SEBASTIAN BUCKUP
NET ZERO
“ The technology pipelines accelerating the processing and analysis of satellite EO data provide unparalleled insights into climate change”
SEBASTIAN BUCKUP
TITLE: MANAGING DIRECTOR COMPANY: WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM LOCATION: GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Sebastian leads the Centre for Nature and Climate and the Forum’ s Foundations – Global Shapers, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and Young Global Leaders. He is also a Professor of Practice at the University of Geneva.
Sebastian Buckup, Managing Director,
WEF
The future of earth observation EO encompasses the collection and analysis of data on Earth’ s physical, chemical, biological and human systems, primarily via satellite-based remote sensing.
The whitepaper says that more than half of essential climate variables can only be accurately measured from space, ensuring EO’ s place at the centre of climate intelligence strategies.
By 2032, satellite EO is forecast to generate more than two exabytes of data – more than two billion gigabytes – accounting for 86 % of all data from the space applications segment. Yet EO’ s potential has long been underutilised due to prohibitive processing times, limited accessibility and a lack of timely, actionable insights.
Recent breakthroughs, however, are breaking down these barriers and enabling new pipelines from bytes to insights. These advances are built upon several interconnected technology shifts.
Enhanced satellite sensor capabilities now provide near-continuous, highresolution, multi-spectral imagery of Earth at unprecedented speed and granularity. For instance, the upcoming Landsat Next mission, set to launch in 2030, will collect 26‘ superspectral’ bands – more than double previous generations – enabling far more detailed and frequent observations.
Modern AI, machine learning( ML) and advanced visualisation platforms can process massive EO datasets almost in real time, turning raw satellite images into climate insights in minutes rather
sustainabilitymag. com 125