CoCO2 · Project

Satellite-Based CO2 Emissions Tracking System for Carbon Compliance and Reporting

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Imagine you could look at a city from space and tell exactly how much CO2 comes from factories versus forests. That's what this project built — a prototype monitoring system that combines satellite images, ground sensors, and weather models to pinpoint where human-made CO2 emissions actually come from. Think of it as a carbon emissions GPS that helps countries prove they're meeting their Paris Agreement promises. The system was designed to become part of Europe's Copernicus earth observation programme, giving governments and businesses reliable, independent emissions data.

By the numbers

consortium partners across the system

countries contributing to the monitoring prototype

total deliverables produced

demonstrator and proof-of-concept deliverables

industry participation ratio in consortium

The business problem

What needed solving

Companies and governments are flying blind on actual CO2 emissions — they rely on self-reported data and estimates rather than independent, observation-based verification. As carbon regulations tighten under the Paris Agreement and EU Green Deal, there is no operational system to independently verify who is emitting what and where. This creates compliance risk for emitters and credibility gaps for carbon markets.

The solution

What was built

The project built prototype systems for satellite-based CO2 emissions monitoring, including: an updated data pipeline demonstrator, demonstrator systems for integrating remote sensing data into global CO2 flux models, new methods for high-resolution urban anthropogenic and biogenic CO2 monitoring, a multi-tracer capability demonstration, and a proof-of-concept for multi-scale global atmospheric modelling — totalling 63 deliverables.

Audience

Who needs this

ESG consulting firms needing independent emissions verification dataLarge industrial emitters (power, cement, steel) facing carbon compliance reportingCarbon credit trading platforms requiring verified emissions baselinesClimate-tech startups building emissions monitoring SaaS productsCity governments and regional authorities tracking urban carbon footprints

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Carbon accounting and ESG consulting

any

Target: ESG consulting firms and carbon auditing companies

If you are a carbon consulting firm struggling to verify your clients' reported emissions with independent data — this project developed a prototype CO2 monitoring system using satellite and ground-based observations that can attribute emissions to specific sources. With 63 deliverables including urban-scale monitoring methods, it offers a verification layer that turns self-reported carbon numbers into independently validated data.

Energy and heavy industry

enterprise

Target: Power plants, refineries, and large industrial emitters

If you are a large industrial emitter facing tightening EU carbon regulations and need to demonstrate compliance — this project built demonstrator systems that combine remote sensing data with atmospheric models to monitor CO2 at urban and facility scale. The multi-tracer capability developed across 26 partners in 15 countries means emissions can be distinguished from background CO2 levels with higher confidence.

Climate technology and environmental monitoring

SME

Target: Environmental data analytics companies and climate-tech startups

If you are a climate-tech company building emissions monitoring products and need better underlying data pipelines — this project delivered an updated data pipeline demonstrator and proof-of-concept for multi-scale global atmospheric modelling. The system integrates remote sensing data like leaf area index and solar-induced fluorescence to separate natural from human-caused CO2, which is foundational infrastructure for commercial monitoring services.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to access or use this monitoring system?

The CoCO2 prototype is designed to feed into the EU Copernicus programme, which provides open and free data access. The underlying system is publicly funded and intended as an operational EU service, so core data would likely be freely available. Commercial value lies in building services on top of this data.

Can this system work at industrial scale for real-time emissions monitoring?

The project delivered a proof-of-concept for multi-scale global modelling and demonstrator systems for urban-level CO2 monitoring. While it reached prototype stage with 6 demonstrator deliverables, it was designed as input for a future operational Copernicus CO2 service, not as a standalone commercial product yet.

What about intellectual property and licensing?

As a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) funded by the EU and coordinated by ECMWF (a public intergovernmental organisation), the outputs are intended for the public Copernicus programme. Based on available project data, IP would follow standard EU open-access rules, making results broadly available for commercial use.

How does this differ from existing carbon monitoring tools?

CoCO2 specifically tackles the attribution problem — distinguishing human-caused CO2 from natural sources. The project developed new measurement and modelling methods for high-resolution urban anthropogenic and biogenic CO2 flux monitoring, which goes beyond simple emissions reporting to satellite-verified source tracking.

What regulatory requirements does this address?

This directly supports EU countries in assessing progress toward Paris Agreement targets. As EU carbon reporting requirements tighten under the European Green Deal and CBAM, independent emissions verification becomes essential for compliance. The system was explicitly requested by the European Commission's CO2 monitoring Task Force.

When could businesses start using outputs from this work?

The project closed in December 2023 with prototype systems delivered. The operational Copernicus CO2 service that builds on these prototypes is planned as a follow-up. Based on available project data, businesses working with Copernicus data could begin integrating prototype outputs now, with full operational service expected in coming years.

Consortium

Who built it

This is a heavily research-driven consortium with 16 research organisations and 8 universities out of 26 partners, and only 1 industrial partner (4% industry ratio). Zero SMEs participated. The consortium is led by ECMWF, Europe's premier weather forecasting centre, which gives the project strong scientific credibility but signals this is a public-sector infrastructure play, not a commercial product. The 15-country spread across Europe ensures the system accounts for diverse emission profiles, but businesses looking to commercialize these results would need to build their own go-to-market — the consortium itself is not commercially oriented.

EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR MEDIUM-RANGE WEATHER FORECASTSCoordinator · UK
FCIENCIAS.ID - ASSOCIACAO PARA A INVESTIGACAO E DESENVOLVIMENTO DE CIENCIASparticipant · PT
KAMINSKI THOMAS HERBERTparticipant · DE
AKADEMIA GORNICZO-HUTNICZA IM. STANISLAWA STASZICA W KRAKOWIEparticipant · PL
LUNDS UNIVERSITETparticipant · SE
STICHTING VUparticipant · NL
NEDERLANDSE ORGANISATIE VOOR TOEGEPAST NATUURWETENSCHAPPELIJK ONDERZOEK TNOparticipant · NL
INTEGRATED CARBON OBSERVATION SYSTEM EUROPEAN RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURECONSORTIUMparticipant · FI
COMMISSARIAT A L ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVESparticipant · FR
IDRYMA TECHNOLOGIAS KAI EREVNASparticipant · EL
DEUTSCHER WETTERDIENSTparticipant · DE
DEUTSCHES ZENTRUM FUR LUFT - UND RAUMFAHRT EVparticipant · DE
CICERO SENTER FOR KLIMAFORSKNINGparticipant · NO
ECOLE NATIONALE DES PONTS ET CHAUSSEESparticipant · FR
METEO-FRANCEparticipant · FR
ILMATIETEEN LAITOSparticipant · FI
WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITYparticipant · NL
MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN EVparticipant · DE
FONDAZIONE CENTRO EURO-MEDITERRANEOSUI CAMBIAMENTI CLIMATICIparticipant · IT
CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRSparticipant · FR
MERCATOR OCEANparticipant · FR
THE CYPRUS INSTITUTEparticipant · CY
THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGHparticipant · UK
EIDGENOSSISCHE MATERIALPRUFUNGS- UND FORSCHUNGSANSTALTparticipant · CH
BARCELONA SUPERCOMPUTING CENTER CENTRO NACIONAL DE SUPERCOMPUTACIONparticipant · ES
JRC -JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE- EUROPEAN COMMISSIONparticipant · BE

How to reach the team

ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts), UK — a public intergovernmental organisation. Contact through their official channels or the project website.

Order a report on this consortium See EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR MEDIUM-RANGE WEATHER FORECASTS profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to build commercial services on top of Europe's CO2 monitoring infrastructure? SciTransfer can connect you with the right research partners from this 26-member consortium.

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