Introduction

In finance, space added value has often been linked to market analysis on economic activities: oil silo occupancy rates, containers in ports, and cars in front of shopping malls being some well-known examples. Commodity trading and output forecasts for renewable energy markets are also frequently mentioned.

With the financial world’s increasing focus on sustainability, new commercial opportunities are emerging. Indeed, corporates and financial institutions are facing increasing pressure to take a more active role in the transition to a sustainable future: greening existing brown assets and financing new green assets. However, Green Finance extends well beyond the asset level to also encompass the environmentally- and climate-friendly design of the financial system as a whole and the management of environmental and climate risks within financial institutions. This imperative has been driven notably by common frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call for social, economic and environmental sustainability, the Paris Agreement that was reached at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, and an increasing number of non-financial standards for the industry. In particular, the new EU law on deforestation and the “30 by 30” target agreed on during COP15 in Montreal, to conserve 30 per cent of the planet by 2030, will trigger new demands for remote sensing solutions.

With the transformation of the finance sector and emerging needs for nature-related measurements, reporting and verification, space companies are about to become key partners in the short and medium term. This report examines the current status of Green Finance, its main trends, needs and opportunities, and highlights commercial opportunities for space data and technologies. Its findings are based on desk research, semi-structured interviews, and an online workshop attended by more than 17 high level panellists1. The document aims to further support the space community in navigating in a new sector and raise awareness on the increasing added value of space.

In fact, insurance- and finance-related data and value-added services are forecast to have a CAGR of 21% until 2031, the highest growth rates of any Earth observation services. New scalable data solutions are needed on an asset, corporate and portfolio level to comply with more stringent government regulations, as well as to respond to growing public pressure. Two main areas of particular interest are emerging: Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), with a focus on the “E” and nature-based solutions. A second report will focus on climate risks and space added value. Sustainability and climate-related data needs are seen as the main segments for the commercial uptake of space data.

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