Importance of satellites highlighted at climate summit

Although finding a successor to the Kyoto Protocol is a major item on the agenda at the 2010 UN Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico, delegates are also working hard to establish an international climate monitoring system.

In order to effectively respond to climate change challenges, decision-makers need scientifically based climate knowledge. It is the job of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) to make sure that the Conference of the Parties (COP) gets the very best expert advice possible.

Speaking at a SBSTA plenary session in Cancun on Wednesday, Prof. Adrian Simmons, Chairman of the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Steering Committee, explained the progress made in climate observations over the last five years and noted the need for improved coverage. According to GCOS, which provides reliable and comprehensive data on the total climate system to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, space agencies have improved their observational capabilities and are increasingly meeting the needs identified for data reprocessing.Get the full story on the ESA website: http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Space_for_our_climate/SEMTBJOWXGG_0.html

Australia hosts APRSAF

Australia recently played host to the 17th APRSAF meeting in Melbourne. The theme of the meeting was ' the role of space technology and industry in addressing climate change'.

The Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF) was established in 1993 to enhance space activities in the Asia-Pacific region. Space agencies, governmental bodies, and international organizations, such as the United Nations, as well as companies, universities and research institutes from over 30 regional participants take part in APRSAF, the largest space-related conference in the Asia-Pacific region. With increasing attendance of high ranking officials, furthermore, APRSAF offers opportunities to discuss international cooperation for space activities in concrete terms.

APRSAF-17 included four working groups: Earth Observation (EO), Communication Satellite Applications (CSA), Space Education and Awareness (SEA), and Space Environment Utilization (SEU), to share information about the activities and the future plans of each country and region in the respective areas. APRSAF also supports the establishment of international projects as solutions for common issues such as disasters and environmental protection so that the participating parties can realize cooperation. Workshops on SAFE (Satellite Applications for Environment) and on GNSS were also arranged in the margins of the meeting in Melbourne.

The meeting was well attended by APRSAF participating countries and Australia successfully proposed the initiation of a new framework, consistent with the theme of APRSAF-17, aimed at developing regional readiness for key forthcoming climate satellite missions. Details of this initiative (Climate R3) will follow...

More details on APRSAF here: http://www.aprsaf.org/