Paris, 30 September 2025. The European Space Agency (ESA) took part in the International Energy Agency (IEA) High-Level Roundtable on Strengthening Energy Infrastructure Resilience, which was held at the IEA headquarters in Paris. The event focused on how the energy sector can better anticipate, withstand and recover from disruptions caused by natural hazards and extreme weather events.
This high-level meeting addressed themes central to ESA’s broader climate resilience efforts, including those under its Global Development Assistance (GDA) programme and the forthcoming ESA Earth Action pillar, where disaster risk management, energy planning and climate adaptation measures come together to strengthen energy systems against a wide range of natural and environmental hazards.
ESA was invited to contribute to all four sessions of the roundtable. Representing ESA, Susanne Mecklenburg, Head of the Climate and Long-Term Action Division, joined discussions with IEA member state representatives from energy ministries and agencies, sector regulators, insurance companies and international organisations such as the European Commission, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR).
In her interventions, Susanne Mecklenburg described ESA’s role as an enabler of climate resilience, supporting decision-makers with Earth Observation (EO) data, models and services that help strengthen the energy sector’s preparedness across multiple timescales, from near-real-time monitoring to long-term adaptation planning. She highlighted ESA’s activities providing planning tools for renewable energy, collaboration with operational climate services and the use of projections and predictions to inform long-term energy planning and climate adaptation.
The discussions showed how ESA’s satellite data and services strengthen the entire resilience chain, from assessing risks to guiding recovery. Earth Observation helps identify where energy infrastructures are most exposed to floods, wildfires, hail or heatwaves. It supports planners in choosing safe and efficient locations for new energy investments, avoiding flood-prone or fire-sensitive areas, considering sea-level rise along coasts and reinforcing assets in regions affected by permafrost thaw. These same datasets also help identify opportunities for clean-energy expansion. In Armenia, for example, very high-resolution satellite imagery was used to map rooftop solar potential in Yerevan, guiding renewable-energy planning and targeted investments by International Financial Institutions through ESA’s GDA clean energy activity.
Satellites also monitor rainfall, rivers, lakes and glaciers to manage water resources for hydropower and cooling systems, detect ground movement that may threaten pipelines and power lines and reveal vegetation growth that could spark fires. When disasters occur, imagery provides rapid damage maps that help direct repairs and restore services faster. Together with artificial intelligence, climate models and secure satellite connectivity, these capabilities help governments and financiers design energy systems that are both sustainable and resilient, not only to today’s extreme events, but also to the evolving impacts of climate change.
Looking further ahead, ESA’s Climate Team is investigating global tipping points that could have profound implications for energy resilience. As Susanne Mecklenburg noted during the roundtable, Amazon forest dieback could disrupt regional water cycles and hydropower capacity, permafrost thaw could destabilise pipelines and transmission lines and a slowdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) could reshape energy demand across Europe. While these processes unfold over longer timescales than most energy planning cycles, understanding them early helps decision-makers anticipate systemic risks that may redefine the global energy landscape by the end of the century. By sharing these insights through international cooperation, ESA contributes to global efforts to strengthen climate-informed energy policy and planning.
The roundtable itself forms part of a new IEA workstream on energy infrastructure resilience, launched following the Future of Energy Security Summit. It looks at measures and technologies, financing needs and tools and the role of governments, regulators and multilateral cooperation, with a special report expected in 2026. ESA is proud to maintain a close cooperation with the IEA. Notably on how EO and climate data can support evidence-based decision making in this field.
Looking ahead, the energy sector represents an important community of end users that ESA aims to further engage under the upcoming Earth Action programme. Building on the experience gained not only through the GDA Clean Energy activity but also across GDA’s eleven other thematic areas and ESA’s broader expertise, this transition will enhance the uptake of Earth Observation across sectors. It will help partners strengthen the planning, resilience and sustainability of energy systems and beyond.
