The European landscape of climate data providers

ESA works closely with key European organisations to ensure a seamless supply chain of climate data

ESA's Climate Change Initiative (CCI) provides a major R&D component to Europe's Earth Observation supply chain of satellite-based climate data records and complements and and supports, the following partners:

• Copernicus is the European Union's Earth observation programme, looking at our planet and its environment to benefit all European citizens. Its six information services were established by the European Commission within the Copernicus Earth Observation Programme.

The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), led by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), provides operational climate data records to support adaptation and mitigation policies in Europe in response to climate change. Algorithms for Essential Climate Variables developed by ESA's CCI are handed over to C3S for operational production, meaning that they are processed on a daily basis to support near-real-time applications. They are available from the Climate Data Store and toolbox.

• The European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) also provides climate-relevant data records from its current and heritage meteorological missions and the four Sentinel missions of the Copernicus space component. It addresses a portfolio of Essential Climate Variables through its Satellite Application Facilities (SAFs).

In addition, there are significant contributions of climate-relevant data and missions from national space agencies, such as CNES, DLR, ASI and the UK Space Agency.

Further climate data records are available from individual European research institutes and universities.

International coordination

Internationally, climate data providers are members of the Committee for Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), whose coordination role ensures user observational requirements are addressed in a complementary way, through harmonised satellite mission planning.

The Joint Working Group on Climate, jointly led by CEOS agencies and the Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellite (CGMS), aims to improve the systematic availability of climate data records. Products generated by CCI and C3S are systematically added to the CEOS online inventory of Essential Climate Variables. The group addresses how systematic EO can help to support the Paris Agreement.

Providing for climate modellers

Obs4MIPS

ESMValTool