2024 Earth-Space Symposium on ‘Sustainability, Governance, Futures’
Utrecht, The Netherlands | 12-13 November 2024
Earth and space are increasingly coupled in terms of their sustainability challenges, governance issues, and future-making. Approaching ‘outer space’ as a separate entity from Earth is no longer sufficient to address our planetary crises. From the rising number of satellites to missions on the Moon and beyond, the global society is confronted with environmental, economic, social, and political challenges beyond single planetary scales. To this end, treating Earth and space as integrative ‘Earth-Space systems’ offers the potential to address challenges in this era.
The 2024 Earth-Space Symposium, was held 12-13 November 2024 in Utrecht, the Netherlands, it provided a much-needed forum to gather theoretical consideration, identify gaps and synergies, and exchange ideas to chart a new line of science and policy inquiry on our changing Earth-Space systems.
The Symposium bridged separated technical and academic fields to derive an overview of the state-of-the-art problems, approaches, and their points of interconnection to derive an integrative Earth-Space agenda addressing sustainability, governance, and future-making. We welcomed contributions from diverse disciplines and knowledge backgrounds, covering a broad range of topics, methods, cases, and empirical work. We furthermore encouraged transdisciplinary exchange and participation by non-academic practitioners.
SYMPOSIUM PROGRAM
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SYMPOSIUM TRACKS
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RULES, ORGANIZATIONS AND INSTITUTIONS
Research gaps and challenges in existing space law, governance, and institutions; the connections between space governance and other planetary governance, e.g. earth system law, earth system governance, and global governance; what sort of reforms or transformation would be needed?
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ENVIRONMENTAL AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN SPACE
Concepts to be considered for better environmental and resource management in Earth’s orbit or other celestial bodies; burden and benefit sharing; resource access and distribution; global commons approaches; implications on Earth and in space.
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HISTORY, CULTURE, AND INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE OF SPACE
In what ways can we learn from the history, culture, and Indigenous knowledge of space when confronting challenges arising from space activities; what are the impacts of space activities on the history and culture of space as well as on Indigenous people?
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ETHICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES
Which ethical and philosophical perspectives to consider for space governance; what are their relations with Earth sustainability; in what ways does space development require a revisit of the existing ethical and philosophical perspectives?
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POWER DYNAMICS IN SPACE
How do geo- or astropolitics in space unfold and what are their impact on space activities; what are their connections with terrestrial politics and vice versa; who gets to shape space activities, at whose expense, and who to be empowered; which societies are the most vulnerable to the consequences of space activities?
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SPACE IN FUTURE MAKING
How do space activities shape and alter the futures of the earth systems, planetary and Earth sustainability, the social dimension, and more? What sort of discourses, politics, and imaginaries mobilized; what are the future implications including intergenerational equity; what could be the solutions for these challenges in the near- and long term?
EXPECTED OUTPUTS
All accepted contributions to the Symposium will inform, and be acknowledged in, the co-formulation of an integrative Earth-Space agenda. A selection of the presented papers will be invited to submit for publication, either as a journal special issue or an edited volume at the Earth System Governance Cambridge University Press Book Series.
VENUE
Academiegebouw
(The Academy Building of Utrecht University), The Netherlands.
Academiegebouw - the Academy Building of Utrecht University, The Netherlands. Two rooms were reserved for up to a total of 60 pax.
