NEWS
Digital Earth proposal would help governments and communities compare options, explain funding decisions and track what investments achieve.
The International Society for Digital Earth (ISDE) is calling on governments and climate funders at COP31 to strengthen the evidence connecting climate commitments, investment decisions and results for communities.
Its statement, Digital Earth Initiative for Climate Implementation and Accountable Finance, proposes a practical approach: bring scientific evidence and community knowledge into decisions, record why an action was chosen, and follow its funding through to the outcomes it delivers.
“Every climate investment is a promise about what it will achieve,” said Richard Simpson, President of ISDE. “Governments and communities need to see why an investment was chosen, where the money went and what difference it made.”
Digital Earth connects satellite observations, measurements on the ground, models, and local and Indigenous knowledge through shared standards and governance. ISDE argues that these connections should be treated as infrastructure for climate action, helping institutions use evidence they can examine and trust.
A coastal community, for example, could use the approach to compare restoring mangroves, building protective infrastructure or relocating exposed assets. Officials, scientists, financiers and residents would assess the options together and record the evidence, uncertainties and reasons behind the decision. A linked record would identify the funding, expected benefits, methods for assessing results and those responsible for delivery.
These structured discussions—described in the statement as “decision theatres” could take place through ordinary workshops and online tools.
The financial stakes are substantial. UNEP’s Adaptation Gap Report 2026 estimates developing countries’ adaptation needs at US$305 billion annually by 2035. International public adaptation finance from developed to developing countries reached US$28.2–31.7 billion in 2024. Source: UNEP
ISDE calls on finance ministries, development banks and climate funds to work with recipient countries on simpler, more consistent evidence requirements that strengthen national systems. The aim is to reduce duplicated work and help move approved finance into implementation, while making results easier to assess.
The proposal comes as the second Global Stocktake begins at COP31, opening the next assessment of collective progress under the Paris Agreement. ISDE asks governments to consider Digital Earth methods within that process, the Global Implementation Accelerator and the Climate Implementation Bridge, where useful. Global Stocktake timetable: UNFCCC
“Weather forecasting shows what countries can achieve when they share observations and agree common standards,” Simpson said. “We need to bring that same commitment to the evidence behind climate decisions and investment.”
The statement emphasises that observations alone cannot establish whether a project caused a particular outcome. Methods must disclose uncertainty, respect national authority and protect communities’ control over their knowledge. Evidence requirements must not become additional conditions for developing countries to access finance.
Subject to the relevant ISDE approvals, partner agreements and resources, the proposed programme would review COP31 outcomes at the Digital Earth Summit in Melbourne on 24 - 26 November, publish an open technical framework for consultation by March 2027, and scope one demonstration with a willing host by mid-2027.
ISDE invites interested governments, cities, finance institutions and scientific organisations to contact its Secretariat about reviewing the approach or helping shape a demonstration.
Read the full statement: Digital Earth Initiative for Climate Implementation and Accountable Finance
Notes to editors
The International Society for Digital Earth is a non-governmental, not-for-profit scientific society founded in Beijing in 2004. It is a member of the International Science Council and a Participating Organization of the Group on Earth Observations. Its journals include International Journal of Digital Earth and Big Earth Data.
The initiative builds on ISDE’s COP30 statement. ISDE offers scientific and technical collaboration; it seeks no negotiating role or authority over UNFCCC processes.
Media contacts
Dr Zhen Liu, Secretary General: liuzhen@radi.ac.cn
Richard Simpson, President: richard.g.simpson@gmail.com
