural resources, mainly as a result of human activity, have all contributed to the disruption of climate patterns and endangered ecosystems. Fundamental changes are needed to address these problems at their core, from the protection and restoration of habitats to the mitigation and removal of emissions and waste. Europe’s response has taken shape in the form of the European Green Deal. It is a deeply-transformative strategy designed to lead the European community, industry and government through the transition to long-term sustainability. The Green Deal’s action plan consists of a series of targeted changes to the policy framework in areas such as agriculture and forestry, smart mobility, emissions and pollution. These changes are being designed to contribute to an overarching vision of rendering the European economy’s growth independent of resource use, and ensuring that everyone – including those most vulnerable – is able to navigate the transition.
European Green Deal
Future-Proofing
Copernicus, makes use of satellite and in-situ observations to help scientists, elected officials, industry and everyday people make the smartest and “climate conscious” decisions. In the future, Copernicus will continue to help the world adapt to and mitigate climate change. The best way to prepare for climate change and the risks it poses in the future will be to use reliable and accurate climate data to model and predict trends and changes to the planet. As Samantha Burgess, Deputy Director of C2S at the European Commission: “You cannot manage what you cannot measure and this is very true for the climate. Unless we understand how our climate is changing and what risks that change may bring, we cannot plan for a climate-resilient future.” Samantha Burgess will provide a keynote address on Day 2 of the Copernicus and the EU Green Deal workshop.
Emissions
With climate neutrality being a critical target of the Green Deal – having set a net-zero target for 2050, as well as a stepping-stone target for 2030— monitoring emissions at the Union, Member State, and industry level is a crucial capability for Europe to have. Thanks to its unique Earth Observation (EO) data, information and services, Copernicus is well suited to respond to this call, especially in terms of monitoring national emissions targets as part of the Effort Sharing Regulation.
Nitrogen Dioxide Over Europe
Pollution & urban planning
Pollution tracking, management and mitigation are also high on the Green Deal agenda. Specific strategies are being drafted for the protection of land, water and air across the bloc. Air quality monitoring provided by Copernicus will be a vital source of data and information, particularly in urban areas,. With many ‘model green cities’ planned, urban planning and progress tracking will greatly benefit from the range of available data and services.
Global Map of Land-Cover Dynamics
Forestry
Notwithstanding the success of precursor initiatives, the Green Deal also brings increased ambition to the forestry sector, through the implementation of modern data sources for monitoring and reporting. Significant emphasis is being placed on the interoperability and standardisation of forestry-related data, spearheaded by the unparalleled availability and granularity of data that Copernicus provides. Areas of EU-wide interest for forestry in which satellite data will be increasingly utilised include the tracking of forest health, invasive alien species, biomass use, and the broader effects of climate change on biodiversity. Deforestation is another crucial area of concern and action for the Green Deal. It will be strictly monitored as part of the EU Observatory on Deforestation. The Forest Information System for Europe is also to become an all-encompassing forest monitoring system, tackling the challenges of data access and use head-on.
Agriculture
In the agricultural sector, the Green Deal significantly raises ambitions for farming quality, land use efficiency and emissions reductions, through updates to the Regulation on Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF). While agriculture accounts for approximately half of all global emissions, the EU aims to achieve neutrality in the sector by 2035. Robust EO monitoring tools are required in order to enforce emissions and land use regulations and to enable the shift to a reward-based systems for high-performing sustainable farmers. The acquisition of high-resolution satellite imagery by Copernicus Sentinel satellites will also facilitate the switch to precision agriculture, which is largely dependent on accurate information on field topology, phenology and composition.
Palm Oil Plantations in East Kalimantan – the Indonesian part of the island Borneo
Agriculture
In the agricultural sector, the Green Deal significantly raises ambitions for farming quality, land use efficiency and emissions reductions, through updates to the Regulation on Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF). While agriculture accounts for approximately half of all global emissions, the EU aims to achieve neutrality in the sector by 2035. Robust EO monitoring tools are required in order to enforce emissions and land use regulations and to enable the shift to a reward-based systems for high-performing sustainable farmers. The acquisition of high-resolution satellite imagery by Copernicus Sentinel satellites will also facilitate the switch to precision agriculture, which is largely dependent on accurate information on field topology, phenology and composition.
Crop Types in the Netherlands (i.e. green is summer crops, red is potatoes, orange is market crops, yellow is cereals and blue depicts grassland)
What to Expect from the Event
Join the two day online workshop on 22 & 23 March 2022 to explore Copernicus’ the role in the green transition of Europe! The European Commission invites industry players, entrepreneurs, SMEs, universities, organisations and public bodies to take part in the event to learn from and speak to experts about the ways Copernicus services help deliver on the Green Deal’s policy objectives and support in the monitoring of progress. The webinar will provide participants with a first-hand look at how public administrations use Copernicus to generate benefits for their territory, citizens and policies in the context of the European Green Deal.
Discussions will focus on the impact Copernicus services have on various EU policy areas in the context of the Green Deal. Day 1 begins at 13:00 CET and will consist of two sessions focusing on biodiversity and the Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy with speakers from the private industry, the European Commission and its agencies, inter-governmental organisation, research centres. Day 2 will start at the same time and host speakers working at NGOs, universities, various EU Directorates- General, national research centres etc. who will discuss the benefits that Copernicus brings to climate monitoring, clean energy and transport. After the workshop, participants will have explored the synergies that exist between the Space programme of the European Union and concrete policy actions underpinned by green solutions .
Learn more about the event and register here.
View the agenda of the event here.
Fri, 18/03/2022 – 12:00