We live in a world characterized by overwhelming environmental challenges. We must try to tackle the effects of global warming, the problems created by both overpopulation and overconsumption, and the depletion of natural resources. How can we best manage our consumption and utilization of our Earth's natural resources and protect our environment?
To answer this and other related questions, we constantly need to be aware of the state and health of our planet. The Copernicus programme helps us to achieve this by observing our environment, collecting, storing and analysing data and providing products to enable effective decisions to be made. Brought together by different stakeholders in the European Union, Copernicus monitors our planet and its many ecosystems, while ensuring that its inhabitants are prepared for and protected against crises and natural or man-made disasters.
Copernicus information services are based on data from a constellation of six families of satellites, known as the Sentinels, and dozens of third-party satellites known as Contributing Space Missions. These measuring devices in orbit sometimes operate alone and sometimes combined with sensors placed on the seas, land or in the air. Copernicus then stores the data and helps to provide a large amount of reliable and up-to-date information on the status of our planet. This data can be used to create different kinds of products, such as statistics and topographic maps.
The data is analyzed in a way that generates indicators useful for researchers and end-users, providing information on past, present and future trends. Copernicus contributes not only to European scientific and technical excellence, but is part of a public service framework, allowing full, free and open access to all data collected. Anyone, scientists, policy makers, entrepreneurs and ordinary citizens can use this data.
Its missions also include essential interrelated themes, incorporating six sets of services Atmosphere monitoring, marine environment monitoring, land monitoring, climate change, emergency management and security that translate into concrete and effective areas of application. With regards to the environment, Copernicus detects the content of aerosols that destroys the ozone layer, analyzing atmospheric composition and biodiversity. It is regularly evaluating the melting of the polar ice cap in the Arctic, as a result of temperature increases due to global warming. It determines the quality of air and water that affects our health.
It monitors ocean levels, coastal areas and forests in order to limit the damage from the threat of earthquakes, floods and fires to ensure our safety. In the energy sector, Copernicus promotes the use of hydraulic and wind power plants, promising clean, eco-friendly alternatives to fossil fuels. This will allow for renewable energy to account for up to 27% of our total energy consumption by 2030. Copernicus also supports the monitoring of the external borders of the European Union, using space data merged with other sources of information to increase situational awareness and improve assessment of risk at the external borders.
Serving the marine world, Copernicus tracks marine pollution affecting aquatic ecosystems and the fishing industry. As part of a development corporation policy, Copernicus warns of early signs of deforestation and desertification in order to avoid the problems of loss of biodiversity and food shortages. It oversees the irrigation of fields and monitors crops for better food management. It is also instrumental in tracing outbreaks of diseases, such as Ebola in West Africa.
Further to these examples, Copernicus conserved the tourism industry, urban development, archaeology, oil and gas, and the insurance sector. It is an incredible tool, efficient, constantly evolving, open to all, and free of charge. And this will always be the case.
It is a tool to create new applications, new opportunities, new markets, new jobs. Independent studies indicate that by 2030, nearly 48,000 jobs could be created by the application of Copernicus. And why not? Tens of thousands of users already make use of the data which is freely available. Knowing that each Euro invested in satellite technology represents a high return on investment, the number of business opportunities is likely to increase in the coming years.
New horizons are coming ever closer to us, here on Earth and in space.