Speaker
Description
Besides their direct impact on scientific knowledge, space programmes are playing a key role in the fight against climate change by giving decision-makers more and more accurate and crucial information. The role of space programmes dedicated to climate change is also important, since they may provide available public data through open data policies.
For instance, the studies of the ozone layer and the impact of substances like CFCs on the ozone hole, which resulted from missions like the American Nimbus-7, led to a ban of such substances through the Montreal Protocol in 1987. The reduction and the growing interdiction of CFCs helped the decrease of the ozone depletion recently observed, with a lot of benefits for health and for the climate. In this case, alarming measurements from space directly contributed to policies and to the elaboration of an international treaty, with positive results so far.
The Paris Agreement from 2016 is also an illustration of the role of space in the decision-making process. The goal of the Agreement is to limit the increase in global warming and to mitigate greenhouse-gas-emissions. The Agreement is based on the work of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21), which is itself notably based on climate change models and previsions using space measurements.
This shows one side of the impact of space concerning climate change: it provides vital information to policymakers. But it may also play another role in the coming years: satellites may ensure respect for international commitments. Indeed, one of the criticisms addressed to the Paris Agreement is that it does not provide effective means of monitoring if a State fulfils its commitments. The European Union’s Copernicus Programme has launched an initiative to monitor CO2 emissions and to help countries to track progress in achieving the Paris Agreement goals. The fleet of 3 satellites is slated for launch in 2025 and would improve countries’ transparency concerning their emissions, and in a certain way it will bring an element of accountability to global carbon pollution for countries since the data will be publicly available.
Public data will certainly have a significant impact on popular opinion. But what could be the legal value of these data? Could satellites measurements constitute an appropriate means of proof and could it for instance lead to international accountability? Or should there be specific rules regarding rights to privacy? This article will consider these issues and will try to give some answers by taking into account relevant international instruments and legal aspects of open data policies.
