The UN’s New Adaptation Metrics Need Eyes in the Sky

Last year, countries at the UN Climate Change conference in Brazil — COP30 — agreed to a messy compromise on one of the thorniest legacies of the the Paris Agreement: how to measure and monitor climate adaptation.

The adoption of a set of 59 indicators — known as the Belém Indicators, after the conference’s host city — was contentious, with some experts questioning whether they can realistically be implemented or prove useful for countries aiming to strengthen global resilience.

However, for now these indicators have the imprimatur of the UNFCCC, and it may be practical to start thinking how these could be operationalized. In other words: how could we build and monitor these indicators at a global scale?

It turns out a great deal of thought has already been put into this question. In a perspective published by the journal Nature in November, over 20 adaptation and space experts argued that Earth Observation (EO) data — in layman’s terms, imagery gathered by satellites — is the magic wand.

In a keynote speech at the North51 conference today, I unpacked the Nature paper, and shared my thoughts on how commercial EO companies could turn space-based imagery into adaptation gold.

What follows is an edited excerpt from the speech, zeroing in on what reforms to the EO market and its supporting infrastructure are needed to maximize its contribution to the Belém Indicators. I then offer my own take on how commercial EO players might hitch their wagons to the growing push for ‘sovereign’ EO capabilities — a trend supercharged by President Trump’s recent saber-rattling over Greenland.

Read on, and let me know your thoughts by replying to this email directly or pinging me on LinkedIn. Ordinary service will resume next Thursday.

Louie Woodall
Editor, Climate Proof