The science academies of the world's seven largest industrialized nations have sounded an alarm: as companies launch unprecedented numbers of satellites into orbit, the world needs a unified governance system to prevent space from becoming irreversibly polluted. The call comes ahead of the G7 Leaders' Summit scheduled for June 15–17 in Evian, France, where these academies are pushing governments to establish an Intergovernmental Panel on Space Sustainability (IPSS) to manage the explosive growth of orbital activity.
A decade ago, fewer than 2,000 active satellites orbited Earth in low-Earth orbit. Today, that number has climbed to nearly 20,000, with governments and corporations announcing plans for up to a million more. While this expansion promises near-universal broadband access, it brings risks that scientists are only beginning to understand: contamination of the night sky, disruption of astronomical research, escalating collision hazards, and debris raining down on the planet. More than one rocket now launches every day—a rate that may actually reverse the recovery of the ozone layer, recent research suggests.
The challenge is organizational as much as technical. Several scientific bodies currently advise on different aspects of space sustainability—the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee focuses on debris, while the International Astronomical Union's Center for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky works to minimize satellite interference with astronomy. But no single comprehensive authority exists to guide governments and corporations toward sustainable practices. Scientists compare the current situation to climate research in the 1990s, when fragmented advisory groups eventually consolidated into the influential Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). They want history to repeat itself, only faster.
The proposed IPSS would mirror the IPCC's structure and mandate. Its first priority would be defining global thresholds for sustainability—much like the 1.5-degree limit in climate science—to identify when specific orbital altitudes reach their carrying capacity. Three working groups would then provide transparent, policymaker-friendly summaries of scientific findings. One would assess the physical science of the orbital environment, including space debris trajectories and sustainable launch traffic models. A second would evaluate the environmental and societal impacts of massive satellite constellations, quantifying everything from ozone depletion caused by rocket launches to increased risks from satellite reentry and threats to ground-based astronomy. A third would develop mitigation strategies and policy recommendations, including international standards for satellite disposal, debris removal, and new licensing requirements that consider constellation-wide rather than individual satellite risk.
An additional Task Force on Space Traffic Footprints, modeled after the IPCC's greenhouse gas inventory body, would establish standardized methods for nations to report their space activity—creating transparency and accountability. This framework would bring the kind of rigorous, coordinated scientific input to space policy that has, for better and worse, defined climate governance for three decades.
The timing is urgent. Scientists acknowledge that understanding human impact on near-Earth space remains in its infancy, yet the consequences of inaction are becoming clearer by the day. Multiple satellite reentries now occur daily, with unknown effects on upper atmospheric chemistry. The window for establishing governance before reaching a critical tipping point may be narrowing fast.