ESA's Cheli urges turning Earth observation data into climate action at Brussels summit

Simonetta Cheli, ESA's Director of Earth Observation Programmes and Head of ESRIN, spoke on 13 October 2026 at the Friends of Europe Energy and Climate Summit in Brussels. She joined the session on strengthening the European framework for climate resilience, alongside European Commission and Parliament officials.

Cheli pointed to ESA's advanced satellite data and its capacity to deliver rapid climate intelligence. She argued that Europe, with the European Commission, EUMETSAT and member states, has built a highly capable observation system, and that the priority now is to turn data into decisions. She called for continued investment in the continuity and evolution of Copernicus and for initiatives such as Digital Twin Earth, which combines observations, modelling and AI. ESA was a co-organiser of the summit.

Why it matters: Europe's push to operationalise Copernicus data and Digital Twin Earth shapes the free satellite data and tools that African agencies and practitioners rely on for climate adaptation, flood, drought and land monitoring.