Zero Debris Webinar 3: Navigating Zero Debris Requirements, Policies, and Regulations Across the World

Monday 16 Feb 2026, 13:00 → 14:30 Europe/Amsterdam

Online

Join us for the third Zero Debris Webinar: Navigating Zero Debris Requirements, Policies, and Regulations Across the World!

As part of the inaugural webinar series of the Zero Debris Community, this session marks another key milestone in strengthening collaboration among the signatories of the Zero Debris Charter—a global initiative committed to achieving Zero Debris by 2030.

This event will focus on the regulatory and policy foundations that underpin the Zero Debris ambition. Clear and coherent requirements, standards, and rules are essential to ensure responsible space activities and to enable long-term sustainability in orbit.

The webinar will begin with a presentation from ESA, providing an in-depth overview of its internal space debris mitigation requirements and standards. This will include ESA’s role and vision, how its policy framework has been developed, how requirements are structured, and how they are maintained and updated over time.

The session will then broaden to a global perspective with ESPI, which will present an overview of existing national policies and regulations worldwide. ESPI will also explain how accountability, responsibility, and compliance are managed today, outline the role of international law and institutions, and highlight key regulatory trends that are expected to shape the space sector in the coming years.

Join us to gain a clear understanding of the current and evolving regulatory landscape and how it supports the collective journey toward Zero Debris by 2030.

1 Welcome & Introduction

Speaker: Prof. Quentin Verspieren (European Space Agency)

2 ESA’s Internal "Zero Debris" Policy and Space Debris Mitigation Requirements: Role, Structure, and Evolution

This presentation will introduce ESA’s role and long-term vision for space sustainability. It will explain how ESA’s "Zero Debris" policy and associated requirements have been developed, how they are structured and applied across ESA programmes, and how they interface with industry and missions. The presentation will also address how these requirements are reviewed, maintained, and evolved over time to remain aligned with technological progress and the broader regulatory landscape.

Speaker: Sibyl-Anna de Courson

3 From Soft Law to Binding Obligations: The EU Space Act and the Emerging Zero-Debris Regulatory Framework

This presentation will outline the evolving European regulatory landscape for space debris mitigation and sustainability, focusing on the EU Space Act and its current development. It will explore the shift from national policies and voluntary guidelines toward more structured and potentially binding EU-level requirements, and examine how the Act is expected to interact with national regimes, industry practices, and international frameworks. The presentation will also highlight the Act’s scope, governance and adoption process, and its implications for compliance, accountability, and responsibility across European space activities within a broader global context.

Speaker: Mr Alberto Rueda Carazo (ESPI)

4 Q&A from the audience

Speaker: Sacha Bressollette

5 Feedback & Closing

Speaker: Prof. Quentin Verspieren (European Space Agency)