EU to use satellites to track climate threat to forests

illuminem summarizes for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on Reuters or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: The European Commission is set to implement a new forest monitoring system using satellites
• This initiative aims to track climate threats and address the growing impact of climate change on Europe's forests

🔭 The context: Forests are crucial in the fight against climate change for their CO2-storing capacity and flood protection, but are also increasingly threatened by climate change
• The proposed system will make use of the EU's Copernicus Sentinel satellites for data collection and monitoring purposes

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Europe's forests are carbon sinks and protectors against flooding
• Their preservation will be key to meeting climate targets and maintaining ecological balance

⏭️ What's next: The proposed law requires EU member states to start gathering comprehensive ground measurements, including logging areas, tree volumes, and ancient forest locations

💬 One quote: "We need to see the trends, need to predict better, we need to see how they are responding to climate change." (Virginijus Sinkevicius, EU Environment Commissioner)

📈 One stat: Nearly 900,000 hectares of EU land were burned in forest fires last year, an area about the size of Corsica

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