Presenting real world satellite applications to reduce environmental impact at COP25

Why is it that the UN takes a different approach and invites governments, UN organisations, NGO’s and universities but does not invite more companies that have real solutions?

What’s interesting to learn is that in order to attend COP25 you need to be with the sort of organisation listed above. It’s virtually impossible to attend the event if you are with a company. Also, Influence watchers raised concerns over the Spanish government’s appeal for corporate aid to pull off this last-minute conference. Afraid of lobbying influence from big finance, oil and gas. Sure, this is the way that UN events work, but it also implies that companies have nothing to add to the climate change discussion. Let alone, have solutions for this pressing issue. And that is where we like to disagree.
The Dutch have a long tradition in building solutions with governments, universities and companies. VanderSat is no exception. VanderSat technology is deeply rooted in international academia, was tested with governments and international space agencies and is now fully operational within a commercial earth observation company that has solutions for a changing climate. Water managers use the information for improving water efficiency on a number of scales. (re)Insurers have been able to develop low cost index insurance products for (smallholder) farmers while large agricultural companies use the information to predict crop yield and reduce fertilizer and pesticide applications.

During COP25 we will show how we use satellite derived soil moisture in real world applications to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture and water management and provide more financial security in the face of a changing climate for smallholder farmers and large farming companies alike. In the latter case we are the independent calculation agent for the insurance based on satellite data alone. This makes for good and actionable information which is key to achieve the Paris goals.

We know there are many more companies out there that have real solutions and it would be great if we would see more of them at UN events like COP25 in the coming years

So why is it that the UN takes a different approach and invites governments, UN organisations, NGO’s and universities, but does not invite more companies that go the ‘last mile’? We know there are many more companies out there that have real solutions and it would be great if we would see more of them in the coming years, because they are a crucial part of the solution. It also goes to show that a company can thrive while lots of people think that mitigating climate change will only cost money.