Earth Observations

In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that major advances in climate modeling and the collection and analysis of data have given scientists "very high confidence" in how the climate is changing.  Thus, the panel highlighted the critical role that Earth observation assets play in anticipating and understanding these changes.

Earth observation should be an important policy priority in the coming years, and a dialogue among government, private sector, and the science community is needed to develop a new national strategy for Earth observations. To this end, CSIS initiated the Earth Observations and Global Change project. The first phase examined the role and value of Earth observation to various stakeholders, highlight the state of Earth observation assets,and identify the gap between requirements and current and planned Earth observation capabilities. The second phase explored the data and technical requirements for the optimal Earth observation system of tomorrow.

Below are the working group meetings that took place at each stage of the project. These were collaborated with participants from government, industry, academia, and non-profit actors.

Earth Observation and Global Change - WG 1
Earth Observation and Global Change - WG 2
Earth Observation and Global Change - WG 3

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and Chatham House (the Royal Institute of International Affairs) co-hosted an event on July 16, 2008, in London to examine the role and value of Earth observation data as a global public good. "Earth Observation, Risk Assessment and Global Change: Implications for the Insurance and Aerospace Sectors" brought together high-level participants from the public sector, scientific community and industry to promote discussion and debate among the full range of Earth observation stakeholders on the future of Earth observations. The event was co-sponsored by the International Astronautical Federation.  A summary of the event can be found here.

The CSIS work on Earth observations was also featured during Climate Day at the 2008 International Astronautical Congress in Glasgow, Scotland.

Earth Observation and Global Change - IAC 2008 Presentation