Representatives of the European Space Agency, United Nations (UN) Action Team on Lunar Activities, Secure World Foundation, and academics from around the world, including the University of Iceland, are meeting in Iceland this weekend to lay the groundwork for an International Scientific Assessment Panel, which will develop advice for policymakers on Earth-Space sustainability.
"This is an important project that addresses a gap in collective understanding and policy issues relating to the sustainable and equitable use of and access to outer space,“ says Adam Fishwick, Adjunct Lecturer at the Faculty of Political Science, who participates in the COST Action network “Futures-oriented Governance of Outer Space” (FOGOS).
"This network is led by Xiao-Yap Shan, Utrecht University, and Florian Rabitz, Vilnius University. I am on the management committee as the Icelandic representative and will host the workshop as part of the network. It builds particularly on Shan’s ERC-funded research on governance futures for outer space, while also drawing on broader collaboration with other networks, whose members are participating in the programme,“ Adam explains.
An interdisciplinary approach to Earth-Space Sustainability
Adam´s involvement is based on work he has done around the politics of outer space in the Nordic and Arctic region, including research with a specific focus on Iceland and the Nordic space economy as part of the Research Council of Norway-funded project Nordspace.
The aim of the group is to develop the parameters for an international scientific assessment panel on Earth-Space sustainability, which will combine interdisciplinary perspectives and knowledge, with input from academics and international organisations. “The assessment panel will seek to follow similar panels that have focused on the environment, climate change, and biodiversity. The aim is for the panel to develop advice for policymakers in a range of organisations,” Adam says.
He points out that various organisations have been working on Earth-Space Sustainability. “This is the first attempt to bring this together in a single collaboration and to examine the issue from multiple disciplinary perspectives across the social and natural sciences. It is particularly relevant with the increasing activity around outer space and ambitions for the future,” Adam concludes.
