INFO/RAC will participate in the meeting “Towards a Big Data Revolution for the Planet: From Uncertainty to Opportunity,” to be held in Frascati from 8 to 10 July 2025. INFO/RAC plays a key role in the management of data and environmental information within the Mediterranean Action Plan.
At the event, top experts will gather to promote strategies that harness Big Data in support of global environmental sustainability.
This is the Third Meeting of the High-Level Expert Group on Big Data, co-hosted by ISPRA, the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, and ESA, the European Space Agency.
The event is based on the work of the Second Expert Group on Big Data, held in Vienna in September 2023, and organized by the UN Science-Policy-Business Forum on the Environment and the Data for the Environment Alliance (DEAL).
High-integrity environmental data is fundamental to understanding the state of the global environment and to developing science-based tools that can help countries and businesses navigate fragmented regulatory landscapes while maintaining environmental commitments.
These tools enable real-time monitoring, cross-sectoral integration, and independent validation of environmental impacts and claims.
The meeting will focus on four main objectives, each addressing a key aspect of the role of Big Data in environmental sustainability in a changing world: “Governance of the Global Environmental Data Strategy” which aims to develop strategic guidelines for the governance of the global environmental data strategy following its final adoption during UNEA; “Environmental Big Data in the Framework of the Global Digital Compact (GDC) and Structural Transformation,” as the GDC aims to promote a digital future that supports sustainability and inclusion. The meeting will explore how environmental data can be integrated into the GDC framework to foster sustainable digital transformation and economic growth to address global challenges. Then, “Data for Green Investment, Accountability, and Transparency,” which will highlight how robust and transparent environmental data can support green markets, inform investors, and promote policy coherence. Finally, “New Frontiers, New Gaps, New Opportunities”: the Expert Group will seek to better understand these continuously evolving dynamics and their impacts, outlining scenarios to overcome anticipated challenges and identify opportunities along the way.
The High-Level Expert Group meeting will take place over three days, with highly interactive sessions dedicated to each of the topics outlined above. Each day will include keynote presentations, panel discussions, and breakout sessions.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) will produce its Global Environmental Data Strategy, to be presented to Member States at the UN Environment Assembly in December 2025.
Recognizing the critical importance of data governance and equitable access, the Fourth Session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-4) adopted a Ministerial Declaration in 2019, mandating the development of a Global Environmental Data Strategy by 2025.
Building on this mandate, at UNEA-5 in 2022, the Government of Estonia and the UN Science-Policy-Business Forum on the Environment (UN-SPBF) launched the Data for the Environment Alliance (DEAL)—a Member State-led initiative dedicated to empowering countries, communities, and industries to harness high-quality environmental data and frontier technologies to meet the environmental dimensions of the 2030 Agenda.