Human Utilisation of Space

Human activity in outer space is expanding at unprecedented speed, driven by technological advances, commercialization, and a rapidly growing number of launches and satellites. This trend report, commissioned by the German Environment Agency (UBA), assesses how these developments affect the environment both on Earth and in space. It shows that while space-based applications, especially Earth observation and satellite services, can support climate action and environmental governance, space activities also generate emissions, resource consumption, physical impacts, and an escalating space debris problem. Without sustainability principles and effective governance, the report warns, space risks following the same path of overuse and degradation seen in other global commons.

Building on adelphi’s expertise in strategic foresight, environmental policy, and systems analysis, and developed in partnership with VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH, the report translates complex technological and geopolitical trends into clear implications for environmental governance. It identifies concrete priorities for action and emphasizes the need to treat near-Earth space as a finite and increasingly stressed environment:

• Embedding sustainability and precaution in space activities
• Strengthening and extending regulatory frameworks
• Improving the sustainability of infrastructure and technical systems
• Addressing space debris as a central environmental risk