Space activities are integral to addressing global commons challenges such as climate change, biodiversity extinction and transboundary pollution resulting from unsustainable human activities. However, as human activities in space become more frequent, technically sophisticated and ambitious the potential for environmental impacts increases exponentially. Orbital and re-entry debris, launch and atmospheric pollution, as well as planned celestial and asteroid resource mining utilisation pose increasing risks to the earth-space ecosystem on which most forms of life depend.
Recent initiatives including the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs’ Guidelines for the Long-term Sustainability of Outer Space Activities of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (2021) and the Earth Space Sustainability Initiative’s Memorandum of Principles (2023) have set out key priorities to be addressed if earth-space activities are to become sustainable by default. Advancing such earth-space sustainability initiatives requires global collaboration, including all stakeholders, if they are to be effective.
The challenge to ensuring all earth-space activities are sustainable by default is significant, especially in a multipolar world order which is seeing increasing non-cooperation amongst leading space faring nations. Future use of earth-space, including for emerging space faring nations and future generations, is at stake if the sustainability challenge is not resolved.
This workshop brings together space science, engineering, legal, financial and international relations experts to identify pathways to achieve earth-space sustainability by default. The workshop is designed to use interdisciplinary collaborative techniques to facilitate an holistic systems approach to problem solving.
The workshop will include presentations, keynotes and discussion by experts in the field including the following:
Aarti-Holla-Maini, Director of United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs
Adam Amara, Chief Scientist, UK Space Agency
Colin Baldwin, Executive Director UK Space
Ian Christensen, Senior Director, Private Sector Programs, Secure World Foundation
Emma Edhem, Chairman, Open UK Space Advisory Board
Joanne Wheeler, Managing Partner at Alden, and Earth Space Sustainability Institute
ORGANISERS
Dr Feja Lesniewska, Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Transitions and Environmental Law, University of Surrey
Associate Professor Joshua Andresen, Director, Centre for the Study of Global Power Competition (CGPC), University of Surrey
Dr Lucía F. de la Bella, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Surrey Space Centre
Professor Rosalind Malcolm, Co-director, Surrey Centre for International and Environmental Law (SCIEL), University of Surrey
Professor Keith Ryden Head of Surrey Space Centre, University of Surrey
Dan Smith, Space South Central, University of Portsmouth
Workshop Report
The report for this workshop is coming soon, please check back later.
