The European Space Agency has been selected to co-host a second coordination hub of the World Climate Research Programme's (WCRP) flagship climate modelling activities - a decision that demonstrates Europe’s commitment to advancing climate science and prediction.
The International Project Office for WCRP’s Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) will be hosted by ESA’s ECSAT facility in the UK, from 1 July 2026.
CORDEX provides high‑resolution, locally-relevant climate information by downscaling global climate model projections, and its data has been utilised across a number of IPCC Assessment Report cycles in its role supporting the CORDEX Scientific Advisory Team (CORDEX-SAT). The Project Office coordinates participating scientists, methods and data to support climate research, the assessment of future climate impacts, identify vulnerabilities and support adaptation policy and action.
New incoming director
The CORDEX International Project Office will be led by newly appointed Director, Dr Rachel McInnes, who brings over 15 years of experience in climate science, modelling and climate services, most recently at the UK Met Office. The University of Cape Town, as co-host, will provide science communication and administrative support.
“We are delighted to welcome Rachel as the new Director of the CORDEX International Project Office. This is an important role for CORDEX, and we look forward to working closely with her as we support the community and guide CORDEX into the future,” say CORDEX-SAT co-chairs, Melissa Bukovsky, José Manuel Gutierrez, and Silvina Solman.
The decision brings together the coordination of WCRP global and regional modelling efforts physically together in one location, alongside ESA’s Earth observation and climate expertise.
Since 2022, ESA has served as host to the project office of the WCRP’s Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP), which coordinates the global projections underpinning IPCC assessment of the global climate. ECSAT is also the home to the team managing ESA’s Climate Change Initiative - a significant research and development effort focussed on generating a suite of satellite retrieval algorithms and climate data records that detail the evolution of key aspects of the climate system over recent decades.
Satellites observations increase confidence and trust in climate model projections by anchoring their outputs in reality. Using space-derived, 'real-world' measurements also contribute to reducing uncertainties in Earth system model and provide an impartial measurement from which to validate projections.
About Dr Rachel McInnes
Dr Rachel McInnes has been appointed Director of the CORDEX International Project Office. She brings more than 15 years of leadership in climate science, regional climate modelling and applied climate services from her career at the UK Met Office. She has led multidisciplinary international teams and is widely recognised for her expertise in climate modelling, environmental science and science–policy engagement. Rachel holds a PhD in astrophysics, is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, and an Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Exeter.
Susanne Mecklenburg, head of ESA’s Climate and Long-term Action division, explains, “hosting both WCRP project offices reflect Europe’s strong support for coordinated global efforts to advance climate modelling. It creates a unique environment to strengthen the use of satellite observations in model development.”
ESA is already contributing to CMIP7 by providing key satellite-derived climate forcing datasets and supporting their use in global model experiments. This is complemented by technical development of tools such as ESMValTool, the Climate Rapid Evaluation Framework and obs4MIPs, which help integrate Earth observation data into model evaluation and development – reducing uncertainties and increasing confidence in climate projections.
Visit the CORDEX website for more information.