Space & Sustainability Part 1: How Space Innovation Can Drive Sustainability on Earth

Climate change is a pressing issue with significant implications for our planet. The increase in greenhouse gases, primarily from fossil fuel emissions, is causing global temperatures to rise. This warming leads to a range of severe consequences, including extreme weather events, such as droughts, storms, flooding and fires. Additionally, melting polar ice caps contribute to rising sea levels, which can displace communities and threaten biodiversity.

Current data highlights the urgency of the situation. The Earth is approximately 1.1°C warmer than it was during pre-industrial times. To prevent the most severe impacts of climate change, UN scientists recommend limiting this increase to 1.5°C.

However, if current emission trends continue, temperatures could rise by up to 4.4°C by the end of the century. Sea levels have already risen between eight and nine inches since 1880 and continue to rise at a rate of about 3.4 mm per year, according to NASA.

Consequences in Action

These changes are not solely statistical; they are already affecting lives and livelihoods around the world. Addressing climate change is crucial to mitigating these impacts and protecting the future.

According to the World Health Organisation, 3.6 billion people live in areas susceptible to climate change. As temperatures on Earth continue to rise, a marked increase in extreme weather events, challenges in meeting global demand for food and large groups of people being displaced can unfortunately be expected.

Ultimately, WHO projects an estimated unnecessary 250,000 deaths per year between the years 2030 and 2050 caused directly by climate change.

The Role of the Space Industry

There is a limited window of time to make a meaningful difference in this area. However, the tech and space industry sectors can play a vital role in ensuring governments and businesses embrace sustainable policies and operations.

Earth observation technologies have become crucial weapons in the arsenal of the effort to combat climate change by providing clear, compelling evidence to policymakers and the public as to the severity and scale of the problem.

By utilising satellites to gather data measuring crucial climate-related benchmarks, such as temperature increase and rises in sea levels, tracking long-term climate patterns and weather trends, and detecting climate change-related extreme weather events whilst providing early warnings to those at risk, the space industry is having a meaningful impact on protecting the planet from these impacts.

The Role of the UK

The UK is uniquely placed to contribute to this space/sustainability nexus, given its world-leading educational institutions, a public that is highly supportive and conscious of environmental issues and its impressive tech sector.

In early May 2024, Andrew Griffith MP, Minister for Space at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology announced new funding from the UK Space Agency of £1.8 million.

This is backing technologies to help satellites measure changing shorelines, estimate levels of biomass, predict weather forecasting and manufacture medicines in space. This government fund will grow our economy through innovation while helping to keep space sustainable and deliver more key discoveries for many years to come.

Through the Earth Observation Technology programme, the UK has provided £20 million in funding to an array of vital projects, including a next-generation Synthetic Aperture Radar for Oceanography led by the National Oceanography Centre in collaboration with Airbus, a Compact Infrared Imager and Radiometer led by the University of Oxford, and a Laser Heterodyne Radiometer led by RAL Space.

The projects have been driven by some of the country’s most brilliant minds. Their skills and dedication, as honed by the UK’s school system and world-leading universities, are at the vanguard of the struggle against climate change.

The Role of Immigration

However, a talent challenge exists. Whilst the UK is home to many brilliant people, the dilemma presented by climate change is so large that the UK’s space industry, and the elements of it geared at combatting ESG issues specifically, need to be scaled up.

To do so, the UK will need much more highly qualified talent than can be reasonably expected to recruit within its borders.

A potential solution is to encourage businesses to utilise the international talent pool. Accessing global talent and providing them with the resources and knowledge at the UK’s disposal will have the dual effect of increasing the skilled workforce working in this crucial area and facilitating the introduction of fresh thinking and unique perspectives to UK businesses.

By introducing new modes of thought to the groups and bodies tackling climate change and boosting the numbers of skilled workers set to the task of solving the problem, the planet will be in much better stead.

Climate change is a global problem, and global solutions are the key to solving it.

Upcoming installments in this blog series will dive into other potential considerations for the space sector in the sustainability sphere and how accessing a global talent pool could facilitate continued commercial viability and growth of the industry.

Need to know more?

For more information or questions on navigating the UK immigration system and the space sector, please contact Fragomen’s Space Industry Team. Please look out for parts two and three in this blog series to be published in the coming weeks.

This blog was published on 16 May 2024, and due to the circumstances, there are frequent changes. To keep up to date with all the latest updates on global immigration, please subscribe to our alerts and follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Instagram.