Press Release: European Commission pushes forward global collaboration on Earth Observation at Beijing Ministerial Summit

Vice-President Tajani will co-chair the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Ministerial Summit in Beijing on 5 November 2010. This major international summit will review progress in the building of a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). GEOSS will provide comprehensive and coordinated earth observations from thousands of instruments worldwide and transform the data they collect into vital information for society. The aim is to address priorities in the areas of natural and human-induced disasters, agriculture and desertification, human health and well-being, energy resources, climate variability and change, water cycle, weather, ecosystems and biodiversity. Three countries (China, South Africa and the United States) co-chair the Summit alongside the European Commission.