EU, PHL launch space program to aid in disaster response, climate change adaptation
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and the European Union on Monday launched the first space cooperation program in the region, which is seen to help the country better cope with disasters and the impacts of climate change.
Officials from the Philippine Space Agency, the Department of Science and Technology, and the European Union led the launch of the P610-million Copernicus Capacity Support Action Programme for the Philippines (CopPhil).
Copernicus is the EU’s Earth observation program that provides free environment and climate data derived from a constellation of satellites monitoring the planet and its many ecosystems 24/7.
DOST Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. said the program “will develop and leverage our own space science and technology applications to strengthen the nation’s resilience to disasters and climate change.”
The Philippines is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis, with poor and rural communities bearing the brunt of disasters.
“In my mind, if we prevent hazards from becoming disasters, we can also future-proof our development and economic gains,” Solidum said.
H.E. Luc Véron, European Union ambassador to the Philippines, said the Copernicus program will enhance capacities for a “stronger and more shock-resilient Filipino economy and society.”
‘No longer detached’
For PhilSA Director General Joel Marciano Jr., CopPhil is an “integral part” of the agency’s efforts to mobilize space data for societal benefit and value, and to position the Philippines as a hub for space data mobilization excellence in the region.
“We all look to the day where it can no longer be said, among fellow Filipinos and by everyone else, that outer space is a detached, disconnected, disjointed and distant notion and concept—far from the realities of everyday life and far from the implements that shape our future,” Marciano said.
“Initiatives like CopPhil bring space capabilities closer to the minds and to the hearts of Filipinos—it brings outer space closer to home,” he added.
According to the EU, the satellite images of Copernicus helped Philippine authorities monitor the situation of remote communities in the aftermath of typhoons and accidents like the Oriental Mindoro oil spill.
The Copernicus program was introduced in the Philippines in 2019. The program is named after Polish mathematician and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, who formulated a heliocentric model of the universe.
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