“Planet Earth is unique. It is ours. And it is a gift, vibrant and full of life that we must cherish.”
GlobeEye is one of the signatories of the STATEMENT FOR A RESPONSIBLE SPACE SECTOR. This important declaration initiated by the European Space Agency (ESA) aims at pushing consensus on Space Sustainability efforts and responsible governance among the key stakeholders of the space sector and promoting a shared
vision on the future. The signatories are part of active working groups with the objective of both to provide for a foundation for the sustainable, long-term economic development of the space sector and to increase the contribution of space activities to the sustainable development of society while protecting the natural environment and life on Earth and preserving the environment of outer space.
In signing this important statement, GlobeEye joins a group of prestigious and well-respected trailblazing space companies and ESA’s distinguished leadership in this field. Within this group, GlobeEye’s mission is particularly focused on leveraging space resources, and space data in particular, to contribute to protect the natural environment on earth and facilitate the climate transition.
Q&A
Key actors of the European Space sector officially commit to join their forces and engage increasing concrete actions for a more responsible space sector and a sustainable development of society.
1) What does ‘responsible space sector’ mean?
- The recent pandemic period revealed, in a way, that Europe may not have all it needs to tackle global challenges. In this respect, the pandemic can be seen as a lesson learned that should be applied to other pressing global challenges. Space has enormous untapped potential to help tackle future crises. On one hand, we must act now to make it an integral part of the solution and reflect on the purposes of the use of space for the maximum benefit to the society. On the other hand, it is essential to have a transparent and sustainable approach on how space missions are designed in order to reduce any negative impacts and maximise the positive ones.
- [alternative text] The space sector is continuously growing and is estimated to exponentially grow in the next decade, with thousands of satellites to be launched by any type of rockets. This growth can be possible only if it is done in a responsible way, so to ensure its sustainability in the long run. Not only space contributes to the sustainable development of society with services and applications, but also aims at keeping the outer space safe and secure, and to reduce its environmental footprint on Earth.
2) How do the signatories concretely engage for sustainability by signing the statement?
Once the statement signed, the signatories are part of a community. It’s a public engagement and they are invited to contribute to the various working groups created in the frame of the statement and later apply the relevant resulting requirements, expectations and recommendations. In this perspective, signatories have already started working together and made progress on key topics such as responsible procurement, decarbonisation targets for the sector and outer space sustainability
3) What are the next steps and the KPIs to monitor the effectiveness of the engagement? some text
- The participation to the working groups, the application of guidelines and transparency regarding the responsible and sustainable actions of the players are important indicators to monitor engagement. Furthermore, as far as environmental impact and GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions are concerned, the signatories are aiming at setting common reduction targets and coordinating the relevant actions.
4) How were the joint principles and values of the statement defined?
- The Statement is the result of a long process, involving ESA's stakeholders. It started by benchmarking already published values and principles of the most important actors within the European space sector and proceeded through a continuous dialogue among the potential future signatories .
5) How is this statement aligned with the vision and engagement of Europe on sustainability ?
- The statement has been elaborated in line with the principles from the international and European sustainability engagements such as the European Green Deal and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The European countries and organisation engaging in the signature of the statement are also a guarantee of this alignment with the European requirements regarding sustainability. Additionally, regarding the outer space sustainability, the statement is in line with the UN Long Term Space Sustainability Goals.
6) How is this statement contributing to the Paris Agreement of containing the increase of the surface temperature of the planet by 1,5°C by 2100?
- The signatories of the joint statement engage in acting towards a decarbonisation of the European space sector and therefore establish common targets to reduce their emissions of GHG, in line with the recommendations of the Paris agreement.
