More hot air: measuring the paradox of European ecology conferences

Abstract

As scientists we cause an above average carbon footprint for work-related travel. International conferences are a common way for us to meet and discuss, and we do not address the environmental costs of these meetings. Knowing the costs might help us to reduce them. Here we estimated the carbon footprint of the last five physical conferences of the European Wildlife Disease Association (EWDA). We obtained the number of participants from each country for those conferences, and along with assumed travel options, commuting, accommodation, meals and printing, estimated the carbon emissions for each conference. The estimate ranged from 155 to 1205 tons CO2 per conference, or 0.7 to 2.4 tons per person. The outlying upper value was due to one joint global conference of the EWDA and the American mother association (WDA), which takes place every eight years. The geocentre was calculated for both the country of origin of the average conference attendants and for the society membership. The former was located in Luxembourg, and the latter near Dusseldorf, Germany, just approximately 170 km to the north. This represents the shortest total distance attendees would travel. Air transport to the conference country was the major source of CO2 emissions (87-97%), and the average distance flown per person increased from 1000 km (2010) to over 2000 km (2018), since later conferences were generally further from the geocentre. The biggest reduction in carbon emissions (up to 100 tons CO2) could therefore be achieved by decreasing air travel. This could be brought about by reducing the overall travel distance to the conference, i.e. a conference location near the membership geocentre, or - by a lesser amount - by encouraging travel to the conference by train or bus, i.e. conference location near good public travel hubs, and by promoting virtual attendance. Minor but yet substantial savings could be made elsewhere (2-6 tons CO2), including providing accommodation in greener hotels located closer to the conference venue and offering vegan/local food as the default option.