10 Emerging Technology Solutions for Planetary Health 2025

Finance lens Currently, high costs and private ownership limit access to the highest- fidelity commercial EO systems and may influence data demand and access. While private and public data serve complementary roles, investment in multiple open-access platforms and applied tools – for climate monitoring, disaster preparedness or land-use planning – can expand the societal value of EO. If dominated by commercial interests, critical capabilities may remain out of reach for communities that need them most.Equity lens Supporting local infrastructure and technical capacity can enable farmers, city planners and civil society groups to act on EO insights. Without targeted investment, these tools may reinforce existing disparities in environmental decision-making and risk management.Policy lens Governance frameworks that promote transparency and accountability, including ensuring data accuracy and validation, as well as being clear that forecasting is fallible and has multiple potential outcomes based on human behaviour, can help maintain trusted insights and protect against misinformation. Without safeguards, environmental EO data may be repurposed for surveillance or military/ political use, further undermining public trust and local engagement.Make or break The success of AI-powered EO may depend on transparent governance, inclusive infrastructure investment and equitable access to data and decision-making tools. Planetary boundaries supported by Earth observation → Climate change: Tracks greenhouse gas emissions, surface temperature and precipitation trends and extreme weather impacts in near real time. → Land-system change: Monitors deforestation, urban expansion, agricultural activity and land degradation at high resolution. → Biosphere integrity: Supports biodiversity monitoring through habitat mapping, species detection and ecosystem health assessments.→ Freshwater use: Provides timely data on surface water levels, drought severity and watershed stress. → Biogeochemical flows: Informs nitrogen and phosphorus models using observations of land use, fertilizer application and runoff dynamics. CO 2- concen- trationRadiative forcing P cycleGreen waterFunctional integrity Blue water N cycle Modification of biogeochemical flowsGenetic diversityChange in biosphere integrityClimate change Land-system change Increase in atmospheric aerosol loading Ocean acidificationFreshwater changeStratospheric ozone depletionOverloading with novel entitiesPlanetary boundaryHigh-risk line 10 Emerging Technology Solutions for Planetary Health 27