Copernicus Climate Change Service

Name

Copernicus Climate Change Service

Legal name

European Commission (Copernicus Programme Owner) / ECMWF (C3S Implementation)

Website

https://copernicus.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Climate Data Services

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Climate & Emissions Data Management (Data Lake, Integration, APIs) (EUABAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Downscaled Climate Projections & Scenario Analytics (CMIP, SSP/RCP, Regionalization) (EUABALAB), Climate Risk Reporting & Disclosure Analytics (TCFD/ISSB, EU Taxonomy, CSRD, NAIC) (EUABALAG), Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation (BPAGAGAF)

Keywords

• Climate data services
• Earth observation analytics
• Climate reanalysis datasets
• Weather and climate monitoring
• Open access climate data

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Funding: Copernicus is funded by the European Union as part of the EU Space Programme. All data and products are provided free of charge to all users globally.
2. Free Open Data Access: All Copernicus Climate Change Service data, products, and applications are freely accessible to policymakers, researchers, businesses, and citizens. No revenue is generated from data sales.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Copernicus Climate Change Service provides free and open access to authoritative climate datasets, reanalyses, observations, projections, and near-real-time forecasts through the Climate Data Store (CDS) platform. Its core products include the ERA5 reanalysis (1940 to present), the interactive C3S Atlas, ERA Explorer, Thermal Trace, Climate Pulse, monthly Climate Bulletins, and the annual European State of the Climate (ESOTC) report. The service supports climate mitigation and adaptation decision-making by EU policymakers, Member States, researchers, and businesses, and is mandatory under the LULUCF Regulation for greenhouse gas reporting.

Product overview

The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), implemented by ECMWF as part of the European Union's Copernicus Earth observation programme, provides authoritative information about the past, present and future climate, as well as tools to enable climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies by policy makers and businesses. C3S operates primarily through the Climate Data Store (CDS) platform, which provides free and open access to climate datasets spanning reanalysis (ERA5), observations, projections, and near-real-time forecasts. Key products include C3S Atlas for interactive climate projections, Climate Pulse for at-a-glance monitoring, ERA Explorer for historical data exploration, Climate Bulletins for monthly summaries, the annual European State of the Climate (ESOTC) report, and Global Climate Highlights. The service integrates AI-powered tools including Thermal Trace for heat/cold stress assessment, and supports applications such as CAMS Methane Hotspot Explorer and Aerosol Alerts through cloud-optimised data infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Climate Data Store (CDS): A platform providing free and open access to large collections of quality-assured climate datasets, spanning reanalysis, observations, projections, and near-real-time forecasts.
• ERA5
• C3S Atlas
• Thermal Trace
• ERA Explorer
• European State of the Climate (ESOTC)
• European Ground Motion Service (EGMS)
• Copernicus Observia AI
• Methane Hotspot Explorer
• Aerosol Alerts

Products and services

• Climate Data Store (CDS) Central self-service platform providing free and open access to over 250 quality-assured climate datasets, reanalysis, observations, projections, and near-real-time forecasts; supports API and bulk download for researchers, governments, and businesses.
• C3S Atlas (Copernicus Interactive Climate Atlas) Interactive tool for examining global and regional climate projections, observations, and reanalysis data, providing regional time series, climatological averages, change maps, and downloadable data.
• ERA Explorer Web application for exploring 85+ years of ERA5 historical climate data from any location on Earth, with interactive maps, climatological averages, and time series.
• C3S Thermal Trace Web application for assessing heat and cold stress conditions in near real time using the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) based on ERA5 climate data.
• Climate Pulse Tool providing near real-time at-a-glance visualisation of current climate conditions for general users, media, and policymakers.
• Climate Bulletins Monthly authoritative summaries providing concise insight on global climate conditions based on CDS datasets.
• European State of the Climate (ESOTC) Annual comprehensive report on climate conditions in Europe produced in collaboration with the WMO, combining authoritative data and policy discussion.
• Global Climate Highlights Annual publication of authoritative climate data and concise global climate insights, complementing the European-focused ESOTC.
• Global Temperature Trend Monitor Application accessible through the Climate Data Store for monitoring global temperature trends over time.
• C3S National Collaboration Programme Structured programme enhancing uptake and application of C3S climate data across EU Member States and Copernicus countries through co-designed funded actions and national stakeholder dialogues.
• ERA5 Reanalysis Dataset Fifth-generation ECMWF atmospheric reanalysis of the global climate providing detailed historical records from 1940 to the present, distributed through the Climate Data Store as a standalone dataset product.

Quantifiable outcome

• Supports greenhouse gas inventory reporting for EU Member States under LULUCF Regulation
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability9 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and major.

• EU Satellite Centre (SatCen)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 August 2023SatCen was entrusted by the European Commission in 2016 with implementing the Copernicus Security Service component SESA (Support to EU External and Security Actions). A new contribution agreement signed on 29 August 2023 ensures service continuity until 2027.
• EMSA (European Maritime Safety Agency)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 December 2015EMSA operates the maritime surveillance component of the Copernicus Security Service. Uses space data from Copernicus Sentinel 1 and other satellites combined with maritime information to monitor maritime areas of interest.
• FRONTEXcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 November 2015FRONTEX operates the border surveillance component of the Copernicus Security Service. The agreement signed on 10 November 2015 supports EU's external border surveillance information exchange framework (EUROSUR) with near real-time data.
• ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerECMWF serves as the implementing entity for the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). As part of The Copernicus Programme, ECMWF operates the Climate Data Store, develops climate reanalysis products (including ERA5), and delivers operational climate services and forecasting capabilities.
• European Space Agency (ESA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerESA develops and operates the Sentinel satellite constellation that provides Earth observation data for all Copernicus services. The Sentinel satellites (Sentinel-1, -2, -3, -5P) form the space-based component of the Copernicus programme.
• European Environment Agency (EEA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEEA collaborates with the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS) on land cover mapping, CLCplus product development, and ecosystem accounting. The EEA supports national inventory reporting and harmonized data standards.
• World Meteorological Organization (WMO)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerWMO collaborates with C3S on the annual European State of the Climate (ESOTC) report, providing descriptions and analyses of climate conditions in Europe. The partnership combines authoritative climate data with WMO's global expertise.
• Union for the Mediterranean (UfM)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUfM partners with ECMWF to support Mediterranean countries and regional partners in addressing climate change challenges through climate adaptation and mitigation efforts.
• EUMETSATcoreTechnology or IntegrationEUMETSAT operates weather satellites that contribute to the Copernicus programme, providing atmospheric and climate monitoring data complementing Sentinel missions.
• MERCATOR OCEANcoreTechnology or IntegrationMercator Ocean contributes to the Copernicus Marine Service, providing operational oceanography products and marine environment monitoring data.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• UK Met Office Hadley Centre: UK government climate research centre producing HadCRUT, UKCP18 projections and authoritative global climate datasets. Comparable as a national public-sector climate data producer serving policy and research users.
• NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI): US government entity providing authoritative climate, weather, ocean and geophysical data and reanalysis. Most direct global peer to C3S in mission and product type, though serving US rather than EU policy needs.
• NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS): Operates NASA's GISTEMP global temperature analysis and Earth observation climate research. Comparable as a publicly funded producer of authoritative, long-running global climate datasets and reanalysis.

Emerging players

• Jupiter Intelligence: Commercial climate risk analytics firm serving insurance, financial services and infrastructure clients. Comparable in serving climate risk use cases but on a commercial, enterprise SaaS basis — the principal private-sector contrast to C3S's free public model.
• Climate Central: US-based non-profit producing climate science, visualizations and sea-level rise analysis for media and policy. Comparable as a non-profit that translates authoritative climate data into public-facing intelligence, though smaller in scale and US-focused.
• Berkeley Earth: Independent non-profit producing global land and ocean temperature datasets and climate analyses. Comparable as a non-profit provider of authoritative global climate datasets with a research and public-policy user base.

Broad incumbents

• EUMETSAT: European intergovernmental satellite agency operating weather and climate-monitoring satellites that feed Copernicus. Comparable as upstream Earth observation infrastructure provider tightly coupled to C3S data pipelines.
• ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts): ECMWF is both the implementing entity for C3S and a broader producer of global numerical weather prediction and reanalysis data. Highly comparable as the operating parent and as an intergovernmental climate data producer, though its scope extends well beyond climate to medium-range forecasting.
• European Environment Agency (EEA): EU agency that implements the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service and supports environmental reporting. Comparable as a partner and adjacent EU public data provider, though focused on land and environment rather than climate reanalysis.

Others

• World Meteorological Organization (WMO): UN specialized agency coordinating global climate and weather observations and co-authoring ESOTC reports with C3S. Comparable as a strategic standards and reporting partner that consumes and amplifies Copernicus data globally.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/CopernicusEU

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Copernicus Climate Change Service