The launch of the Destination Earth initiative

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The European Union is developing a digital clone of the Earth to help monitor and combat the causes of climate change globally. The European Commission is starting the Destination Earth initiative, supported by an initial investment of 150 million euros ($167 million) until mid-2024, to create a digital simulation of the globe. The idea is that scientists and companies will be able to use it to help monitor and predict the human activity that’s causing temperatures to rise. “This initiative is a clear example that we cannot fight climate change without digital technologies,” Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition chief and chair of the group on a Europe Fit for the Digital Age, said in a statement. “The digital modeling of the Earth will help to predict major environmental degradation with unprecedented reliability.” The Commission has organised a public online event for the launch of the initiative together with the implementing entities, the European Centre for Medium-range Forecasts (ECMWF), the European Space Agency (ESA), and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT). The event, that took place on Wednesday 30 March, has featured representatives of the three implementing entities, stakeholders and the European Commission. Achim Steiner, the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has delivered a special guest address in the beginning of the event.

The registration of the event is now available online