SCOInternational

OrganizerGroup on Earth Observations (GEO)

53SCO signatory members to date

Next international meetingUNOC United Nations Ocean Conference June 9-13, 2025

Key wordsAdaptation, collaboration, biodiversity, extreme events

‘The Earth Talks': SCO takes part in GEO Global Forum 2025

Published on 15/05/2025

Rome, May 2025. The GEO Global Forum brought together the Earth Observation community to discuss major climate and environmental challenges. A committed player and GEO partner since 2023, SCO made its mark with key interventions, flagship projects and collective energy for immediate and sustainable action.

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SCO community event and, below, regional GEO representatives. © CNES/SCO

After China Space Day in Shanghai, SCO headed for Rome for the GEO Global Forum from May 5 to 9, 2025. An international event organized by the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), this major gathering brought together the world's Earth observation community under the slogan "The Earth Talks". Here's a look back at some of the highlights of the SCO, with speeches that raised the profile of the event among European and international geospatial and climate players

A community event focused on climate action

As part of the GEO Global Forum, the SCO co-organized with the European Association of Remote Sensing Companies (EARSC) a joint session entitled "Earth Observation for Climate Action: supporting innovative projects". For 90 minutes, participants explored the levers offered by Earth observation to meet climate challenges. The event was structured around two sequences, both of which attracted a great deal of interest from the audience, given the many questions raised:

A cross-exchange between Frédéric Bretar (SCO) and Weronika Borejko (EARSC), moderated by Alexia Freigneaux (SCO), to present the visions and actions of the two organizations. Indeed, the SCO and EARSC are two complementary players in Earth observation, with the former supporting the development of tools for climate change adaptation and the latter representing companies in the sector to promote the use of geospatial data in Europe.
Concrete examples of success stories, with :
- The video of testimonials from SCO beneficiaries around the world, revealed the previous week in Shanghai;
- Presentation of the Corisclim platform, an evolution of the SCO Littoscope project, to anticipate the risks of coastal flooding on a global scale, by Claire Dufau (CLS);
- A case study on heatwave risks in Turin as part of the European SDGsEYES project, in which EARSC is a partner, presented by Mattia Scalas (CMCC - Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change).

On the European Union and EuroGEO stand

Honoring the podium reserved for the SCO on this joint stand, Frédéric Bretar gave a concise but comprehensive presentation of the initiative. In just five minutes, he retraced the origins of the SCO, its governance principles and its 2025 results, with over 110 projects certified worldwide and 53 signatories to the international charter

On the GEO Knowledge Hub stand: biodiversity and resilience to extreme events

The SCO also had an active presence on the GEO Knowledge Hub (GKH) stand, with two 30-minute sessions devoted to its projects.

🌱🦎 A first session dedicated to biodiversity highlighted three ecosystems ardently protected by SCO projects: mountain environments with ORION, wetlands with AIonWetlands, and French Southern Territories with Cartovege.

🌪️⛈️ The second session focused on resilience to extreme weather events, with a new presentation of the Corisclim project by Claire Dufau (CLS). This prompted many questions from an audience concerned about future climate risks on their territorie.
💡 The Littoscope project, now deployed as a global operational platform under the name Corisclim, is one of the first six applications published by the SCO on the GEO Knowledge Hub Marketplace. (see box 👉)

The Marketplace, a new stage for the GEO Knowledge Hub

In 2024, SCO and GEO formalized their partnership with the integration of 33 effective SCO solutions on the GEO Knowledge Hub (GKH), a platform dedicated to the worldwide distribution of Earth observation applications. While the GKH was initially intended for open source tools, the opening of a market place in January 2025 marks a major evolution of the GKH, which now also references commercial solutions. Thanks to this extension, co-constructed with the GKH teams, the SCO is strengthening its commitment to facilitating access to as many concrete, reproducible solutions as possible, in the service of climate adaptation.

In the main image, Frédéric Bretar giving a presentation at the EuroGEO stand. On the left, Alexia Freigneaux and, below, Claire Dufau, enthusiastically present SCO projects at the GKH stand. © CNES/SCO