Issue Government: sequencing frontier access faster than frameworks adapt

Summary

EY observes that geopolitical power has always depended on access to scarce resources, and today's contest over minerals, Arctic corridors and orbital space echoes earlier struggles over oil, trade routes and water. What is new is the strain on public institutions as several frontier commons open at once. These domains are often opening faster than legal, regulatory and oversight frameworks can adjust. Ministries and agencies are increasingly responsible for deciding the order of access, the constraints and the standards for these areas, amid uncertainty, security pressure and uneven state capacity. The challenge EY sets out for government leaders is to act early enough to keep sovereign flexibility without letting competition harden into militarisation and outcomes that are hard to undo.