The roots of environmental law should be devoted to space debris mitigation. The concept of space debris suggests an identified space object and\or elements derived from it, which is impossible to use for its destination and existence, and which assumes high level and accidental risks of impacting near-Earth space, space vehicles, biological objects, and environment.
It is necessary to highlight joint content of the main principles of environmental law and foundations of the legal protection of near-Earth space from debris. On this ground, principles separated on the base principles, compliance with which is a condition for sustainable access to near-Earth space, which is environmental security and long-term sustainability, and derivatives of the “pay for littering”, to avoid any harmful interference with the peaceful exploration and use of outer space, transparency and confidence-buildings, common but differentiated responsibilities, precautionary principles. Each of them is a pillar for further development of legal protection of near-Earth space from debris, which is revealed through legal instruments of environmental law such as licensing, evaluation of environmental impact, rationing, standardization, ecological taxing, and insurance examined.
Licensing is a mechanism for the enforcement of other ecological instruments. The evaluation of the impact of space projects for compliance with standards for maximum allowable littering (rationing) is proposed to establish as a base of the tax rate. Quantitative indicators of maximum permissible littering suggest determining by parameters such as weight and quantity. The gradation of these indicators should be defined as units of the tax base, on which the tax rate is established. The implementation mechanism of this measure lays in the obligation of the subject to make a report about the influence of the space project, planned by him. This report would be transmitted to the expert commission for evaluation. It can define the levels of innovations and ecological security (standardization), on which ecological tax rates are adjusted. Results of evaluation of the impact of space projects on the littering of near-Earth space may be used as a source for evaluating risks for insurance contracts. Mechanisms of environmental insurance are suggested expanding by the means of compulsory liability insurance, caused by identified space debris and voluntary insurance of damage caused to near-Earth space. The last one can be the reason for granting tax concessions. Part of these taxes could be transmitted to the global fund for space debris remediation in the case of its establishment.