Impact

Climate change is one the biggest challenges facing humankind. The warming is a consequence of increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere caused mostly by human activities, but also nature’s own processes. Concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), and nitrous oxide (N₂O) have increased to levels unprecedented in at least 800,000 years.

High quality data and related products from ICOS are part of a global system of science and observation that supports the political processes following the Paris Agreement. We provide added value through data from three domains – atmosphere, ecosystem, ocean – that can be combined, which makes cross-comparisons and original research possible.

The interactive ICOS curve above shows the change in CO₂ concentrations in the atmosphere above Europe over time. The Curve uses observation data from 38 ICOS Atmosphere stations in Europe. It shows the median from these stations as a thick line and the differences between the stations as coloured areas.

ICOS provides data for science to understand the Earth system. Scientific knowledge on carbon emissions, sinks, and trends advances the fulfilment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the European Union Societal Challenges. The knowledge generated by the use of ICOS data supports efforts to comply with the Paris Agreement objectives within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). ICOS responds to the international goal of establishing global standards for observations as well as open, accessible and interoperable data in order to ensure optimal services for societies in their efforts to mitigate climate change.

ICOS coordinates and participates in European and global projects that advance current and future science, facilitate technological developments and inform climate policy.