Our objective this year is to see if we can move forward to G7 and perhaps G20 communiqués on space debris, such as the following:
Given our increasing reliance on space systems for security and meeting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, we reiterate our commitment to promoting the safe and sustainable use of outer space. We strongly support the use of financial surety instruments as a condition of launch and of orbit. It is our intention that our governments require proof of adequate financial means for retiring unused satellite and launch vehicle materials before permitting launch, orbit, registration, or ground station use. Such financial guarantees may take the form of insurance, financial deposits, or retrieval or removal bonds. The private sector has offered sufficient financial capacity. It is our intention to work with the private sector to develop a market for such guarantees and require adequate financial guarantees as a condition of launch by the end of this decade.
Or even better – “It is our intention to make Space Debris Removal Insurance Bonds a condition of satellite launches from 202X.”
This would be in line with the G7 Hiroshima Leaders’ Communiqué of 20 May 2023:
41. We reiterate our commitment to promoting the safe and sustainable use of outer space, given our ever-greater reliance on space systems. Restating the importance of addressing the issues of space debris, we strongly support the implementation of international guidelines adopted at the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space as urgent and necessary. We welcome national efforts to develop further solutions for space debris mitigation and remediation as well as further research and development of orbital debris mitigation and remediation technologies. Furthermore, we commit not to conducting destructive direct-ascent anti-satellite missile testing and encourage others to follow suit in order to ensure the security, stability and sustainability of outer space.