EO for Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification of Carbon Removals
Copenhagen, 8-11 October 2024
From 8-11 October, Copenhagen hosted a four-day conference titled "Earth Observation for Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification of Carbon Removals," jointly organised by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Space Agency (ESA). The event brought together 180 experts from various disciplines and stakeholders to explore how Earth observation (EO) technologies can support the implementation of the Land Use, Land Use Change, and Forestry (LULUCF) Regulation, the forthcoming Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming Certification (CRCF) Regulation, and related areas such as blue carbon.
Throughout the conference, participants engaged in discussions and presentations led by 40 distinguished speakers representing institutions such as ESA, EEA, the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service, the European Commission's Scientific Advisory Board, DG CLIMA, national experts on greenhouse gas reporting, as well as representatives from the scientific community and private sector. The experts shared their insights on how EO technologies can improve the monitoring of terrestrial and coastal carbon pools, identifying both opportunities and challenges in the field.
The EEA and ESA extend their sincere thanks to all presenters, the organising committee, and participants for their invaluable contributions, which played a crucial role in the conference’s success. Presentation slides from the event are available for further reference, and both organisations have agreed to organise the conference again in October 2025.
Session 1 - Opening, Scientific overview, EU policy landscape, EEA activities in support of LULUCF MRV activities
Chairs: John Van Aardenne (EEA) and Giulio Volpi (European Commission)
1. 2040 target and role of Carbon dioxide removals - François Dejean (Secretariat to the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change)
2. EU policy landscape: LULUCF updates and forthcoming instruments (Soil and Forest monitoring regulations) - Giulio Volpi (European Commission)
3. EEA LULUCF group: role and supporting activities - John Van Aardenne (EEA)
4. Overview of the EU NIR inventory - Raúl Abad Viñas (EEA)
Session 2 - EO and LULUCF MRV: spatially explicit monitoring – Status, examples, good practice and discussion on challenges and how to overcome them, focusing on follow up activities
Chairs: Lucia Perugini (EEA) and Bradley Matthews (UBA AT)
1. Interoperability requirement and use of IACS - Rafal Zielinski (EEA)
Land representation in LULUCF reporting:
2. Austria - Bradley Matthews (UBA AT)
3. Portugal - Paulo Canaveira (APA PT)
4. Denmark - Steen Gyldenkærne (Aarhus University)
5. Netherlands – Sven Van Baren (Wageningen University)
Session 3 - EO derived products in support of MRV activities, with current and potential application in the inventory
Chairs: Frank Martin Seifert (ESA) and Tobias Langanke (EEA)
1. Copernicus Land Monitoring Service high resolution layers - Usue Donezar (EEA)
2. Copernicus CLC+: the LULUCF instance - Tobias Langanke (EEA)
3. Estimation of Biomass from space - Frank Martin Seifert (ESA)
4. Data fusion for Forest carbon and biodiversity - Martin Herold (GFZ Potsdam)
5. Estimation of Soil Organic Carbon from space - Julia Yagüe (GMV)
6. Peatlands – a carbon rich environment - G. Lopez-Saldana (Assimila)
Session 4 - Opening and linkages between the EU Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming Certification (CRCF) Regulation and the LULUCF regulation
Chairs: Antony Delavois (ESA) and Lucia Perugini (EEA)
1. EO Missions and solutions relevant to carbon monitoring – Giuseppe Ottavianelli (ESA)
2. EO in support of result-based policies for sustainable management in the EU - Valeria Forlin (European Commission)
Session 5: Breakout groups (BOG)
1. BOG1 - Enhancing Earth Observation Monitoring Capabilities
Chairs: Nathalie Morin (Geoville) and Michelle Hermes (EARSC)
2. BOG2 - Monitoring sustainability of CRCF
Chairs: Basanta Gautam (South Pole) and Frank Martin Seifert (ESA)
Session 6: Breakout groups
1. BOG 3 - Data needs in Support of baseline definition
Chairs: Mirco Migliavacca (JRC) and Lucia Perugini (EEA)
2. BOG 4 - Addressing Uncertainties and Benchmarking in EO-based MRV for Carbon Removals
Chairs: Antonella Succurro (CINSOIL) and Michelle Hermes (EARSC)
3. BOG 5 - Blue Carbon
Chairs: Antony Delavois (ESA) and Marie-Aude Sevin (BlueSeeds)
Session 7: Wrap-up
Chairs: Lucia Perugini (EEA), Frank Martin Seifert (ESA), Antony Delavois (ESA)
1. Reporting back from the breakout groups
2. Conclusions and closing remarks