Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Earth Observation
Masami Onoda, JAXA/WEF Global Future Council for Space
onoda.masami@jaxa.jp
Initiative Overview for CONSEO
19 July 2024, TokyoINITIATIVE OVERVIEWOur Shared Understanding of Earth Observation
Understanding both the business value and climate and nature value achievable through EO data is critical to making meaningfulprogress towards a sustainable future.
EO VALUE CHAIN COMPONENTSEO DATA COMPONENTSREMOTE SENSING uses sensors to measure reflectedor emitted energy from distant environments
IN SITU data is collected adjacent to the measuring
instrument, like temperature readings by a thermometer

CHALLENGES FOR ADVANCING EO USE1:
Awareness | EO is often not featured in high-level conversations
on digital transformation.
Economic | Many novel business applications of EO tend toneither be well-understood nor readily applied.
Governance & Policy | Standards often vary acrossgovernments, industries, and even use cases.
Technical | EO can come from many data sources and isoften hard to both collect and aggregate.
2

Focus areas for this initiative1) World Economic Forum | How our vast pool of Earth data can be put to good use

INITIATIVE OVERVIEWHow Do We Use Earth Observation Data?
To make the myriad uses of EO more digestible in an industry-agnostic context, identified use cases were categorized into nine
categories framed in terms of commercial function and comprised of diverse data sources.
EO Measurements

EO Uses

EO provides the following types of data througha variety of remote sensing and in situ sources:

Each category is framed in terms of the function
it serves in an industry-agnostic contextImages in the visible
spectrum

Atmosphericconditions

Geometry of naturaland human madeobjects

Industry Applications
Soil moisture
content

Water coverage
Vegetation species
differentiation
Temperature andheat sources

Radio, microwave,
infrared andultraviolet radiation3

Chemicals present
in land, water andatmosphere

These Earth observation
measurements arecombined and applied byorganizations in nearly
every industry to generatevalue.

1.

Consumer Experience2.

Early Warning

3.

Environmental Impact Monitoring

4.

Post-Event Analysis

5.

Precision Agri/Aquaculture

6.

Risk-based Vulnerability Analysis

7.

Route Optimization

8.

Site Selection

9.

Supply Chain MonitoringINITIATIVE OVERVIEWHow Do We Use Earth Observation Data? (Cont.)
Nearly every industry has a demonstrated application of EO, with new applications emerging every day.
EO UsesIndustries

ConsumerExperience

Environmental
ImpactMonitoring

Post-event
Analysis

Precision Agri/
Route
Aquaculture
Optimization

Emerging or plausible applications

Limited or no applicability

Early Warning

Agriculture
Construction
Energy & Utilities
Government, Public,& Emergency Services
HealthInformation, Media,& Technology
Insurance &Financial Services
Manufacturing
Mining, Oil, & Gas
Professional Services
Tourism &Service Industry
Trade & Transport

4

Legend:Demonstrated applications

Site Selection

Supply Chain
Monitoring

VulnerabilityAnalysis

INITIATIVE OVERVIEWEO Initiative Progress to Date
While Phase 1 of the EO Initiative aimed to build awareness of Earth observation’s value, subsequent phases of community
engagement will focus on spurring adoption and scaling use of Earth observation for climate and nature.

Initiative Kickoff

Current Focus

September 2023 – May 2024

May 2024+

Build awareness

Activate community

Objective
1. PublicationsOutputs✓ (January 2024) The Catalytic Potential of Artificial Intelligence for
Earth Observation (LINK)✓ (May 2024) Amplifying the Global Value of Earth Observation(Link)
SEPT

CommunityActivations

OCTNOVDEC

Virtual EO
Community Meeting

JAN

FEB

AM24 at DavosEO Activations

MAR

APR

1. Publications: Blog posts and briefing papers expanding on
community activities and dialogue series events

2. Interactive EO Products and Artifacts: Bringing together EO
provider(s) and end user(s) to explore EO use cases

MAYJUNE

Global Technology
Retreat

JULY

AUG

SEPT

Virtual EO
Community Meeting

NOVDECJAN

Virtual EO
Community Meeting

OccurredConfirmed
TBC
SDIM23 EO
Roundtable Session
5COP28 EO Dinner
Reception

Virtual EO
Community Meeting

Annual Meeting ofthe New Champions

SDIM24

AM25 atDavosINITIATIVE OVERVIEWA Community of Business and Climate Changemakers
As the Forum continues to engage partners on the topic of Earth observation, a growing enthusiasm and sense of urgency toraise awareness and promote the widespread use of EO technologies to achieve Climate and Nature goals has become apparent.
Business61) Includes Government Agencies (e.g. NASA) and multi-lateral institutions (e.g UN-SPBF)

Civil Society & Academia

Government1

Presentation Title Lorem Ipsum

https://initiatives.weforum.org/earth-observation/home7

Thank YouContacts
Valentin Golovtchenko

Lead, Climate Technology, C4IR
Valentin.Golovtchenko@weforum.org
Hazuki Mori
Lead, Space Technology
World Economic Forum Japan
Hazuki.Mori@weforum.org

8

Appendix | Valuation Results

VALUATION RESULTS

Downstream Use is the Value Multiplier
The value of Earth observation data is not intrinsic; it must be used to generate value, and since EO is a concentrated industry, itenables an outsized impact downstream.

Value added fromanalysis and use~150xValueEO Data Acquisition:
Estimated value addedfrom EO data acquisition

This outsized potential fordownstream value
creation is a call to action
for increasing adoption ofEarth observation globally.

Value-added services1 andend-user applications:
Estimated potential gross value
added2 of EO Data
10

1.
2.

Value-added services include those provided by organizations considered part of the EO industry.
Gross value added is defined as the contribution of EO technology and EO-derived information to gross domestic product (GDP); economic value is not the same as market value, which describes industry revenues or the discounted value of future earnings.

VALUATION RESULTS

The Economic Value of Earth Observation Data
This study estimated the gross value added1 of the direct benefits to users of EO data to reach over $700b annually by 2030:$703

Productivity gain
Cost avoidance

Growth driven by existing EO users

Growth driven by net new adopters

2023

111.

Growth channels

2030

In the context of EO, gross value added is the equivalent to contribution the technology and EO-derived information make to gross domestic product (GDP) through increased productivity and avoided costs; importantly, economic value is not the same as
market value, which describes industry revenues or the discounted value of future earnings.

VALUATION RESULTS

The Dual Value of Earth Observation Data
At scale, adoption of EO data is estimated to eliminate ~2Gt of GHG emissions annually, with nearly 80% of the total, global valueadded by Earth observation data in 2030 tied to applications with associated benefits for climate and nature.

EO Applications with Direct Climate Benefits

$550b
$703b
Value of EO
in 2030

Value of EO
uses withadditional
climate andnature benefits

Possible GHG Reduction (Co2e)1.

Wildfire Early Warning: EO-enabled response could reduce thearea of land affected by up to 16%

64 Mt

2.

Emissions Monitoring: Satellites that monitor GHGs aim to drive
actions that reduce up to 70% of methane emissions from oil andgas operations

1700 Mt

3.

Shipping Route Optimization: EO can help optimize shipping
routes, lowering fuel consumption by up to 3%15 Mt

4.

Deforestation Prevention: EO data can spot illegal deforestation
early, helping inform actions to stop it

216 Mt5.

Precision Agriculture: Variable rate application of fertilizer using
EO data can drive a 4-6% decrease in emissions from NO2 andother GHGs

27 Mt

2Gt
Emissions reduced
by EO use at scale
12

VALUATION RESULTS

Industry (Downstream User) Results
To unlock the value of Earth observation, downstream widespread adoption must occur among end users, with six end user industries
standing to generate over 90% of the economic value potential presented by EO when used at scale.
Potential Global Economic Value From EO Data by 2030 (Billions USD)

$1$4

Tourism$5

Government*
Mining, Oil, & Gas | $108

$6$47

Information, Mediaand Technology
Construction$13
Insurance&Financial
Services

Other

$23

$22

HealthProfessional
Services$14

13

Agriculture | $399

Energy& Utilities

Trade &Transport$47$35

Manufacturing