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OPINION (COM(2025)0335 – C100128/2025 – 2025/0335(COD))

On the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the safety, resilience and sustainability of space activities in the Union

ENVI-AD-785496

Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety · Rapporteur: Pierfrancesco Maran

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The Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety proposes amendments to the proposed regulation on the safety, resilience and sustainability of space activities in the Union. The amendments add environmental duties for space operators: environmental impact assessments, environmental footprint calculation and mitigation, lifecycle responsibility, debris prevention and re-entry rules. They require the Commission to set a footprint calculation method by 1 January 2029, removal rules for Low Earth Orbit within five years of mission completion, and delegated rules on lifecycle responsibility by 1 January 2028. They also add rules on soil and groundwater pollution, light and radio astronomy impact, environment-related incident reporting, Earth observation data sharing, and a ban on animal experiments.

Committee position. The committee proposes amendments to the lead committee to add environmental and climate duties to the proposed regulation, including environmental impact assessments, lifecycle responsibility, debris prevention and re-entry rules, and a footprint calculation method.

Key points

  1. Recital 2 is amended to say space activities' life-cycle environmental impacts, from manufacture to end-of-life disposal, need attention, and the regulation should encourage practices that reduce the ecological footprint.
  2. A new recital says space activities must contribute to the Union's climate-neutrality commitment under the European Climate Law, and the regulation should encourage low-carbon technologies and practices.
  3. Recitals are amended to cover environmental and climate impacts, including deliberate collision risk, the OST liability gap, and the need for ambitious Union requirements to create a harmonised legal framework.
  4. New recitals state that space debris is a major environmental risk and a new form of 'state waste', and that operators should bear responsibility across the whole lifecycle, including on Earth.
  5. Recitals are amended to require reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, responsible end-of-life management, circular economy principles, and to note impacts such as soot, alumina, water vapor and NOx.
  6. Union space operators must conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment and obtain authorisation; applications must include an environmental impact assessment report, including for satellite constellations.
  7. A new Article 57a makes Union space operators responsible and liable for the entire lifecycle of their missions, with Member States requiring financial and organisational responsibility for the end-of-life stage.
  8. Launch and spacecraft operators must prevent and limit debris creation, apply circular economy principles in design, ensure safe re-entry, and assess and mitigate soil and groundwater pollution.
  9. A new Article 70a requires spacecraft and launch vehicles in Low Earth Orbit to be disposed and re-entered no later than five years after mission completion, with rules for other orbits within 12 months.
  10. Operators must reduce spacecraft brightness and limit disruption to astronomy across the electromagnetic spectrum, and must provide evidence that constellations do not create disproportionate orbital congestion.
  11. Operators must assess environmental risks, report environment-related incidents, and may share climate and environment Earth observation data, which the Agency must make accessible.
  12. The Commission must adopt the environmental footprint calculation method by 1 January 2029, covering high-atmosphere emissions, and review requirements and targets for emission reductions, circularity and propellant substitution.

Who is affected

  • Union space operators: must conduct environmental impact assessments, calculate and mitigate their footprint, and bear lifecycle responsibility and liability.
  • Union launch operators: must prevent debris, apply circular economy design principles, ensure safe re-entry, and assess soil and groundwater pollution.
  • Union spacecraft operators: must ensure re-entry, reduce brightness and astronomy disruption, and report environmental incidents.
  • Small enterprises and research or education institutions: may use a simplified environmental footprint calculation for In-Orbit Demonstration and Validation missions.
  • The Commission: must adopt delegated and implementing acts on lifecycle responsibility, removal rules and footprint methodology.

Figures and deadlines

  • By 1 January 2028, the Commission shall adopt a delegated act on lifecycle responsibility and liability rules.
  • Spacecraft and launch vehicles in Low Earth Orbit must be disposed and re-entered no later than five years after mission completion.
  • Implementing acts on maximum post-mission lifetimes for non-LEO orbits shall be adopted within 12 months of entry into force.
  • The Commission shall adopt implementing acts on the environmental footprint calculation method no later than 1 January 2029.
  • Operators listed in Article 96(8)(a) and (b) may comply voluntarily before 31 December 2031 with Articles 96 to 100.
  • The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission from 1 January 2027 for an indeterminate period.