Speaker
Description
Remotely sensed Earth observation (EO) data is fundamental for the effectivity of environmental governance. It constitutes the technical foundation of a successful mitigation of climate change and supports the implementation and monitoring of multilateral environmental agreements.
Nicolas Peter. (2004) The use of remote sensing to support the application of multilateral environmental agreements, Space Policy, Volume 20, Issue 3, Pages 189-195.
As such, the importance of harmonization and quality-controlled data, which can secure faster and more reliable data outcome, has been widely debated in the field of space law.
See for instance, J.M. Serra-Diaz, B.J. Enquist, B. Maitner, C. Merow, J.-C. Svenning Big data of tree species distributions: how big and how good? Forest Ecosystems, 4 (2018), p. 30, Reyer, R. Silveyra Gonzalez, K. Dolos, et al. (2019) The Profounf database for evaluating vegetation models and simulating climate impacts on forests. V.0.1.12. GFZ Data Services
Specifically, Catherine Doldirina
Doldirina, Catherine. (2015) Open Data and Earth Observations. The Case of openin Up Access to and Use of Earth Observation Data Through the Global Earth Observation System of Systems. JIPITEC 73, para1.
has emphasized the role of voluntary international platforms such as non-legally binding Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) promoting data interoperability via open data policies.
The Outer Space Treaty (OST) and the Remote Sensing Principles (Principles) are the main legal sources on this topic, but they do not specifically address data interoperability. This hinders climate change mitigation, as this task requires huge amounts of high quality and interoperable OE data, which are not always available via open data policies. This situation therefore creates a gap on how to access OE data in due time in order to prevent and assess potential environmental crises. Moreover, current scholarship has not paid close attention to the different international and transnational norms promoting or hindering the interoperability of EO data.
This contribution aims at filling this gap by examining how Principles, soft law and voluntary technical standards are supporting interoperability and open data policies for EO data.
Specifically, I will examine how harmonization practices fit in the framework of international space law. Additionally, I will address how norms relating to national security and common good impact open data policies. I will draw my argumentation form Article II and XII of the Principles and also address the national limitations to open data harmonization.
I argue that the OST and Principles consist of legal norms that are to abstract to adequately address today’s complex international regulation of climate crises which is indisputably connected with regulation of EO data acquisition. More concrete norms are therefore required to face the different challenges raised by EO data.
In conclusion, this project promotes legal theory argumentation for securing open data policies, transparency, participation and transnational collaboration. The projects hopes to shed new light on the possible development of space law with acknowledging the issue of common responsibility for climate change.
