31 augustus 2021
Satellite data provide valuable support for IPCC climate report
Space-based Essential Climate Variables support the latest IPCC climate assessment
Earlier this month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published its latest assessment report laying out the accumulating evidence of the climate crisis. The report identifies Earth observing satellites as a critical tool to monitor the causes and effects of climate change and directly acknowledges the contribution of ESA’s Climate Change Initiative (CCI) – a research programme that draws on observations from multiple satellite missions.
Across many chapters, the report highlights the valuable contribution that satellites provide in tracking change and improving models for climate prediction. New and improved observational data records, which are longer since the IPCC’s previous report in 2013, support greater confidence in climate attribution assessments.
An article published on ESA's Earth Observation site gives further information with highlighted examples of CCI's contributions to the report. Fifteen scientists from ESA’s CCI programme worked as contributing authors to the report, with five taking lead and coordinating author roles.
“The latest IPCC report clearly demonstrates the value of ESA programmes in providing the evidence base for monitoring and understanding climate change.” said Josef Aschbacher, ESA’s Director General. “These hard facts are also highly appreciated by political decision makers in Europe and globally.”