The European geospatial industry is expected to grow with a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.61% in the coming years, propelling the industry’s value to an impressive USD 155 billion (Euros145.42B).

GIS, and geospatial as a whole, is constantly evolving with new technologies and new solutions. GIS is exciting because it is capable of making a difference in the world economy and society. Let’s take a look how GIS e.g., can contribute to a sustainable world.

A major development in geospatial is the growing importance of Earth Observation (EO) data in the GIS, and wider geospatial ecosystem. New satellites are being launched, with new technologies, higher resolutions, shorter revisit times. The miniaturization of sensors contributes to that by making it cheaper to launch more and specialised small satellites (cube sats). There are 10.000 satellites in orbit, and the growth in numbers is exponential, creating a huge amount of data.

The use of AI is another accelerator of the use of EO for GIS. With AI large amounts of data can be analysed, satellite or aerial images can be searched for objects or changes, and added to your GIS project.

With new data sources, there will also be valuable new combinations of data.  Combinations of different EO data, but also combinations with high resolution aerial images, or data from terrestrial sensors, public data on population, buildings etc.

It’s not just the availability of data and the speed of processing it. There are also developments on the demand side. The generation of digital twins and digital twin environment (the interaction of digital twins), need constant feeding of data, some data (near) real time. To that end, in Europe data spaces are created to facilitate the sharing and (re)use of data. In a secure environment, with respect for privacy and ownership, easy contracting and supply of data is supported to boost the digital economy. Standardisation of data, and the interoperability have become key.

Also, public policy leads to new GIS solutions. Just to name a few European examples: the Deforestation Regulation and “Vision Zero”. The first is a regulation and the latter includes an investment programme.

The deforestation regulation is Europe’s new regulation on deforestation. The law ensures that seven commodities, that are major drivers of deforestation, won’t be imported or sold in EU if they are sourced from the areas affected by deforestation or forest degradation practices. It is a European (trade) law, with global impact.

All importers of cocoa, coffee, soy, palm oil, wood, rubber and cattle, or of products that contain any of these resources have to prove the sustainability of the production process. For small time coffee farmers, it implies the need to register their land ownership. A case of geodesy, the cradle of GIS. Owners of large palm oil plantages may choose EO solutions to proof the origins of the resources.

These solutions may be similar to what we observe in the market for carbon credits. There, GIS and Space Technologies are leveraged to offer effective and efficient solutions, such as:

• Quality checks, monitoring, tracking, and verification via remote sensing and satellite imagery.
• GIS data and analysis for forecasting market trends and regulatory analysis.
• Spatial monitoring to ensure compliance.
• Integration of emerging technologies such as blockchain and AI with geospatial data to prevent irregularities and misconduct, thereby increasing transparency.

Vision Zero is all about reducing the number of traffic victims. Like the US, Europe is committed to seriously reduce the number of victims of traffic accidents. The Vision Zero supports initiatives to increase road safety. Projects include GIS-related technology and topics like road sensors, urban space management, read design, etc. Geospatial technologies are used to create 3D imagery of the traffic situation, make 3D models and digital twins for simulating and assessing traffic behaviour and driver behaviour.

These are a few examples of how policy making creates new markets for GIS solutions. I did not even mention the Twin Transition, the digital and green transition, towards a digital future using sustainable energy. Mapping the location of renewable energy resources, mapping charging poles, mapping and calculating the production capacity of solar panels by EO, mapping the demand for energy are just a few examples of GIS applications.

It can be worthwhile to keep a close eye on policymakers to know what they are up to, to inform them, and to be prepared in time with your new GIS solution.