Use case: cities and regions

Monitoring greenhouse-gas emissions and climate indicators of cities

Satellite data already maps climate indicators of a city, such as surface heat, sealed ground and green cover. City-scale emission estimates from space are still being developed: the CO2M mission, planned from 2027, works with inventories and models. A city that plans such monitoring needs clear requirements on scale, indicators and evidence.

Reference
UC-03
Technologies
  • Earth observation
Industry
Challenge
Emissions and ESG reporting
Updated
Published by
LETO SPACE

01Data

What satellite data can measure

Two groups of measurements matter for a city's climate work. They differ in how mature they are.

Climate indicators: available today

Earth observation measures what is on the ground and how it changes. For a climate plan this gives indicators such as land surface temperature Source: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), accessed 6 October 2026U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)Landsat 9accessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens usgs.gov), the degree of sealed ground at 10 m Source: Copernicus Land Monitoring Service, accessed 6 October 2026Copernicus Land Monitoring ServiceImperviousness Density 2018 (raster 10 m and 100 m), Europe, 3-yearlyaccessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens land.copernicus.eu), and green cover and street trees in nearly 800 European cities Source: Copernicus Land Monitoring Service, accessed 6 October 2026Copernicus Land Monitoring ServiceUrban Atlas Land Cover/Land Use and Street Tree Layer 2012 and 2018: Product User Manualaccessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens library.land.copernicus.eu). They cover the whole city in the same way and can be repeated over the years. The use cases on urban heat, green spaces and land use change explain each of them.

Greenhouse gases: still being built

Satellites can also measure greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Sensors in orbit already allow actual methane emissions to be compared with those reported nationally Source: EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 2024EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA)EUSPA EO and GNSS Market Report, Issue 2, 20242024Open source (opens euspa.europa.eu). For carbon dioxide from human activity, ESA is building the CO2M mission. It will measure carbon dioxide and methane at 2 km by 2 km across a 250 km swath, with three satellites and the first launch planned for 2027 Source: European Space Agency (ESA), SentiWiki, accessed 6 October 2026European Space Agency (ESA), SentiWikiCO2M (Copernicus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring mission)accessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens sentiwiki.copernicus.eu). ESA describes it as an independent source of information to assess the effectiveness of policy measures Source: European Space Agency (ESA), accessed 6 October 2026European Space Agency (ESA)Copernicus Sentinel Expansion missionsaccessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens esa.int).

Surface heat, sealed ground and green cover are available per district today. CO2M will measure in pixels of 2 km by 2 km, far coarser than these district indicators. Schematic city, illustrative values. Source: European Space Agency (ESA), SentiWiki

02Technology

How a monitoring system combines the data

A monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) system does not replace a city's emission inventory. It sets independent observations next to it.

  • The inventory counts emissions bottom up, sector by sector. Satellite data complements it; it does not replace it.
  • Satellite indicators show the state of heat, sealing and green cover across the whole area and how they change after measures.
  • Atmospheric measurements from satellites, combined with ground measurements and bottom-up inventories in inverse models, assess emissions and their trends at larger scales Source: European Space Agency (ESA), SentiWiki, accessed 6 October 2026European Space Agency (ESA), SentiWikiCO2M (Copernicus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring mission)accessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens sentiwiki.copernicus.eu).

Earth observation already supports the monitoring of greenhouse-gas emissions in cities as part of its urban applications Source: EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 26 May 2026EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA)EU Space Market Report 2026, Issue 1: Urban development and cultural heritage26 May 2026Open source (opens euspa.europa.eu). How far down to the city level these methods reach is what current research projects test.

03Deliverables

What you get

For a city today, the reliable output is an indicator set, not an emission total from space.

  • A set of climate indicators per district: surface heat, sealing, green cover and tree cover, repeatable as new data are published.
  • Maps for the climate plan and its reporting, from the same sources for every district.
  • A view of what emission data is coming, so that requirements and procurement plans do not promise more than the data can deliver.

04Limits

Limits

05Use cases

06Next steps

Find providers and get started

Providers offer emission estimates, air quality data and verification services. The Spacegraph marketplace has categories for emissions and air quality and for carbon and ESG verification.

Because emission data from space is still being developed, requirements matter. Writing requirements that state the scale, the indicators and the evidence you need is the task of our requirements and procurement service, including our work with cities in an FFG flagship project. Your contact for this project is Katherine Webber-Ing.

Requirements and procurement

Frequently asked questions

Q1Can satellites measure the CO2 emissions of a single city?

Not on their own, and not yet routinely. ESA's CO2M mission will measure carbon dioxide and methane at 2 km by 2 km. Its measurements are combined with ground measurements and bottom-up inventories in inverse models, and ESA names megacities, regions, countries and the globe as the scales of assessment Source: European Space Agency (ESA), SentiWiki, accessed 6 October 2026European Space Agency (ESA), SentiWikiCO2M (Copernicus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring mission)accessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens sentiwiki.copernicus.eu). For most cities, the emission inventory remains the basis, and satellite data adds an independent check at a larger scale.

Q2Which climate indicators can a city take from satellite data today?

Land surface temperature for heat Source: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), accessed 6 October 2026U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)Landsat 9accessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens usgs.gov), the degree of sealed ground at 10 m Source: Copernicus Land Monitoring Service, accessed 6 October 2026Copernicus Land Monitoring ServiceImperviousness Density 2018 (raster 10 m and 100 m), Europe, 3-yearlyaccessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens land.copernicus.eu), and green cover and street trees Source: Copernicus Land Monitoring Service, accessed 6 October 2026Copernicus Land Monitoring ServiceUrban Atlas Land Cover/Land Use and Street Tree Layer 2012 and 2018: Product User Manualaccessed 6 October 2026Open source (opens library.land.copernicus.eu). These indicators cover the whole city in the same way, can be repeated over the years and complement local statistics in a climate plan.

Sources (7)

  1. European Space Agency (ESA), SentiWiki, accessed 6 October 2026CO2M (Copernicus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring mission) (opens sentiwiki.copernicus.eu)
  2. European Space Agency (ESA), accessed 6 October 2026Copernicus Sentinel Expansion missions (opens esa.int)
  3. EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 2024EUSPA EO and GNSS Market Report, Issue 2, 2024 (opens euspa.europa.eu)
  4. EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), 26 May 2026EU Space Market Report 2026, Issue 1: Urban development and cultural heritage (opens euspa.europa.eu)
  5. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), accessed 6 October 2026Landsat 9 (opens usgs.gov)
  6. Copernicus Land Monitoring Service, accessed 6 October 2026Imperviousness Density 2018 (raster 10 m and 100 m), Europe, 3-yearly (opens land.copernicus.eu)
  7. Copernicus Land Monitoring Service, accessed 6 October 2026Urban Atlas Land Cover/Land Use and Street Tree Layer 2012 and 2018: Product User Manual (opens library.land.copernicus.eu)

Contact

Which climate indicators does your city report, and which of them are hard to collect today?

Prefer to talk?

Tell one of our experts about your project. Together we work out where you stand, whether satellite data and AI can help and what a sensible next step would be.

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