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Scientists Urge Britain To Support Global Monitoring Project

Posted on: Wednesday, 19 November 2008, 15:42 CST

Three leading scientists are making a last-minute appeal to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to support Europe’s Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) project.

The 2bn-euro project is a joint venture between the European Union and European Space Agency, and would establish a comprehensive view of the planet’s condition from both satellite and ground-based data. 

So far, Britain has only shown tepid support for the venture, despite claims the nation is a world leader in climate policy.

The three scientists sent a letter to Mr. Brown, imploring him to support GMES during a crucial meeting next week.

Member states of the European Space Agency (ESA) will gather at The Hague to determine how to fund the next phase of the program, also known as Kopernikus.

To have a significant influence on GMES, Britain would have to contribute more than 100m euros.  The nation had previously declined to play a significant role in the project, and scientists worry about a similar outcome of the Dutch meeting.

"We strongly believe that a major UK contribution to Kopernikus is necessary to support the UK's wish to be a world leader in responding to climate change and its consequences," the scientists wrote, according to a BBC News report.

"However, it is our current understanding that the UK may not contribute at a level concomitant with its position as one of the world's leading economies."

Professor Alan O'Neill, director of the UK's National Centre for Earth Observation, was one of the letter’s signatories.  Professor Paul Monks, who is affiliated to Leicester University, and Professor Shaun Quegan, who worked out of Sheffield University, were co-signatories. 

"I believe this is a very important program for the UK to take leadership in," O’Neill said during an interview with BBC News.

"The program can and will evolve into something which will be of major benefit to mankind; I don't think it is too melodramatic to say that. We need a planetary Earth-observing system to gather all the information to take remedial action on climate and environmental change."

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is Britain’s lead agency on the GMES project.  It has consistently maintained over the past few weeks that Britain is committed to supporting the venture.

Mr. Brown himself reinforced this position in the House last month, saying: "We recognize the importance of understanding and monitoring climate change. No decision has yet been taken on the level of UK funding, but a final decision will be taken in advance of the ministerial meeting in late November."

The three scientists are concerned that a small British contribution will leave the country isolated and incapable of influencing the project.  If that were to occur, they worry that British expertise on Earth observation instruments will be excluded, diminishing the project's overall effectiveness.  They also worry about the potential loss of British space jobs since satellite construction work will almost certainly be awarded to other ESA member states.

"If we are a downstream recipient of data, a third-party user, we will not be involved in influencing the agenda and the prioritization for the instruments. Our industry will not be competing to build those instruments," said Professor O'Neill.

"And by not having close proximity to the actual data, we will lose first-mover advantage, not just in science but in downstream applications. So we're either in the vanguard and mixing it, or gradually over time we will become third division."

In their letter, the scientists criticized the way decisions are made for space policy and funding.   Britain is currently without a dedicated Space agency, unlike many other European countries.

"The UK does not appear to have pursued a high-level approach to decision making about investment in Kopernikus,” the scientists wrote in their letter.

"Instead, the process has been bottom-up and piecemeal, so that opportunities afforded by Kopernikus are considered within the individual brief of agencies under financial pressure."

Lord Drayson, Britain’s science minister, will deliver the nation’s position on GMES to European partners during a meeting next week with his ESA counterparts in the Dutch capital.

During the meeting, officials will determine priority and funding for ESA programs over the next three years, such as Europe's participation in the space station and the technology investment required to keep Europe competitive in launch and satellite systems.

Although Britain is the second largest economy in the agency's membership, it contributes less than Italy, and significantly less than France and Germany.   And it contributes less than Belgium on optional projects such as the astronaut and space station program.

However, Lord Drayson recently said he hoped Britain would one day fund an astronaut.

Adam Afriyie MP, shadow minister for science & innovation, expressed concern about on the matter of the scientists' GMES letter.

"It is disconcerting that the science minister can make unfunded promises about a British astronaut program, yet is unable to guarantee a commitment to an existing satellite project,” he told BBC News.

"Environmental monitoring must be a national priority if the Prime Minister is serious about climate change."

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Image Caption: Smoke, pollution, and Saharan dust off Northern Europe. Credits: NASA

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On the Net:

• GMES
• ESA
• UK National Centre for Earth Observation
• Defra

Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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