This publication presents the results of a feasibility study on a proposed superhigh
resolution satellite mission Kioto+. The study was conducted by an
international consortium in response to the 2005 call for ideas for Earth Explorer
missions of the European Space Agency (ESA).
Kioto+ offers reliable and global data to near in-situ measurement accuracy on
land cover and forest cover. It also gives information about their development
over time. A super-high resolution optical instrument is proposed to achieve
statistically representative and precise measurements. The information will
greatly improve our understanding of the global carbon and water cycles, and the
credibility of estimates of terrestrial carbon storage. The imagery will also give
globally accurate training and validation data for wall-to-wall imaging
instruments. The mission is named Kioto+ because the projected timescale of the
mission (post-2011) means that it will primarily have relevance to successor
treaties of the Kyoto Protocol to the FCCC of the United Nations
