NorthStar Earth & Space endorses the Net Zero Space Declaration

NorthStar Earth & Space is joining a growing list of organizations endorsing the Paris Peace Forum Net Zero Space Declaration.

NorthStar Earth & Space is currently the only Canadian organization to endorse the Net Zero Space Declaration, however the list of organizations globally that support the declaration has now reached 30.

The Net Zero Space Declaration includes the goal of a “achieving sustainable use of outer space for the benefit of all humankind by 2030.”

Stewart Bain, CEO & Founder of NorthStar Earth & Space said in a statement that “The Net Zero Space Declaration fully aligns with NorthStar’s core values of sustainability. Space is fundamental to our economy, quality of life, and enables critical infrastructure for countless essential services. This environment demands immediate action from all stakeholders to protect this invaluable natural resource.”

The company also said that “as part of its endorsement of the Net Zero Space Initiative, NorthStar pledges to help facilitate safe and sustainable operations through the delivery of high-fidelity commercial space services for satellite operators. NorthStar’s Space Information & Intelligence services will be launched in 2023 bringing the first space-based commercial information service to cover all near-Earth orbits.”

The Paris Peace Forum will hold its annual forum on November 11th and 12th.

The Net Zero Space Declaration

Activities in outer space have entered a new era of growth, creating new possibilities for human development and the protection of Earth. However, the amount of orbital debris is increasing dangerously. This trend threatens humanity’s ability to benefit from outer space by increasing the risk of collision for space assets, further affecting the safety and sustainability of space operations, and increasing the cost of access to the most useful orbits.

Article I of the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 provides that the exploration and use of outer space are “the province of all [hu]mankind”. The protection of Earth’s orbital environment should be at the center of all space activities in order to guarantee that current and future actors will continue to have access to and use of this domain. It is therefore critical to ensure the sustainable development of both public and private space activities, to protect the integrity of existing and future objects in orbit, and to maintain equitable access to outer space for all. Our common goal is to ensure safe space operations and the long-term sustainability of outer space activities. To do so, we seek to adopt appropriate mitigation and remediation measures in all space operations from the outset, taking into account the distinctive features of the different orbits used for space operations.

We share the conviction that this goal can only be achieved by international and multi-stakeholder cooperation through gathering forces from the private sector, civil society, and academia, as well as public authorities and regulators. All entities operating in orbit, or contributing on Earth to space operations, have a part to play in this task.

On-going scientific research from national and international bodies indicates that collective, concrete steps must be taken to prevent a rapid degradation of Earth’s orbital environment. By launching the “Net Zero Space” initiative, we are calling for a global commitment to achieving sustainable use of outer space for the benefit of all humankind by 2030. We recommend urgent action from 2021 onwards to rapidly contain and then reduce the ongoing pollution of Earth’s orbital environment:

• by avoiding further generation of hazardous space debris, and
• by remediating existing hazardous space debris.

We are calling on all stakeholders worldwide to join us in supporting the “Net Zero Space” initiative. When announcing their support, all stakeholders will commit to declaring concrete, tangible example(s) of actions they took, or are planning to undertake, in accordance with the scale of their operations and within their means so as to contribute to the “Net Zero Space” goal.

In order to follow up on the progresses made to reach this goal and to keep incentive in this regard, we ask the Paris Peace Forum to host the “Net Zero Space” initiative secretariat, to report annually on the status of the initiative and promote subsequent steps towards the realization of the “Net Zero Space” goal.