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Astro‐Environmentalism: Towards a Polycentric Governance of Space Debris
Author(s) -
Morin JeanFrédéric,
Richard Benjamin
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
global policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.602
H-Index - 33
eISSN - 1758-5899
pISSN - 1758-5880
DOI - 10.1111/1758-5899.12950
Subject(s) - tragedy of the commons , space debris , corporate governance , common pool resource , incentive , commons , sustainability , sovereignty , space (punctuation) , global commons , environmental governance , law and economics , property rights , economic system , environmental resource management , political science , business , economics , ecology , geography , politics , debris , law , microeconomics , computer science , biology , finance , meteorology , operating system
The Earth’s orbital space is increasingly threatened by debris. It is frequently described as a common‐pool resource vulnerable to a ‘tragedy of the commons’ scenario. Scholars have suggested ambitious policy proposals to tackle the tragedy of space debris and assure the sustainability of the Earth’s orbits. Their proposals can be classified into three categories: hierarchical regulations, economic incentives and property rights. All three categories require some form of central coordination. However, there might be an alternative approach to the problem and other potential solutions. Elinor Ostrom suggested that decentralized, polycentric systems are appropriate for governing common‐pool resources. Anecdotal evidence suggests that a polycentric form of governance can encourage a more sustainable use of the Earth’s orbits.