[Satnews] At the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) XII Plenary Session and Ministerial Summit, held in Mexico City from November 11 to 13, 2015, EUMETSAT announced their commitment to continue contributing actively to the GEO Strategic Plan 2016-2025: Implementing GEOSS (Global Earth Observation System of Systems).

The GEO-Xll Plenary meeting in Mexico, November 11 to 13.

EUMETSAT's main contribution to the GEO Strategic Plan 2016–2025 will be through the GEONETCast initiative and, as a member of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), the provision of satellite data. On behalf of NOAA, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) and EUMETSAT, Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, the NOAA Administrator, reaffirmed the collective commitment of the three organisations to continue the GEONETCast cooperation to make valuable Earth observation data and products available in support to the GEO Strategic Plan 2016–2025.

She said, “Since 2005, GEONETCast has continued to evolve by expanding the geographic coverage of the system, growing the user base, and adding more products from various data providers. Today, more than 6,000 users worldwide rely on GEONETCast to access Earth observation data and products, in particular in countries where high-speed Internet access is still unreliable.”

During the Plenary session, EUMETSAT announced, “The launch of MSG-4 in July 2015, the preparation for the launch of the Copernicus Sentinel-3 and the Jason-3 satellites, and the recent approval of two new programs, the EUMETSAT Polar System Second Generation and Jason-CS, will secure the continuity of our observations of the atmosphere, ocean and land for two decades, and, hence, our long term contribution to GEO.”

EUMETSAT expects its contributions to facilitate access to Earth observation data and information in developing countries and to provide an efficient global data access mechanism in support of all GEOSS Societal Benefit Areas.