Austria

The 2023 UN/Austria Symposium "Space for climate action: space applications and technologies for sustainability on Earth" will take place in September 12 - 14 both on-site (Graz, Austria) and online.

This year's symposium, also the 29th edition of this series, will discuss the important contributions of space applications and technologies in tackling the challenges of climate change. The focus of the symposium is to showcase the most recent initiatives, experiences and best practices in mitigating and adapting to climate change and supporting sustainability on Earth. Further to creating awareness of how Member States use space technologies, the symposium will highlight how the space sector is being adapted to reduce its own impact on the climate crisis. The symposium would collect ideas and contributions to define future activities.

To raise awareness of relevant…

More information on the event's website.

Important dates

•     Preliminary programme has been released
•     Deadline for registration to attend online: 10 July 2024

Theme

Space applications and technologies have significant potential to contribute to mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change. Every year there are demonstrations of new innovative technologies and launches of pilot projects that promise to address issues of forest fires, land degradation, floods, droughts, loss of biodiversity, agriculture, disaster management and more. Yet, many of these projects struggle to take off or fail to achieve long-term success. Beyond technical feasibility in the transition from a technical project to a sustainable service is a lack of understanding of how to make it happen.

…

The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) was set up by the General Assembly in 1959. Since its establishment, the Committee's membership has continued to expand. The Committee is the only committee of the General Assembly dealing exclusively with international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, and its role as a forum to monitor and discuss developments related to the exploration and use of outer space has evolved alongside with the technical advancements in space exploration, geopolitical changes, and the evolving use of space science and technology for sustainable development.

The overall mandate of the Committee and its two Subcommittees aims at strengthening the international legal regime governing outer space, resulting in improved conditions for expanding international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space. The mandate also specifies that the Committee should supports efforts at the national, regional and global levels,…