Description
Space resource governance will be one of the most significant issues for the future of humanity. ‘Space expansionists’ are right to see an equivalence between now and the dawn of European colonization in the 14th and 15th centuries. However, this is not 1492. A colonial free for all does not have to be the future. This paper will argue that the Outer Space Treaty, for all its flaws, lays a foundation for a more sustainable future – one in which the resources of the solar system are used to build a better future for all humankind. This involves a change in how we think about resources – what they’re for and who they benefit – but one that is desperately needed writ large. The extractivist model of resource utilization that has dominated, particularly in the age of industrial capitalism has lea to ecological disaster and is ultimately future-depleting. A new post-extractivist model of resource utilization is necessary. One guided by the principles of stewardship and a recognition of the interests of future generations. One that recognizes that resources are not unlimited, and thus unrestricted use is not without consequence. This attitudinal shift is also relevant and necessary for the use of the resources of the other areas of the global commons – areas like Antarctica and the deep seabed. This is a topic of vital importance for a Summit of the Future. How resources have been regarded, and used, is one of the core drivers of the Anthropocene and the climate crisis. Space resources may be a ‘solution’ to these issues but not if they are merely used as a new fuel source for the processes that have led us to where we are. A new resource governance model is necessary; one that centres the planet, its peoples and a liveable future.
