The space and climate conference GLOC 2023 in Oslo is ready for lift-off!

The Global Space Conference on Climate Change (GLOC 2023) is organized by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) and hosted by the Norwegian Agency.

The first conference of its kind, GLOC 2023 is designed to encourage the sharing of programmatic, technical and policy information, as well as collaborative solutions, challenges, lessons learnt, and paths forward for all nations.

The theme for the conference is Fire and Ice – Space for Climate Action, focusing on concrete climate change solutions for both polar and tropical regions.

More information about the conference here. To register, please click here.

From the space industry to policy makers

"GLOC 2023 aims to gather policy makers from different nations and high-level representatives of space organizations, research and industry for a dialogue on how the many innovative technological solutions and services of the space sector may be utilized for policies and decisions regarding climate change, says Christian Hauglie-Hanssen," Director General of the Norwegian Space Agency.

According to his experience the awareness of what the space sector may have to offer of solutions and services for climate change and mitigation is little known among policy makers, other industrial sectors, the press and the general public.

"We really want this to be a different type of conference where we discuss solutions and policies in connection with climate change and the mitigation of its effects. In particular how the space sector may contribute to this, and how that can best be communicated to policy makers and the general public the world over," says Hauglie-Hanssen.

Central is Earth observation and monitoring climate and the natural environment with satellites and other spacecraft.

Without this space technology and data we wouldn’t have the knowledge about climate change that we do today. The potential for utilizing the present and future space infrastructure to an even larger extent than is being done currently is significant.

This includes the possibilities for developing even more and better products and services that will help create good and relevant decisions to protect us against the consequences of climate change.

Direct action for the next climate summit

Because the goal of GLOC 2023 is to show what the space sector has to offer on the question of climate change and mitigation, the conference also aims to result in a concrete and direct action that can be handed over to COP28. This is UN’s next major climate summit and will be held in Dubai this winter.   

"The possibility of attaining this goal is definitely present, because we have participants from all over the world in a large and comprehensive program, with presentations from several high-level leaders," says Ole Dokka at Rocket Grace. He is project manager for GLOC23 for the Norwegian Space Agency.

Earth observation is research on and monitoring of the Earth's environment and climate with the help of satellites. Graphics: ESA

When the call for abstracts opened, the conference received more than 400 submissions. This was so many that a parallel session of presentations was added to the program.

A space conference with a difference

"We’re aiming for a different kind of space conference that will also make a difference," Dokka says.

Hence, the typical conference set-up has been changed. The stage is situated in the center of the room, in the middle of the audience.

Cameras will ensure that the audience will catch everything, even when the presenter is turned in another direction.

"Moreover, we are aiming for genuine dialogue in the roundtable discussions, something our moderators will reflect," says Dokka.

The conference also includes entertainment and cultural performances, both during the opening ceremony, the gala dinner, and the reception at Oslo Town Hall.

"We hope this will add a lot to the conference and make it a very positive experience that will be remembered by our participants."

Copernicus is the EU program for monitoring the Earth's environment and climate by using satellites. Norway is a member of both ESA and Copernicus. Graphics: ESA

For more information, please contact

Marianne Moen – Head of Communications – Norwegian Space Agency – marianne.moen @spaceagency.no