Monitoring the Earth - Image from space

Global climate change is one of the most pressing environmental challenges we face today. The consequences of a warming climate are far-reaching, potentially affecting fresh water resources, global food production and sea level and triggering an increase in extreme-weather events.

Records show that the Earth has always undergone major changes, but there is mounting evidence that those caused by the industrial revolution over the last 150 years are beyond comparison. Information is urgently needed to understand and quantify such changes to ensure the sustainable future management of our planet.

Satellite data provides a low-cost, standardised means of measuring carbon, greenhouse gases, ice cover, sea-level and temperature and identifying land-use change on an annual basis.