The EU launches its ambitious initiative to create a cyber-replica of Planet Earth for climate-impact simulations.
The European Commission (EC) has launched together with partnering organisations the Destination Earth initiative to help tackling climate change. With the goal to develop an accurate digital model of the Earth, it will help monitor, model, and predict natural and human activity, as well as developing and testing scenarios for more sustainable development. These digital services will be provided first to public sector users and then gradually to scientific communities, the private sector, and the general public.
The initiative is part of the Digital Europe Programme, from which it will receive a budget of €150 million until mid-2024 (as part of the work programme for activities in data, AI, cloud, quantum communication infrastructure, advanced digital skills and technology deployment), with an additional €55 million coming from Horizon Europe (as part of Cluster 4). Along with the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), the EC will gradually develop the Destination Earth system by setting up a core platform that will host digital replicas of Earth systems and natural phenomena, called Digital Twins. ESA will operate the core service platform, providing the digital tools and services, EUMETSAT will provide the storage space and access to data sets, and the ECMWF will develop the two initially planned digital twin models.
The three entities will publish tenders for acquiring various components of the system by summer 2022. In addition to the these entities and the EC, EU Member States and associated countries will be involved in the coordination of the initiative through the Digital Europe Programme committee as well as through a designated Destination Earth Coordination Group. Independent scientific and technological expertise will be provided through the Strategic Advisory Board. The board and the Coordination Group will start their activities in the spring of 2022.
The initiative will be advanced gradually through a series of key milestones. By 2024, it is due to complete development of the core service platform, the data lake and the first two digital twins on extreme natural events and climate change adaptation. By 2027, it will effect further enhancement of the Destination Earth system and integration of additional digital twins and related services. By 2030, it will seek to complete a ‘full’ digital replica of the Earth.
Horizon Europe will fund research and innovation activities that will support the further development of Destination Earth. There are also synergies with other relevant EU programmes, such as the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking and the Space Programme, as well as national initiatives in Member States. International collaboration remains restricted. In particular, UK and Switzerland are members of ESA, ECMWF and EUMETSAT, but are not eligible to take part in Destination Earth under current rules, although EU researchers have pushed for their inclusion.