Published 15 May 2024 at 12.11
Domestic. An unexpected “climate culprit” has been discovered – in the form of the climate scientists themselves.
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A new study from Lund University shows that the climate scientists themselves consume large amounts of carbon dioxide during their conferences. Some of them dispose of half their “annual budget” in a single week's conference.
On average, each participant's emissions were estimated at 1.3 tons of carbon dioxide at a “water conference” held annually between 2004 and 2023. This contrasts with the goals of the Paris Agreement, which aim for 2.3 tonnes per person by 2030 and 1.4 tonnes by 2040.
– The carbon dioxide emissions that the participants themselves generate while attending the conference will be the elephant in the room which nobody really wants to talk about, says Emma Kritzberg, biology professor at Lund University, in a press release.
However, she sees solutions to the problem.
– Arranging conferences in parallel in several places at the same time , especially in North America, central Europe and Asia, can reduce emissions significantly because most participants have a shorter journey, says Emma Kritzberg.