(Credit: Planet Labs)Planet Labs has partnered with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Space Agency to build a satellite data-driven atlas of regional climate loss and damage. The project aims to provide countries facing significant climate risk with data to help build climate resilience through policy decisions and financial programs.
The initiative was originally conceived in response to the COP27’s increased calls for financial and technological support to developing nations, which face disproportionate risk to climate impacts. The satellite atlas will provide early warning for extreme weather, water, and other climate hazards, and it will also meet objectives set in the World Meteorological Association’s Early Warning Systems for All initiative.
“Climate change is one of the biggest challenges we as a planet have ever faced, and it’s critical that vulnerable countries are able to have real, tangible insights to build resilience,” said Will Marshall, Planet Labs co-founder and CEO. “Satellite data can help to capture those insights and to help build early warning systems for climate risks, but we can’t do it alone. We are proud of our partnership with the UAE Space Agency to get this data into the hands of important participants.”
The data facility’s initial focus is to quantify damages caused by extreme weather events in order to create early warning systems for at-risk locations. Their datasets will be made available to governments, non-profit organizations, and other related parties in order to make decisions on anything from population distribution to agricultural productivity.
The Planet Labs satellites are set to maintain a number of capabilities, including assessment of coastal erosion, flood damage, and temperature fluctuations. Planet's PlanetScope and SkySat Tasking technologies will provide high-resolution imagery in order to deliver insights at the daily pace of change on Earth. AI-enhanced Road and Building Change Detection will include insights into rapid urban growth in regions facing climate risk. Their plan will also implement technical training with end-user organizations through webinars and on-site instruction in order to ensure that collected data is used effectively.
The UAE Space Agency's partnership with Planet Labs marks a continuation of their efforts to supplement the UAE government’s dedication to climate change issues and their net zero by 2050 goals.
