The European Space Agency (ESA) have announced a partnership with the UK Centre for Greening Finance and Investment (CGFI). Created under ESA Space Solutions, the partnership is part of ESA’s “Finance for a green transition” initiative and will accelerate the uptake of green space-based solutions to support the financial sector with the green transition.

ESA has established this long-term collaboration with CGFI to promote the development of new space-enabled commercial services for the financial services sector, providing support to financial, climate and environmental analytics providers across Europe. Ultimately these solutions will help financial institutions understand and mitigate the financial implications of the transition to a net-zero, nature-positive economy, while helping companies and projects attract investment as part of green transition initiatives.

Speaking at the launch of the London CGFI Innovation Hub, ESA’s Head of Space Solutions Nick Appleyard said ‘green finance applications are of interest not only to financial institutions but also to organisations across many other sectors including energy and utilities, agriculture, transportation and manufacturing. This new partnership will support financial, climate and environmental analytics providers across Europe and help companies attract capital and investment for space-based solutions.’

Christophe Christiaen, Innovation and Impact Lead at CGFI, said “space-based datasets can provide financial institutions with asset-level insights across a wide range of climate and environmental issues. Complementing corporate disclosures and bringing transparency where previously there was none. We have been promoting and developing the concept of ‘Spatial Finance’ for a couple of years now and are excited to partner with ESA and its ecosystem to further accelerate the adoption of these technologies for green finance.”

Earth observation, satellite communications and satellite navigation play a key role in analysing climate and environmental risks, impacts and opportunities. By using satellite-based data, financial institutions have an independent and transparent set of data to help companies to move towards a net-zero economy. These data sets can also help attract the necessary capital and investment for organisations’ transition plans and investment needs, informing and influencing their investors and stakeholders.

This new partnership will combine ESA’s technical, commercial and financial support around space solutions with CGFI’s expertise in green finance and climate science, helping organisations manage climate risks and improve their environmental impact to facilitate growth in the sector.

Incorporating expert advice resulting from this new partnership, ESA is preparing a new dedicated funding opportunity aimed at companies with promising business ideas for products and services tailored to green finance. Further details can be found under the ESA Space Solutions webpage “Finance for a Green Transition”.