3D render of planet Earth viewed from space. Photo: NASA

Planet Labs is teaming up with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Space Agency to help in the battle against climate change. The organizations plan to build a regional satellite data-driven loss and damage atlas for climate change resilience. This collaboration was announced May. 25.

The data facility plans to initially focus on compiling data for a select climate-vulnerable country for purposes of quantifying damages caused by extreme weather events, such as floods and drought and helping to establish early-warning systems. With access to high-frequency, high-resolution satellite data and analytical tools, the goal is to make these foundational datasets available to governments, NGOs, and related parties so that they can develop insights on climate-related topics like population distribution, wildfire and flood risks, agricultural productivity and food security, and physical assets.

“This project is an act of data diplomacy from the UAE to a country facing disproportionate risks from climate change, and it’s vital to help it access the digital tools and resources to manage for a sustainable and secure future. The UAE government has made sustainability and preserving the environment top priorities, reflected by launching the UAE Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative nationally. In line with this direction, the UAE Space Agency has launched several initiatives and projects to ensure that we are doing our part and further driving the global journey towards sustainability, and support of the climate change initiatives,” H.E. Salem Butti Al Qubaisi, Director General of the UAE Space Agency, said in a statement.