First fruits of the Long-Term Sustainability discussions in UN COPUOS: From guideline development to guideline implementation

摘要

Since 2010 the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN COPUOS) has been working on the development of a set of international guidelines for the long-term sustainability of outer space activities. This work was carried out by a dedicated Working Group under COPUOS' Scientific and Technical Subcommittee that was tasked with producing a set of voluntary, non-binding Guidelines for the Long-Term Sustainability (LTS) of Outer Space Activities. During its mandate the Working Group reached consensus on 21 guidelines. In June 2019 COPUOS endorsed these 21 LTS Guidelines and a politically significant preamble. This paper provides a brief overview of the development of these guidelines, summarizes the list of guidelines and presents the next steps forward as focus now shifts from guideline development to guideline implementation.