Climate change has become that one important topic of discussions, that is on everyone’s mind, but unless the problem is identified and solutions are worked upon, these mere discussions won’t lead to any conclusion. After the problem is identified, then comes the point where application of geospatial can best fit to resolve the issue.
Recently at the Cambridge Conference, geospatial leaders from across the globe explored the key role geospatial data can play in the climate challenge. Based on the outcomes, Ordnance Survey (OS) and the global community have published a report called the ‘How’ Guide – Applying Geospatial Information to Climate Challenges.
OS’s Chief Geospatial Officer David Henderson said, “As a community of National Mapping and Geospatial Agencies (NMGAs), we took the opportunity to step back from our day jobs and build on the shared commitment to address climate action that we made. It was clear from our conversations that decision-makers need pragmatic solutions to the problems they are facing. This ‘How’ Guide should help us move past the ‘Why’ of needing to act to the practical steps that we can take to help achieve climate mitigation and adaption goals.
We’re delighted to share an overview of the guide’s main points. Whether you’re an NMGA or not, there is much here that demonstrates how we need to collaborate, so please read the ‘How’ Guide in full and reach out to discuss how we can build solutions together.”
The Guide pinpoints four practical steps the global geospatial community must take to influence governments and decision makers to help the planet mitigate climate damage and achieve adoption goals.
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1. Lead and inspire with practical solutions
The entire global community need to work together because climate change is not just a country’s problem but a global problem. Unless the geospatial experts and senior leaders from around the world take ownership of the problem and provide active direction – both for the organizations and for the governments, the solution will remain distant.
Geospatial industry players will have to supply the data and services, to support their users and work together to effectively solve problems. The global community need to continue to work together to propose solutions, and inspire others to apply geospatial capabilities in direct response to climate challenges.
2. Show why trusted location data matters
To be trusted and authoritative, experts and leaders need to:
Often, the foundational geospatial data is not enough on its own to detect and mitigate against the impacts of climate change. The industry players need to recognize the need to develop richer, analysis-ready data and identify where any gaps may be.
Increased levels of collaboration between the public and private sector is required. Improved communication between industry leaders and partners will unlock the greatest potential. Working together, can help achieve greater data harmonization, interoperability, usability, and accessibility, streamlining the development and implementation of new solutions. And they can create a network of supportive voices, help expedite problem-solving, and start bringing end-user stories to the forefront. They need to make the user understand how their data can help bring change.
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3. Connect data back to the real world
Henderson said, “Our role as National Mapping and Geospatial Agencies is to reflect the changes and impacts of climate change in the real world to better inform our governments’ responses to climate challenges.”
By building capability from within, collaborating with partners and focusing on outcomes, the geospatial data providers must ensure that the data ecosystem around Net Zero reflects the tangible changes they are seeing in the societies and the environment every day. This will make planning their response more targeted and effective.
4. It is all about the people
“Our focus should not only be on the technical process and data capture, but also the real-world impacts of our work. We must understand the ways in which different aspects of the climate response are interconnected in the real world. So, we are committed to ensuring that the data and analysis we provide directly unlocks economic, social, and environmental value to government stakeholders and our citizens, conveying the impact of that value to real world outcomes involving real people,” added Henderson.
Getting the story right will help drive great levels of geospatial teaching in the school curriculum, increased focus on attracting passionate people that want to make a difference and encourage diversity of thought. It helps make the case for geospatial information to act as a fundamental data set. One which other industries, partners, and public sector users can rely on, to provide global consistency in the climate response.
The effects of climate change are more evident than ever and the time to reverse the change is over. All the efforts have to be focused only on saving what is left with whatever methods, before things start going out of hands.
David added, “In order to tackle the climate challenges facing our countries, we need to better equip our people, improve our data and technology, and strengthen our governance. That’s why we’ve used the UN’s Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (IGIF) as a lens for considering our practical advice.”
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