Publications

INSIGHT REPORT

Pioneering the Future: Space

Technologies Poised to Revolutionize

Exploration and Economy by 2035

September 2026

FACTSHEETS

Pioneering the Future: Space

Technologies Poised to Revolutionize Exploration and Economy by 2035

June 2026

WHITE PAPER

Future of Space Law:

Operationalizing Space Governance

March 2026

REPORT

Clear Orbit, Secure Future:

 A Call to Action on Space Debris

Jan 2026

WHITE PAPER

The Future of Space Law

Insights from the ATS, UNCLOS, and ITU Frameworks

December 2025

WHITE PAPER

The Future of Space Law: 

The Evolving Dynamics of Air and Space Regulation

 September  2025

The Future Of Space Law

News

Centre for Space Futures, Novaspace and SpaceTech Gulf  Sign Agreement to Develop Global Space Capability Mapping Dashboard

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia , 23 Jun 2026|  Press Release

Clear Orbit, Secure Future: A Call to Action on Space Debris

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 26 Jan 2026 | Press Release

Centre for Space Futures Holds Workshop with Participation of 40 Global Experts

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 05 Dec 2025 | Press Release

Centre for Space Futures Releases White Paper on 'The Future of Space Law'

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 12 Sep 2025 | Press Release

The Board of Directors of the Centre for Space Futures Endorses Its Strategic Direction

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 26 May 2025 | Press Release

Saudi Space Agency to Launch the Centre for Space Futures with the World Economic Forum

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 29 April | Press Release

5 ways we can tackle growing risks from rocket bodies in orbit

Dec 09, 2025 | Economic Growth, Stories

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Forum Agenda

Forum Videos

VIDEO

Press Conference: Centre for Space Futures in Riyadh

The World Economic Forum's Special Meeting, April 29, 2024

VIDEO

The Purpose of Astronauts at Davos 2024

World Economic Forum , March 9, 2024

VIDEO

PortWatch: Monitoring Trade Disruptions from Space

World Economic Forum , Dec 18, 2023

VIDEO

India's Moon Mission Triumph: Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj's Insights

World Economic Forum , Aug 23, 2023

VIDEO

Space Exploration is Back at Davos 2023

World Economic Forum , Feb 16, 2023

Forum Publications

REPORT

Space: The $1.8 Trillion Opportunity for Global Economic Growth

World Economic Forum , April 8, 2024

REPORT

Navigating the Industrial Metaverse: A Blueprint for Future Innovations

World Economic Forum , March 12, 2024

REPORT

Digital Trust: Supporting Individual Agency

World Economic Forum , Jan 18, 2024

REPORT

The Future of Global Fintech: Towards Resilient and Inclusive Growth

World Economic Forum , Jan 18, 2024

Strategic Intelligence Insights

Ocean peacebuilding uses marine scientific cooperation, sustainable resource management, and conservation to prevent conflict and build trust among nations. Examples include collaborative efforts among the US, Cuba, and Mexico to protect marine life in the Gulf of Mexico, which helped ease diplomatic tensions. Inclusive standards set by the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy promote sustainable ocean plans incorporating science and Indigenous knowledge. Post-tsunami recovery in Indonesia's Aceh region led to regional collaboration on tsunami warning systems, rebuilding trust in public institutions. Even amid geopolitical tensions, ocean science fosters dialogue and shared stewardship, serving as a vital diplomatic tool.
How ‘ocean peacebuilding’ can help calm global conflicts
Geostrategic shifts, rapid technological advancements, and increasing environmental pressures are straining global materials systems critical for industrial transformation. Over 90% of business leaders emphasize the importance of international cooperation on materials to ensure resilience, productivity, and sustainability. However, a weakening multilateral framework and a fragmented multipolar economy with competing regional blocs complicate such collaboration. Effective materials cooperation in this context requires addressing governance gaps and focusing on three key priorities for action to maintain global materials system effectiveness.
ICT, Health, Financial services, Education
The Future of Materials Systems: Cooperation Opportunities in a Multipolar World
Geostrategic shifts, technological advances, and environmental pressures are straining global materials systems critical to industrial transformation. Over 90% of business leaders emphasize international cooperation on materials as vital for long-term success. However, a fragmented multipolar economy and weakening multilateralism hinder collaboration and governance. To maintain resilient, productive, and sustainable materials systems, priorities include agile, results-driven collaborations; adopting circular economy principles through a lifecycle approach; and enhancing data transparency, standards interoperability, and trade systems to support resilient, circular value chains.
Financial services, Health
The Future of Materials Systems: Cooperation Opportunities in a Multipolar World
Data sharing and reuse are fundamental to scientific discovery, AI, and public decision-making, shifting data governance challenges from technical issues to institutional design. Various governance models—such as data trusts, commons, cooperatives, intermediaries, unions, sandboxes, and spaces—address distinct structural challenges within data ecosystems. A purpose-driven typology identifies seven governance archetypes targeting problems like transaction costs, power imbalances, legitimacy gaps, and scaling complexity. The focus should be on selecting governance models fit for specific institutional contexts rather than seeking a universally superior model. Effective data collaboration requires institutional orchestration, where multiple governance arrangements coexist and evolve to support responsible, sustainable data reuse.
Health
Orchestrating and Designing Data Collaboratives: What Governance Model is Fit for Purpose?
Artemis II's crewed mission will send astronauts further into space than in 50 years, looping around the Moon before re-entering Earth’s atmosphere. However, safety concerns have emerged over Orion’s heat shield, made from Avcoat ablative material derived from Apollo-era technology but redesigned into around 180 blocks for efficiency. The 2022 uncrewed Artemis I test demonstrated uneven ablation with chunks of heat shield lost due to trapped gas release, worsened by the skip re-entry profile, raising risks of exposing the capsule to extreme heat during descent. NASA has applied additional ablative material and continues addressing these challenges for crew safety.
Heat shield safety concerns raise stakes for Nasa’s Artemis II Moon mission
European states remain cautious and largely peripheral in the Iran conflict, prioritizing stability in the Gulf while avoiding direct military involvement. Despite quick diplomatic responses and support to U.S. efforts, Europe acts as a strategic spectator, balancing restraint with low-visibility engagement. National interests and political hesitations hinder collective action, and structural limitations within the EU impede unified security measures. France shows some strategic flexibility, Germany focuses on crisis management without direct military roles, and Spain openly criticizes U.S.-led operations. Europe's diminished diplomatic leverage over Iran and dependence on the U.S. further constrain its role, resulting in limited influence over the unfolding conflict.
United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom | Financial services, Health
Europe has become a strategic spectator in the Iran war
Earth Observation data is now more accessible through open archives, cloud platforms, and shared tools, lowering technical barriers and enabling broader scrutiny. However, public use often fails due to administrative challenges like budget constraints, stalled procurement, and lack of organizational responsibility. Openness involves multiple layers: data production, access regimes, operational outputs, institutional uptake, and public-facing availability—each requiring distinct resources and management. While private markets can fund specialized services with direct benefits, public goods like environmental monitoring and regulatory oversight depend on public procurement due to their broad, non-excludable benefits. Examples like Carbon Mapper and Global Forest Watch illustrate varied economics and uptake challenges across this landscape.
Germany
The Economics of Openness: Funding Earth Observation as a Public Good
Significant reductions in tailpipe emissions in Asia-Pacific contrast with rising pollution from non-exhaust sources like brakes, tires, and road wear, now comprising 38% of PM2.5 from road transport. Economic growth and vehicle ownership increased, but strict fuel and emission standards have helped reduce harmful pollutants, although gains are fragile due to rising vehicle numbers and used high-emission imports. Diesel trucks disproportionately contribute to air pollution and health impacts. Domestic shipping, largely unregulated, is the fastest-growing source of transport pollution, emitting more particulates than many trucks combined. Electrification of rail and vehicles helps only if paired with cleaner electricity grids. Comprehensive policies must target non-tailpipe emissions, shipping pollution, and adopt data-driven governance for systemic transport sustainability and clean air outcomes.
Latin America
The Clean Air Blind Spot: Shipping and Non-Exhaust Emissions
The American research enterprise has shifted from Vannevar Bush’s 1945 model of stable, government-led “Big Science” projects to a fragmented ecosystem involving public agencies, industry, universities, and philanthropies with diverse goals and risk tolerances. Similar challenges exist globally, with initiatives like the EU’s Horizon Europe and agencies in the UK and Germany adopting mission-oriented, high-risk funding frameworks inspired by DARPA. Addressing grand challenges such as climate change, pandemics, and AI governance requires new coordination mechanisms across these decentralized actors rather than reverting to older centralized models, aiming for more effective collaboration in a complex R&D landscape.
Financial services, Education, Health
Repurposing Grand Challenges in Tumultuous Times
Global municipal solid waste reached 2.6 billion tonnes in 2022 and is projected to rise to 3.9 billion tonnes by 2050. Although the percentage of mismanaged waste is expected to decline from 30% to 20%, the absolute amount of mismanaged waste, around 760 million tonnes, will remain nearly constant. Poor waste management, especially open dumping and burning common in developing countries, causes significant health, environmental, and economic harm. High costs and underfunding hamper universal waste collection, leaving about 2 billion people reliant on informal methods. Current global spending on waste management is insufficient, with costs projected to rise to $426 billion annually by 2050, shifting economic burdens to public health and ecosystems.
Latin America | Health
The world’s waste mountain is rising at an alarming rate
China maintains a dual approach in its global interactions, especially with Europe. Despite rising concerns about unfair trade practices and geopolitical tensions, particularly related to China's support for Russia in the Ukraine conflict, Chinese exports to Europe continue to grow rapidly, highlighting a dependency on Chinese goods. European public opinion is divided—while there is strong support for diversifying trade away from China, consumers still favor affordable Chinese products, creating conflicting interests with domestic producers. China’s soft power efforts in Europe benefit from U.S. political clashes, yet it remains rigid on key issues like trade rebalancing and its stance on Russia. Europe's planned investment initiatives signal openness to engagement, though China's response remains uncertain.
Australia, France | Financial services
[China Trends #25] - Dealing With a Two-Faced China: From Global Trade to Russia
Energy prices have surged due to the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, significantly impacting global oil and gas supplies and increasing costs in Europe. Unlike the 2022-23 crisis, current gas supply disruptions are smaller and Europe’s gas imports are more diversified, mitigating extreme price spikes in electricity. However, low gas storage and constrained fiscal space, alongside rising defense spending, challenge the EU's ability to respond. Governments should act swiftly with targeted fiscal measures to protect vulnerable consumers and businesses, while preserving incentives to reduce fossil fuel consumption, supporting economic stability and the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Latin America | Financial services
How should governments respond to the Iran energy crisis?
The aerospace and defense industry faces unprecedented demand, driving supply chain resilience needs amid bottlenecks in critical components. Tariffs, defense reforms, and geopolitical tensions add complexity, while AI tools offer solutions across design, production, and sustainment. Program execution requires stable funding and new contract models, with delivery delays impacting commercial profitability. Competition for resources intensifies from power and data center growth. Key players like engine makers and maintenance shops control capacity. Production agility and quality are crucial as the $2 trillion order backlog grows, with the space economy forecasted at $270 billion by 2030 and a projected 400-jet commercial widebody gap.
2026 Aerospace & Defense Outlook
In coastal Bangladesh, rising salinity threatens traditional farming, impacting rural women's livelihoods. BRAC introduced a local waste management initiative integrated into climate adaptation clinics, empowering women through segregated waste collection—organic waste turns into compost to restore soil, while inorganic waste is recycled for income. Villages manage waste operations via committees led by women and youth, fostering cleaner environments and new economic opportunities. The program enhances women's leadership, financial skills, and market access, aiming to link them with microfinance. Challenges include overcoming social norms, expanding financial access, market linkages, and supportive policies to scale impact.
Bangladesh
Turning Waste Into Wealth for Women in Coastal Bangladesh
Europe’s rich creative heritage faces threats as AI giants from the US and China train models on vast amounts of content, including European works, under lax copyright rules. European AI developers operate amid fragmented, inconsistent copyright laws, creating legal uncertainty and competitive disadvantages. The current opt-out system fails to protect rights holders effectively, leaving their livelihoods at risk without clear safeguards. To address this, a revenue-based levy on AI companies using publicly available online content in Europe is proposed, aiming to balance protection for creators with sustainable AI development.
Africa | Education
AI companies should pay a content levy in Europe
Economic growth can occur without increasing carbon emissions through the process of decoupling, which separates GDP growth from greenhouse gas emissions. Many economies, including the UK, have already demonstrated this by reducing emissions significantly while expanding their economies. Achieving net zero requires absolute decoupling—reducing emissions while the economy grows—through energy sector transformation, enhanced energy efficiency, and integrated technological innovations like clean hydrogen and carbon capture. Overcoming challenges in high-emission industrial sectors and avoiding rebound effects demands systemic approaches. Sustained improvements in energy intensity and policy support are crucial to making decoupling a viable strategy for the green transition.
Denmark, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, United Kingdom | Financial services
Why ‘decoupling’ energy emissions from economic growth underpins the green transition
India's semiconductor industrial policy, launched in 2021 with the India Semiconductor Mission, has rapidly expanded from cutting-edge nodes to include mature nodes and packaging. The strategy features substantial fiscal support, covering up to 60–70% of capital expenditure through central and state incentives, aiming to address global shortages, boost export-led manufacturing, create jobs, and position India as a key "China +1" manufacturing hub. Key transformative projects include the Tata–PSMC 28nm fab in Gujarat, a landmark $11 billion investment, and several advanced packaging and compound semiconductor initiatives, including a US–India partnership for defense applications. Sustained political commitment and trusted partnerships remain critical for ongoing success.
India | ICT
Three Questions to Shyam Krishnakumar - India's Rise in Semiconductors
Increased financial transparency has mixed effects depending on a firm's R&D strength. For companies with weak R&D, frequent reporting disciplines inefficient spending, helping eliminate unproductive projects and improving long-term value. However, for firms with strong R&D capabilities, high transparency can discourage radical innovation by pressuring managers to focus on safer, short-term gains to avoid negative market reactions. This narrowing of innovation scope can reduce these firms’ long-term valuation. To sustain breakthrough innovation, leading firms must shield their R&D teams from short-term pressures and provide clear communication about the long-term nature of their projects.
Financial services
Does more disclosure always create value?
Human development in Asia and the Pacific faces a growing gap between rapid technological advancement and human capability, with learning deficits, health inequalities, and delayed skill adaptation threatening inclusive growth. The region's diverse demographics, climate risks, and swift digital uptake amplify these challenges, making human capital a shared regional public good requiring coordinated standards and capacity building. To thrive, the region must transform education towards cognitive and adaptive skills, embed workforce transitions in labor institutions, and foster regional cooperation in skill interoperability, innovation networks, and climate resilience training. Success depends on integrating national capability formation with institutional and regional collaboration, positioning human capital as strategic infrastructure critical for economic sovereignty and sustainable development.
Angola, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Chad, Chile, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Senegal, Singapore, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates | ICT, Financial services, Education, Health
Transforming Human Capital and Capability in Asia and the Pacific
Emerging economies face a complex global technology governance landscape as AI, quantum computing, and synthetic biology become national security concerns, challenging access to knowledge and international collaboration. While geopolitical tensions strain partnerships, fields like health and climate offer opportunities for cooperation, exemplified by vaccine production during COVID-19. Premature import substitution policies risk strengthening entrenched firms and harming consumers. Effective industrial policy requires transparent, accountable governance to avoid politicized resource allocation. Strategic international collaboration and tailored development approaches are crucial for emerging economies to build technological sovereignty and advance their capabilities.
Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Finland, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, China, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Türkiye, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe | Health, ICT, Financial services, Education
Building Bridges—Not Walls—for Technological Sovereignty

Centre For Space Futures

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