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Ibadan, 6 December 2023. – In orchestrating the debut of the Space Pavilion’s presence at COP28, the UAE Space Agency has organized a Space Agencies Leaders’ Summit, witnessing participation from more than 20 international space agencies. The summit brought key actors from global climate policy and space exploration sectors together and consequently sought to address climate programs and initiatives that will expedite the pathway to 1.5C.
The summit discussed issues relating to enhancing data sharing between spacefaring and emerging space nations, strengthening climate research by allocating resources and funding towards climate research initiatives within the space sector, supporting climate monitoring initiatives by establishing new programs and promoting sustainable space operations by minimising the environmental impact of space operations.
Furthermore, various international senior officials and decision-makers were participants at the summit, including Senator Bill Nelson, Administrator of NASA, Hiroshi Yamakawa, President of JAXA, Dr. Sang-Ryool Lee, President of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), Salem Butti Al Qubaisi, Director-General of UAE Space Agency, Dr. Mohammd Al Aseeri, CEO of the National Space Science Agency (NSSA) in Bahrain, and Josef Aschbacher, Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA) and Dr. Mohammad Al Tamimi, CEO of Saudi Space Agency along with many other space agencies and institutions.
The Summit represented a milestone that underscored the vital role of the space sector in confronting climate challenges and finding innovative solutions to support sustainability. The Summit subsequently ended with participants adopting a pledge to enhance space-based climate initiatives to transform and accelerate climate action to meet the commitments outlined in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
