COP26: Combatting climate change
Did you join the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26)
[https://ukcop26.org/] that took place over the last two weeks? This
year marked the 26th edition, bringing together parties across the
globe to take action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement
[https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement]
and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
[https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetailsIII.aspx?src=IND&mtdsg_no=XXVII-7&chapter=27&Temp=mtdsg3&clang=_en].
Many environmental topics were discussed, one of them being
deforestation and its relevance for reducing emissions.  

To achieve global net-zero by 2050 and keep the warming of the Earth
to a minimum, serious emissions reductions are needed. To achieve
this, countries not only need to eliminate the use of coal and shift
towards renewable energy, they also must put a halt to deforestation.
Forests absorb and store CO2 in their biomass, which prevents it from
polluting the atmosphere. That way, they have a cooling effect on the
Earth. Also, for those countries and regions most at risk, it is vital
that natural ecosystems are protected and restored, and that resilient
infrastructure and agriculture are in place. Here too, forests play a
key role. Forests minimise the impact of storms and floods by
controlling soil erosion, as tree roots strengthen the soil.

But how do we protect forests from deforestation? One of the finalists
of the EU Datathon 2020
[https://data.europa.eu/en/news/eu-datathon-2020]: Digital Dryads
[https://digital-dryads.eu/] provides a solution. Their application
combines aerial and Copernicus [https://www.copernicus.eu/en]
satellite imagery to show where forests are, which parts are
protected, and which parts have been cut, or can be cut. This
application is based on open data and shows precisely how forests are
doing across the globe and will raise awareness around their
protection.

There is a wealth of datasets on deforestation
[https://data.europa.eu/data/datasets?query=deforestation&locale=en]
that you can find on data.europa, but you can also have a look at all
datasets [https://data.europa.eu/en] in the category environment.

Looking to stay tuned for more news and events? Follow us on Twitter
[https://twitter.com/EU_opendata], Facebook
[https://www.facebook.com/data.europa.eu], and LinkedIn
[https://www.linkedin.com/company/publications-office-of-the-european-union/],
or subscribe to our newsletter
[https://data.europa.eu/en/newsletter]. 

Publication Date/Time
2021-11-17T15:00:00+00:00
Learn how open data supports the protection of our forests