From 8 to 10 July 2025, over 100 experts gathered in Frascati, Italy, for the Third Meeting of the High-Level Expert Group on Big Data and Frontier Technologies for the Planet. Convened by the United Nations Science-Policy-Business Forum on the Environment (UN-SPBF) and the Data for the Environment Alliance (DEAL), and co-hosted by the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) and the European Space Agency (ESA), the meeting advanced the DEAL process and the ongoing development of the UN Global Environmental Data Strategy (GEDS), to be presented at UNEA-7 in December 2025.

Building on the outcomes of the Second High-Level Expert Group Meeting in Vienna , the Third Expert Group will chart new pathways to harness diverse quality data and frontier tech for decision-making, cross-sector accountability, and green economic transformation. Key focus areas include:

1. Global Environmental Data Strategy and Governance – shaping the implementation of the forthcoming global environmental
2. Data for Better Decision Making across Sectors: Use Cases, Accountability, Transparency, and Reporting; and data strategy (to be adopted at UNEA-7 in late 2025) and ensuring equitable, interoperable data access for all nations.
3. Digital Cooperation Frameworks (e.g. the UN Global Digital Compact) to support sustainable digital economy, transformation and infrastructure.
4. Resilient Finance & Transparency – leveraging high-integrity data (robust disclosures, verified climate and biodiversity metrics) to unlock sustainable investment, enhance accountability, and deter greenwashing.
5. Frontier Insights & Gaps – anticipating emerging data needs and governance challenges in new domains (from the rise of private-sector satellite data to lunar and deep-sea resource monitoring) and outlining cooperative solutions.