The transition towards a climate-neutral future requires informed decisions across multiple sectors, from agriculture and energy to urban planning and environmental monitoring. Earth Observation (EO) technologies are increasingly playing a central role in providing the information needed to guide these decisions.
This is being demonstrated with the Green Transition Information Factories concept, as outlined in the overview story on GTIF.
The ESA Green Meridian Information Factory (GMIF) is one of the GTIF kickstarters, focusing on France, Ireland and the United Kingdom. For this region, the project has developed a suite of interactive tools and services that transform complex environmental data into actionable insights. Through an online dashboard, users can explore scenarios, assess trade-offs and investigate how climate and environmental changes may affect their local area.
Supporting renewable energy deployment while protecting rural landscapes
How can renewable energy production be expanded without compromising agriculture or environmentally sensitive areas?
GMIF addresses this issue through a service dedicated to agrivoltaics, the co-location of agricultural production and solar energy generation. By combining high-resolution satellite imagery with information on environmental constraints, electricity infrastructure and land use, the system helps identify suitable locations for solar installations that can coexist or even be integrated with farming activities.
Users can estimate potential energy generation and economic returns while considering factors such as proximity to electrical substations and protected natural areas. This information can support both farmers seeking new income opportunities and planners responsible for balancing energy development with environmental protection.
The relevance of such tools is reflected in recent policy developments. In France, legislation introduced in 2023 has sought to facilitate agrivoltaics deployment while ensuring that agricultural productivity and biodiversity are maintained.
Improving drought preparedness through Earth Observation and AI
How to better forecast drought conditions as climate change increases the frequency and severity of drought events across Europe?
GMIF combines weather prediction assimilated datasets, EO-derived parameters and artificial intelligence techniques to provide drought monitoring and forecasting at 10m resolution. The system uses historical observations and vegetation indicators to predict drought conditions one month in advance, providing valuable information for farmers, agricultural advisers and policymakers.
The service also enables users to examine drought impacts at field level and assess how different crop types respond to water stress. By linking drought forecasts with crop information, stakeholders can identify vulnerable areas, evaluate adaptation options and support more resilient agricultural practices.
Such capabilities are increasingly important as Europe experiences recurring drought episodes that affect food production, water resources and ecosystems.
Mapping urban air pollution from space
How to explore air pollution sources and sinks, identify hot spots, and optimise positioning of ground-based pollution monitoring stations?
Resolution-enhanced time series of EO-derived particulate matter (PM2.5) products allow GMIF to monitor daily, at 250m resolution, urban PM2.5 air pollution. This is strongly affected by traffic-generated pollution, from diesel vehicles among others. Sparse in-situ sensor networks (such as AIRPARIF and LAQN) may not adequately capture the location of particulate matter pollution hotspots, as EO-derived products can do.
Within the GMIF dashboard users can also compare satellite-derived estimates with measurements from existing air quality stations, providing additional confidence in the information and supporting evidence-based urban planning decisions.
By improving understanding of where pollution accumulates, local authorities can better target mitigation measures, optimise monitoring networks and design strategies that promote cleaner and healthier cities.
Tackling urban heat through thermal Earth Observation
How can we mitigate heatwaves in urban contexts?
Extreme heat is becoming an increasingly serious risk for urban populations. Heatwaves can lead to significant health impacts, particularly among vulnerable groups, and urban environments often experience higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas.
Using thermal satellite imagery, GMIF generates maps of urban heat anomalies that reveal where temperatures are consistently elevated. These products can help city authorities identify priority areas for intervention and assess risks around critical infrastructure such as schools and hospitals.
The information supports climate adaptation planning and can guide investments in urban greening, shading and other measures designed to reduce heat exposure and improve public health outcomes.
Monitoring methane emissions from space
What can we do to reduce methane emissions?
Methane is one of the most potent greenhouse gases, and reducing emissions is a key priority in efforts to mitigate climate change. The first step is correctly identifying methane emission point sources.
GMIF includes capabilities for detecting large methane emissions from sources such as gas infrastructure, landfills and mining operations. Users can explore Sentinel-5P weekly methane observations and interactively analyse Sentinel-2-derived methane concentration data across user-defined areas and time periods, enabling the identification of emission hotspots and the assessment of changes over time.
Time-series visualisation tools allow stakeholders to place individual emission events in a broader context, supporting investigations into emission sources and helping inform mitigation actions.
Resulting value-adding services
It is part of the objectives of the larger GTIF initiative to make the key EO value-adding solutions available for reuse following FAIR principles.
In this context, three of the value-adding solutions from this project have been refactored into cloud-based on-demand algorithms. They are running on CDSE and EOxHub and will be accessible from the APEx algorithm catalogue (a first service is available here).
Looking ahead
Although GMIF has focused initially on France, Ireland and the United Kingdom, the underlying methodology has the potential to be extended across Europe. Many of the datasets used by the platform are already available at continental scale, creating opportunities to inform the implementation of green transition policies in additional countries. Nonetheless, further regulatory alignment of countries on key geospatial datasets and definitions of national designated areas of environmental sensitivity may be needed.
As Europe accelerates its transition towards a more sustainable future, engagement of governmental stakeholders is key. Austria has emerged as an early adopter through its strong engagement and investment in developing these services further to become part of the national infrastructure.