Discussions surrounding critical questions about the consequences of climate change and ways to tackle this were the focus of IGARSS IEEE 2024, International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium. The conference was held for the first time in Athens, Greece at the International Conference Center of the Athens Concert Hall from July 7th to July 12th.
The chairpersons, Dr. Charalambos Kontoes and Professor Vito Pascazio welcomed more than 3,000 delegates from academia, industry, and startups. Kontoes is the director of research at the National Observatory of Athens (NOA) as well as at the Operational Unit of the Institute of Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications, and Remote Sensing (IAASARS) “BEYOND Center of Earth Observation Research and Satellite Remote Sensing.” Pascazio is a full professor at the Università degli Studi di Napoli Parthenope.
The symposium was organized under the responsibility and guidance of the organizing committee, consisting of top scientists from Greece and abroad. The organizing committee was supported by the companies Convin & CMS.
The aim of the Athens climate conference
The aim of the conference was to present the achievements of science and space technology in research and application during the Athens climate conference and demonstrate new paths that space and Earth observation technologies can explore in tandem with big data analytics and AI. The hope was that, in bringing these disciplines together, there could be a more effective way of managing the sustainability of our planet.
Many topics were highlighted. Dozens of presentations and technical talks explored themes such as: “Machine Learning and Remote Sensing—Theory and Applications for Earth Observation,” “Earth Wonders: Pangeo, AI and Copernicus in Action,” “Digital Twin of the Earth and Earth Sciences,” and “Quantum Technology for Remote Sensing.”
The opening ceremony of the symposium was addressed on behalf of the Greek Prime Minister by the Minister of Digital Governance, Dimitrios Papastergiou.
He was followed by General Secretary for Research and Innovation Prof. Athanasios Kyriazis, President of the National Observatory of Athens Prof. Manolis Plionis, President of the Academy of Athens Dr. Stamatis Krimizis, President of the Greek National Committee of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) and Secretary General of the Academy of Athens Professor Christos Zerefos, as well as President of ΙΕΕΕ and President of IEEE GRSS Mariko Burgin.
Keynote speakers Professor Stamatios Krimizis, Professor Roderick Beaton, and Dr. Rune Floberghagen aroused the interest of the delegates with their interventions.
More specifically, in his speech on “ESA’s Earth Observation Program,” Dr. Rune Floberghagen, the head of ESA’s Program Directorate Climate Action, Sustainability and Science, said:
“You all know that we are living in the golden age of Earth observation. ESA has a coherent and meaningful space program for the benefit of sustainability, climate action, emergency response, including the security of the planet, which is becoming increasingly important.”
He continued:
“With a budget of around eight billion euros (1/3 of which is dedicated to Earth observation) and corresponding to around 12 euros per European, we can say that ESA’s Earth Observation program is second to none.”
