Chris Rapley addresses ministers at European Space Summit

Chris Rapley Professor Chris Rapley (UCL Earth Sciences) called on European government ministers to use the "vantage point of space" to guide efforts to tackle climate change. He made the remarks during a speech to the European Space Agency (ESA) Council of Ministers in his role as Chair of the European Space Sciences Committee (ESSC), Europe's most prominent space advisory body. The Council is ESA's governing body and is made up of government ministers representing member states, associate states and cooperating states. During the summit, which took place in Seville, ministers endorsed ESA's proposals to use space for a greener future, to take steps towards space exploration, and ensure autonomous access to space, while also moving towards a more competitive next generation of rocket launchers. In his speech, Professor Rapley described how space played a pivotal role in responding to climate change. Data from satellites, he said, underpinned climate science - "without them we would be flying blind". Space exploration, meanwhile, contributed by generating "unique practical knowledge and new technologies", and "changing human perceptions of our place in the Universe".