Josef Aschbacher, European Space Agency Director-General, on COP28 and the Agreement With UNEP to Monitor Climate Change

Getting things done at COP28: Watch my interview with the European Space Agency Director-General Josef Aschbacher where we do a 360 degree on climate action and ESA

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Sentinel Radar in Orbit, Photo credit: ESA

“ESA puts its satellite infrastructure at the disposal of UNEP, using Earth observation data for different applications. There are actually four key areas of cooperation that we agreed to support from our side: environmental protection and pollution monitoring, then sustainable development, restoration of ecosystems, and science and innovation for environmental sustainability.”

ESA Director-General Josef Aschbacher

European Space Agency

Getting Things Done at COP28

Photo credit: ESA, Aeolus Wind Satellite in Orbit

Interview with the ESA Director-General Josef Aschbacher

Space travel is the stuff of dreams for most of us. I have dreamed of space missions since I organized a press briefing at the engineering department of Florida International University, featuring a former NASA astronaut, Dr. Bernard Harris, who came to speak to young high-school students at FIU‘s Summer program, in 2007.

I was taking a break from journalism, but followed around Jose Pagliery, one of the reporters that attended the press briefing, who was then with the Miami Herald (now with The Daily Beast) as he interviewed Harris on what was like to see the Earth from space, wear a clunky space suit, and why younger generations should care.

While most of us will never circumvent the Earth from space, at least in these coming decades, we nevertheless use devices everyday and trust our weather forecasters with the recommendation of whether we should wear our rain boots over the weekend, using information that is gathered by satellites. About 80% of the information we rely on comes from space satellites, including ESA and other providers.

This week I interviewed the European Space Agency Director General, Josef Aschbacher, on his participation at COP28 and what is in store for 2024, from developing next generation satellites with Airbus to working with the United Nations Environment Program, to creating a coalition to address space debris when decommissioning satellites no longer operational, to pledging during COP28, alongside other heads of space agencies, to further support climate action.

It was the first time that a dedicated Space Pavilion was created at a COP and the panels and meetings centered and focused on how space research can promote further understanding of global warming.

Mr. Aschbacher is a scientist, and rose through the ranks at the European Space Agency, so knows the subject inside and out. We had a long conversation on the next generation of satellites, international cooperation, working alongside NASA and other space agencies, and how space technologies will help us better understand the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest ecosystem. These past days he has signed agreements to work with UNEP and the European Commission Directorate General for Climate Action, and is currently hammering out a program with the Brazilian Space Agency. 

We also spoke about the number of satellites in orbit (a total of 8K of which 5K are from a private sector provider, Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite company) and how to manage this increasing number, and his invitation to Elon Musk, and other heads of space agencies, to join the coalition that will pledge to address debris and to decommission satellites in a manner that will avoid further polluting space, as we try to understand our planet, our galaxy, and beyond. 

*Scroll all the way down for the transcript on the interview

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