Space for people, planet and prosperity. This is the title of the second edition of the “G20 Space Economy Leaders Meeting”, organized at the headquarters of the Italian Space Agency and attended by the Minister of Technological Innovation and Digital Transition with mandate for space and aerospace activities, Vittorio Colao, by the president of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), Giorgio Saccoccia, and by the heads of space agencies of the G20 countries and the main international space organizations.
The “Space Economy Leaders Meeting” was born last year, under the Saudi presidency of the G20, and represents a unique opportunity to add relevance and strategic importance to the topics already chosen by the Italian presidency: People, Planet, Prosperity. These are the topics within which the capabilities to support space technologies and systems are clearly expressed, and make space a unique industry to support the goals of the Italian G20 presidency.
“We believe that space activities will play a key role in the coming years, in terms of strengthening the foundations of the three G20 pillars: People, Planet, Prosperity. This is why this year’s meeting of the G20 leaders for Space Economy was a perfect opportunity to raise the level of attention towards the role that Space and 'Space Economy' can provide to the G20 goals and the future of our society. And the G20 countries can act as ambassadors for Space also in developing and emerging countries which, however, haven’t had the chance yet to seize the opportunities of this industry to build a sustainable future – said the ASI president, Giorgio Saccoccia.
The meeting, which was held in a hybrid mode (partly in presence and partly remotely), was an opportunity to discuss future projects and scenarios in the industry, in a context where space is an important economic resource for the prosperity of humanity. Space resources are increasingly linked to critical areas, such as communications, transports, health, agriculture, environment and climate, which pave the way for a wide range of industries and new markets, resulting in employment, increase of opportunities and better life standards in the countries around the world.
Among the main points of the meeting, special emphasis was placed on climate change and sustainable development projects favored by space technologies and applications, also in view of the upcoming COP26 meeting chaired by Italy and United Kingdom. At the end of the meeting, the representatives of the 20 heads of agencies launched a challenge to raise awareness among the G20 community on the importance of Space Economy’s contribution to global economy, by adopting three recommendations. This message will reach the Summit of the G20 Heads of State and Government, that will be held in Rome at the end of October.
The heads of the following agencies were present at the Italian Space Agency headquarters: France (CNES), Germany (DLR), Russia (ROSCOSMOS), Saudi Arabia (SSC), Turkey (TUA) and United Kingdom (UKSA). Furthermore, the meeting was attended by the director of the United Nations Office for Space Affairs (UNOOSA), Simonetta di Pippo, the director general of the European Space Agency (ESA), Josef Aschbacher, the president of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), Pascale Ehrenfreund and the executive director of the Space Generation Advisory Council (SCAG), Davide Petrillo. The representatives of the other G20 space agencies, the European Commission and the OECD “Space Forum” attended the meeting remotely.
