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NCEO Executive Director discusses satellite methane monitoring with His Majesty The King
Climate scientists from the University of Leicester and National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO) recently showcased their research at a reception attended by His Majesty King Charles III.
Taking place during London Climate Action Week, the event saw experts and representatives drawn from the worlds of politics, science and business gather at St James’s Palace in London to share their insights into solutions for the rapid reduction of methane and non-CO2 pollutants.
Dr Harjinder Sembhi from Leicester’s School of Physics and Astronomy and Professor John Remedios, Executive Director of NCEO were invited to present on their work on 24 June at an exhibition stand organised by the UK Space Agency.
The event was opened by Ed Miliband MP (Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs), followed by speeches from Antonio Guterres (UN Secretary-General), The Honourable Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, and Murat Kuru, President of COP31 in Turkey.
At the event, NCEO Director’s Professor John Remedios and Professor Paul Palmer discussed with the King the ability of satellites to detect methane and their importance, as well as the role of both public sector and commercial instruments.
Focussing on methane reduction offers a rapid intervention which would limit decadal greenhouse gas warming if undertaken with international agreement. Current directions will otherwise lead to markedly increasing costs from lost productivity to adaptation measures. Co-working with business is helping and will lead to robust monitoring and sustainable industry-agreed practice.”
Professor John Remedios
NCEO Executive Director
Dr Sembhi is part of the Earth Observation Science group also based at Space Park Leicester. By taking advantage of data and imagery from satellites, the scientists can monitor greenhouse gases such as methane and CO2 in an effort to tackle environmental issues such as climate change and air pollution.
The group is involved in or leading a number of projects mapping methane emissions from space and using the data to support organisations in mitigating their emissions, such as the ESA MEDUSA and METRICS projects. Methane is a major greenhouse gas and a significant target for mitigation of global warming.
NCEO will play an active role in supporting this transition.
It was a real honour to attend this event during London Climate Action Week. It was motivating to see a diverse array of organisations, from NGOs, Earth Observation companies, governments and academia working towards a common goal of mitigating anthropogenic methane emissions.”
Dr Harjinder Sembhi
Remote sensing scientist and lecturer in Earth Observation Science
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Published by Fazila Patel
Digital Comms Officer
University of Leicester
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