Strengthening the global system for essential climate variables observations: the iClimateAction project

The landscape of organizations which have functions along the value chain of climate data, is extremely complex. These functions include the collection, curation and exploitation of climate data, which ultimately lead to the production of climate information supporting decision making. The EU funded iClimateAction project supports three key organizations in this landscape GCOS, GEO, WMO in their common endeavours to strengthen the global system for standardised, open, accessible, usable, and interoperable observations of essential climate variables (ECVs). The project has for objective providing an assessment of the current Earth Observation value chain for ECVs and identify gaps, and shortcomings that limit full exploitation from observations to services.​ For that, it will realise: (1) a full assessment of in-situ ECV observation systems: Coverage, gaps, networks at risk, data centres, and best practices for data & metadata stewardship.; (2) A review of space-based ECV data availability: Limitations, continuity challenges, processing stream improvements, and better coordination among space agencies; (3) a systemic analysis of the global ECV observation. The iClimateAction project will foster EO data exploitation, and deliver a set of recommendations for a sustainable interorganization coordination to maximize the value and impact of the EO data chain for climate.