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The global Earth observation satellite system has continually progressed and evolved, with the development of international meteorological frameworks such as the World Weather Watch (WWW) and Global Atmospheric Research Programme (GARP) in the 1960s; with increased awareness of the global climate and environmental problems, thanks to NASA’s Mission to Planet Earth, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) ENVISAT, and JAXA’s ADEOS/ADEOS-II satellite programs; the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) in the 1990s; and the implementation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO), and others from the 2000s.

Global environmental change, and its impact on all aspects of society, is one of the primary challenges facing humanity, even more so today than in 2003 when governments and international organizations committed to a vision of a future wherein decisions and actions for the benefit of humankind are informed by coordinated, comprehensive, and sustained Earth observations.

Humankind has never been so populous, technically equipped, and economically and culturally integrated as it is today. In the twenty-first century, societies are confronted with a multitude of challenges in their efforts to manage the Earth system.

Forests present a significant global carbon stock accumulated primarily through growth of trees and an increase in soil carbon.

At the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP) in 2015, Parties to the UNFCCC set out an ambitious plan—the Paris Agreement—for global action on climate change mitigation and adaption.

Natural resource sustainability, safety, and transport efficiency are quickly growing concerns.

How can we integrate Earth observation systems and international environmental regimes to enhance the role of satellite observations in solving a variety of large-scale environmental problems?

In the previous chapters, experts have contributed examples of their work on the impacts of space-based Earth observation on society and policy and have provided insights on how these impacts can be quantitatively assessed.