At the doorstep of the Amazon rainforest, policy makers worldwide convened in Brazil for the UN global climate summit, COP30, with one mission: to keep the Paris Agreement for Climate alive and accelerate climate action. ESA’s role is to provide what the world needs most – clarity. From space, we deliver the big-picture view and the hard scientific facts that turn uncertainty into informed, actionable decisions.
An ESA delegation attended the recent COP30 in Belém, Brazil to share the latest advances in Earth observation with governments and other decision makers focussed on progressing the mitigation and adaptation goals of the Paris Agreement. Priority EO topics covered, at what is informally known as the “Amazon COP’, included state-of-the-art-forest monitoring; the role of satellites for supporting national GHG inventories and reporting as part of the Global stocktake process; and the development of EO-based indicators to track progress towards the Global Goal on Adaptation.
Earth Information Day – recognising EO
Earth observation featured strongly on day one of the conference. The opening plenary session, stressed the importance of Earth observation systems and was formally recognised in the conclusions of the scientific and technical advisory arm of the UNFCCC.
“Earth observation systems and long-term data records [are of vital importance], enhancing understanding of the drivers of and changes in the global climate system, helping to advance early warning systems – and support mitigation and adaptation actions.”
It was also noted that:
“the need for enhancing efforts to promote and support open science and the integrity of climate change information as well as advance international cooperation on systematic observations.”
CEOS-CGMS - the space agency view
This conclusion echoed a joint statement issued to COP30 delegates by CEOS & CGMS that highlighted advances in the critical role of satellite observations in six key thematic areas of climate monitoring to support the goals of UNFCCC – which are also addressed by specific ESA activities.
Thematic areas where space-based observations significantly advance our knowledge of the Earth's climate (CEOS-CGMS):
- Earth’s Energy Imbalance
- Land Cover, Forest Structure, Agriculture and Ecosystems
- Quantifying Ice Loss and Glacier Retreat
- Measuring and Projecting Sea Level Rise
- Measurements of Atmospheric Composition
- Enhancing Early Warning and Response
Satellites for greenhouse gas reporting
Earth observations are transforming the way countries can track their greenhouse gas emissions. That was a key message from ESA’s Clement Albergel joined by Thais Rosan from the University of Exeter who presented new research methods that enable comparison of national GHG inventories and reports against ‘real-world’ satellite measurements.
Currently, national agencies derive inventories by combining sector activity statistics and emissions factors. New “top-down” estimates from atmospheric inversions based on atmospheric GHG measurements from in-situ monitoring networks and satellites with atmospheric transport models are in line with IPCC reporting guidelines and injects transparency to the process
‘If applied regularly, satellite measurements can help reduce uncertainties in National GHG Inventories, identify additional emissions reduction opportunities, and provide nations with timely guidance on progress towards their emission reduction strategies and pledges that contribution to the Global Stocktake,’ Dr Albergel explained.
Investments in systematic observation
With the alarm sounded regarding threats to the continuity of systematic observations by Global Climate Observing System, Dr Albergel made a timely contribution to a panel session entitled ‘Data delivers: Why investments in Systematic Observations matter.
The session, hosted by the World Meteorological Organization-IPCC-MERI’s on its Science for Climate Action pavilion and moderated by the Chair of the COP30 Science Committee, Thelma Krug, highlighted the need for sustained funding to support the systematic observations underpinning climate models, early warning and policy decisions.
Dr Albergel offered the space agency perspective, reiterating the value of ESA and Copernicus Sentinel missions for climate monitoring and providing the observational evidence-base needed to drive action and tracking mitigation and adaptation progress.
Watch the recording: Data delivers: Why investments in Systematic Observations matters.
Forests in focus
Located on the edge of the Amazon basin, it is no surprise that much COP30 much attention focussed on the state and conservation of tropical rainforests. Despite, storing nearly half of Earth’s above-ground carbon, significant uncertainties remain about tropical forests’ ongoing ability to act as a natural buffer.
The State-of-the-Art Forest Monitoring was the topic of an ESA-led UNFCCC side event, opened by ESA’s Frank Martin Seifert and involving expert forest scientist, explored how advanced satellite missions such as ESA’s Biomass mission – launched in April of 2025 and equipped its novel P-band space-based radar – are revealing new insights into the dynamics of tropical forest carbon storage.
Clement Albergel stressed that ESA provides globally consistent radar-based biomass time series, enabling tracking of Amazon forest condition and carbon stocks and presented the current and upcoming missions for global forest monitoring:
- Sentinel 1–3- the operational backbone
- BIOMASS
- Hyperspectral missions for species & biochemistry
- Thermal missions
- FLEX (chlorophyll fluorescence)
Luiz Aragão of the Brazilian space agency, INPE, showcased a recent field campaign in the Amazon. Delivered as a collaborative effort with ESA, the Carbon Amazon Rainforest Activity, is delivering new, targeted and detailed observations to improve estimates of Amazon greenhouse gas trends.
Focussed across a 100 km by 100 km area of western Pará State, Brazil the campaign team, led by King’s College London, integrates in-situ, airborne and satellite information. Combined, these observation layers aim to improve knowledge of the region’s carbon cycling and address significant model uncertainties for a region widely feared to be transitioning from a sink to source of carbon.
The session also discussed how the implications for conservation and climate policy, stressing accurate carbon accounting from deforestation, degradation, and regrowth.
ESA participated to several other forest related events at the UNFCCC Forest pavilion covering forest conservation and the launch of the IADB Amazonia Forever 360+ platform, providing ESA’s Frank Martin with the opportunity to reflect further on satellite capabilities to monitor the Amazon.
Indicators for climate adaptation
A major achievement of COP30 has been progress on adaptation, where a tripling of dedicated finance by 2035 has been agreed. A short list of “indicators” enabling countries to track progress towards greater have also been rubber stamped.
Space agencies are anticipated to have an important role in providing systematic observations to help track adaptation action. This was the focus of a perspectives paper published in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, to coincide with the start of the conference. Lead author Sarah Connors of ESA, along with supporting experts emphasise the need for standardised, operational EO-based adaptation indicators that can support UNFCCC adaptation reporting mechanisms, drawing on parallels with the Sustainable Development Goals
Committed to observing
ESA played an active role at COP30, invited to over 24 sessions – from understanding tipping element risk, mapping permafrost, disaster resilience or the practicalities of addressing extreme urban heat - to underline its commitment to leveraging space technology for adaptation, resilience, and sustainable development worldwide.
