ESA Climate Office
The Office acts as the focal point for the European Space Agency’s climate-focused activities and brings together academia and industry searching for global climate information, data, and new opportunities.
Our mission is to enhance the availability and use of global satellite-derived Earth observation data to support decision-making. The Climate Office represents the Agency at international climate meetings, holds observer status with the IPCC
and maintains strong strategic links with national Space Agencies and bodies that drive the global and national responses to climate change.
The Office manages the delivery of the Climate Change Initiative, a major R&D effort that provides satellite-derived data records for key aspects of the climate to support decision-making and monitor progress towards the UNFCCC Paris Agreement goals.
Climate Change Initiative
ESA’s Climate Change Initiative performs the R&D necessary to generate a suite of global, decades-long satellite data records that address Essential Climate Variables (ECVs). These data support the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) need for systematic climate monitoring and strengthen scientific understanding of the Earth climate system.
Involving over 500 world-leading Earth observation and climate experts across Europe, these data also provide the fundamental observation records that underpin climate models and services that help anticipate future change, inform climate decision-making and support ESA Member States to take climate action and report progress towards the Paris Agreement goals.
From 2023 to 2029, up to and beyond the 2nd UNFCCC Global Stocktake, the Programme will:
- continue to expand its existing Essential Climate Variable portfolio
- support progression towards national and global implementation of the UNFCCC Paris Agreement
- provide R&D for operational climate services; and
- conduct cross-ECV and Tipping Points studies.
The Climate Data Record
A growing suite of satellite-derived data records that address Essential Climate Variables developed by the ESA Climate Change Initiative are available to advance science and inform decision-making.
All data products are free and open access
Users
Users of ESA climate data records and systems comprise
Climate researchers
Earth system modellers
Climate service providers
National & international policy-makers
Research fellowships
Our post-doctoral research fellowship schemes offers early-career scientists from eligible ESA Member States with the opportunity to undertake independent research to advance and/or demonstrate the value of satellite-derived climate data records developed within the framework of the ESA Climate Change Initiative.
Internal Post-doctoral research Fellowships
Prospective fellows carry out independent climate research project at an ESA establishment to advance or exploit ESA’s satellite-derived climate data records for a period of up to three years.
ESA Climate Change Initiative Research Fellowships
Early-career researchers (post-PhD) undertake their proposed project at a host institution in an eligible Member State as part of a co-funded scheme for a period of 2 years.