Last week, Uptoearth took part in the “EO for Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification of Carbon Removals” conference, organized by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) in Copenhagen, Denmark. The event was an important opportunity to stay updated and discuss the role of Earth Observation (EO) technologies in carbon removal.

During the conference, we had the chance to explore:
– The challenges and needs of LULUCF regulations (Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry) for national greenhouse gas inventories.
– The upcoming EO missions and products that are crucial for carbon removal.

Furthermore, Uptoearth had the opportunity to present our SCORE Feasibility Study, our project co-funded by ESA, in two Breakout Group (BOG) Sessions:

📊 BOG1 – Enhancing Earth Observation Monitoring Capabilities, chaired by Nathalie Morin (Geoville) and Michelle Hermes (EARSC)

🌊 BOG 6 – Blue Carbon, chaired by Marie-Aude Sevin (BlueSeeds) and Antony Delavois (ESA)

Our contribution has focused on how SCORE can be beneficial within the MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification) framework for carbon farming and its contribution to blue carbon.

The event also provided a valuable opportunity to network with relevant stakeholders and share ideas and feedback on the future of carbon removal through Earth Observation.

We are excited to announce the kick-off of our latest project, SCORE – Scale for Carbon Organic Resilient Ethereal, a feasibility study funded by the European Space Agency (ESA). This project, set to last nine months, aims to develop a groundbreaking Earth Observation-based rating system to assess carbon projects across various ecosystems, including agricultural land, urban areas, and coastal regions with Posidonia seagrass.

Throughout the project, we will conduct pilot case studies across the globe, collaborating closely with a range of stakeholders who have expressed their interest in participating. These case studies will help us refine our innovative rating system, ensuring it meets the needs of diverse environmental and economic contexts.

SCORE is a significant milestone in UptoEarth GmbH’s journey, which began in 2017 with the awarding of the Copernicus Master University Challenge and our subsequent incubation at the ESA Business Incubation Centre (BIC) in Hessen. Our efforts continued with the ESA Kick-Start project CORE, laying the foundation for the SCORE project we are now launching.

Stay tuned for more updates on our progress and achievements as we move forward with SCORE.

On June 9th, during EU GREEN WEEK 2023 almost 30 enthusiastic participants came together to delve into the pressing topic of climate change’s impact on agriculture. It has been a great pleasure for UpToEarth to take part with “Innovative technologies to accompany skills for the green transition: FarmBox project“ as a partner event of the Green Week initiatives bringing Farmbox to celebrate and being involved as part of 2023 as European Year of Skills.

Our distinguished speakers shed light on the urgency for action, emphasizing how the FarmBox Project can play a pivotal role in cultivating Climate Smart Agriculture skills for a greener transition in the agricultural sector.

The green transition necessitates both technical competencies associated with sustainable thinking and behavior: a workforce equipped with the right skill set not only contributes to sustainable growth but also fuels innovation and enhances companies’ competitiveness. Furthermore, this ensures that everyone is included and that the economic recovery, as well as the green and digital transformations, are characterized by social fairness and equity.  

In this context, the Erasmus+ FarmBox project is aimed at improving the development of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) skills for students and farmers. In this journey, the integration of technology unveiled to be crucial to support the development of new skills. 

Our heartfelt gratitude goes to our incredible guest speakers : Paolo Tarolli (University of Padova) Francesco Marinello ( Unversity of Padova) and Miren Arrien Aguirre (Politeknika Txorierri) for sharing their knowledge and bringing the spotlight on urgent topics such as climate mitigation and adaptation,Relevance of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) Skills, and The impact of climate change on agriculture.

🙌 A special thanks goes out to all the participants who embraced this unique challenge of exploring the event in the UPTOEARTH ITALIA SRL Metaverse. We hope you enjoyed this immersive experience and had a great time!

🌱 Let’s continue our journey towards sustainability and foster a greener future together.🌱

SMACK project (Satellite Monitoring of soil organic Carbon in Kenya),officially kicked off! In collaboration with agriBORA, the project has been selected to receive the Eureka Network Innowwide funding .

SMACK aims to map and score agricultural lands in Kenya based on their capacity to store soil organic carbon through a dynamic and accurate satellite-based methodology.

This project has huge implications for carbon farming and sequestration efforts in Kenya and beyond.

Let us introduce you to some more details about SMACK:
The project main purpose is mapping the global soil carbon potential to simulate future scenarios describing the real value of agricultural land. The target of the project is agricultural lands in Central Africa, particularly in Kenya.

In contrast to traditional monitoring maps, SMACK mapping methodology for carbon projects in
agricultural areas considers three key data: the “HIDDEN” Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) represents the past of the soil; the Organic Carbon represents the present, which is defined as occurring between 5 years before and 5 years after the project’s beginning; the Resilient Carbon represents the carbon simulated in the future, from 5 years after the beginning of the project.

We decided to develop and market SMACK because we believe that the carbon market needs a different accounting model than the one currently in place. Both those who decide to invest in carbon projects and farmers who want to engage in voluntary/non-voluntary carbon markets need to transparently identify the potential of their land and monitor their carbon storage status. We should not think that users need a methodology to satisfy their markets, but we need to create a methodology that satisfies users and creates real added value for them and the environment.

By providing customers with a single figure for estimating the amount of total organic carbon in the soil and the quality of the soil under consideration, both a current carbon estimate and a potential carbon gain for the future are quickly possible. This provides a time perspective of the soil, taking into account the present, the past and the future.

🎉🌾 We’re excited to see the impact the project will have on the agricultural industry and the environment as a whole. 🌾🎉

Image source: Eureka website https://lnkd.in/dBgXibTg

Last week, the groundbreaking C.O.R.E – Carbon Organic Resilient Ethereal project was introduced to esteemed representatives from the Directorate General for Agriculture (DG Agri), Directorate General for Climate Action (DG Clima), and Directorate General for Environment (DG Env). This marked a significant milestone in the project’s journey towards creating innovative solutions at the intersection of carbon sequestration, organic farming, resilience, and sustainability.

During two dedicated sessions, the project team had the invaluable opportunity to present the ESA Kick-Start project in detail. The representatives from the European Commission were eager to delve into the project’s scope, methodology, and the potential applications it holds for addressing pressing environmental challenges.

The engagement with DG Agri, DG Clima, and DG Env proved to be highly constructive, with the representatives providing essential feedback and insights. As a result, the project team is now in the process of compiling a comprehensive technical document that will offer a deeper understanding of the CORE Model. This document will delve into the intricate details, methodologies, and potential implementation strategies, further solidifying the project’s credibility and value.

On March 30, 2023 Uptoearth GmbH participated at the Global Navigation meets Geoinformation conference 2023 (GNMG 23) and at the Space Business Bootcamp organised by CESAH.

This was a unique occasion to discover the latest space technologies and applications, network with business representatives from various sectors, and get to know many terrific hessian space start-ups.

During this occasion, we had the opportunity of presenting our FarmBox Project and engaging with participants in a discussion about the contribution of earth observation to improve the resilience of farmers to climate change. Participants agreed that earth observation technology provides valuable data and information to help farmers make informed decisions about planting and harvesting crops, managing pests and diseases, and using water and fertilizer efficiently. Satellite imagery and other earth observation technologies can also help farmers monitor the impacts of climate change, such as droughts and floods, and take proactive measures to adapt to these challenges.

But the highlight of the day was when participants entered the Metaverse and explored the FarmBox’s MOOC and Simulator. We were amazed by their reactions and are thrilled to be at the forefront of innovative solutions for Climate Smart Agriculture.

The FarmBox Project was praised for its role in promoting skills acquisition and preparation in this framework and the event highlighted the importance of earth observation technology in improving the resilience of farmers to climate change, and the FarmBox Project is making significant contributions in this area.