DUBAI: The World Governments Summit (WGS) and the Washington-based think tank the Atlantic Council return to the Summit in 2024 with Geotechnology and Policy Forum as part of WSG’s 2024 agenda on 12th-14th February. The forum fosters global dialogue on the pivotal role of governments in fostering multi-sector cooperation in civil and commercial space in low-earth orbit (LEO) and beyond.
The Forum gathers top decision-makers, government officials, civil and commercial space organisations, and experts to follow up on key outcomes of the recent World Radio Conference (WRC-23) and COP28 meetings hosted in Dubai.
In his opening remarks, Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, emphasised the importance of shedding light on common goals such as cooperation, knowledge exchange, and exploring opportunities to enhance the integration of efforts in the climate, data, technology and space sectors, and confronting the current challenges in t
hese sectors to explore new horizons that promote innovation and pave a path towards a more sustainable and developed future.
Al Olama stated that the forum hosted more than 30 experts and leaders in the fields of climate, technology, and space to shape a new, advanced landscape concerned with the infrastructure of these areas, characterised by flexibility, development, full awareness, and keeping pace with global developments to achieve global climate goals and sustainability principles supported by technological advancements with a spirit of cooperation.
Fruitful Dialogue
Frederick Kempe, President and CEO of the Atlantic Council, said, “The Atlantic Council welcomes our continued partnership with the WGS in organising the forum, which serves as a means to bring decision-makers and experts into dialogue over cooperation in civil and commercial space – a global priority. This forum fosters rich dialogue between decision-makers from around the globe aimed at reducing risks and maximising the use of space t
o achieve sustainable development goals, especially those associated with climate. It is also our hope that the forum will strengthen international cooperation to formulate policies and solutions that promote the development of resilient in-space infrastructure.’
Dr. Lloyd Whitman, senior director of the Atlantic Council GeoTech Centre, added, ‘As nations begin to assert their presence and capabilities in and around the Moon, this event acts as an important forum to discuss the importance of responsible international behaviour for advancing national space priorities and the space economy.’
Multi-sector Cooperation in Civil and Commercial Space
The Forum highlights resilient in-space infrastructure, the need for multilateralism on the Moon and cislunar space, and the importance of commercial space to global climate goals.
The Forum comes on the heels of WRC-23 and COP28 hosted by the UAE, including the first-ever WRC resolution addressing the future development of communications beyond LEO, and extensive d
iscussions at COP28 around the importance of space, broadly, across climate issues.
The Director of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, Aarti Holla-Maini, added, ‘Without space, we wouldn’t know there was a climate crisis on Earth; 26 of the 55 Essential Climate Variables can only be measured from space. A safe and sustainable space environment is, therefore, a pre-requisite to implementing sustainable development, and responding to climate change, here on Earth. The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), having agreed the global governance of outer space and the space treaties, continues to drive global consensus around space sustainability and international space law. There is no better forum for it. I’m pleased that the World Governments Summit can bring together leaders to address implementation of these commitments and scale space solutions.”
The forum included several panel discussions, starting with a session titled ‘Creating Resilient In-Space Infrastructure for the New Space Eco
nomy’ featuring Mike Gold, Chief Growth Officer, Redwire Space; Andrew Faiola, Commercial Vice President, Astroscale; Kevin O’Connell, Chief Executive Officer, Space Economy Rising and Ellie Creasey Assistant Director, GeoTech Centre, Atlantic Council. The session discussed ambitious goals for scientific exploration and the use of lunar space as a gateway to explore the rest of the solar system, international competition in this field, various programs enhancing lunar space capabilities, national space priorities, space economy, and the importance of responsible international cooperation in achieving common goals.
The forum also included Navigating ‘Multilateralism on the Moon and Cislunar Space’ session featuring Aarti Holla-Maini, Director, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs; Dr. Sherif Sedky, Chief Executive Officer, Egyptian Space Agency; Kevin O’Connell, Chief Executive Officer, Space Economy Rising; Ron Garan, Chief Executive Officer, Ispace US; Andrew Faiola, Commercial Vice President, Astr
oscale and Mike Gold Chief Growth Officer, Redwire Space. The session discussed the importance of expanding the infrastructure supporting global commerce on Earth, such as data networks and smooth traffic management (land, air, and sea), to outer space, and the technical and political considerations that a new communications protocol system will require, including joint construction between the public and private sectors to keep pace with rapid advancements in the space sector.
The forum also included a session on ‘The Importance of Commercial Space to Global Climate Goals’ session which featured Aarti Holla-Maini, Director, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs; Madin Maseeh, Founder and President, Maldives Space Research Organisation; Andrew Zolli, Chief Impact Officer, Planet; Dr. Amna Al Shamsi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, UAE; Dr. Lloyd Whitman, Senior Director, GeoTech Centre of the Atlantic Council. The session discussed the role of space-based monitoring in understanding and m
onitoring Earth’s climate, the opportunities and capabilities of the space sector in climate change measurement, monitoring, and modelling, the potential number of future satellites enabling real-time global insights into Earth’s biosphere and atmosphere from ground, sea, and orbit-based sensors, the importance of cooperation in necessary data standards, data exchange frameworks, and space traffic management to explore the opportunities and challenges facing space capabilities in contributing to global climate goals.
The World Governments Summit 2024 is hosting a set of interactive dialogue sessions on 6 main themes, including Government Acceleration and Transformation, Artificial Intelligence and The Next Frontiers, Reimagining Development and Future Economies, Future Societies and Education, Sustainability and The New Global Shifts, and Urbanisation and Global Health Priorities.
Source: Emirates News Agency