Towards climate sustainability of the academic system in Europe and beyond
A new European Academies report makes recommendations to mitigate detrimental effects of the academic system on the climate through its own activities. Its authors stress that “a change in culture is required, where individuals and institutions become aware of their climate impact and act to reduce it.”
The report shows that air travel is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions within academia. Virtual interactions are therefore critical to bring about a sustainable academic system, with a careful choice of in-person, hybrid, hub-based or fully virtual to coexist, depending on the goals and participants of a given event. The report, however, emphasises that other sources, such as supercomputing, buildings and electricity may be equally or more important emission sources than air travel, depending on the nature of the operations of the stakeholder.
The report was drafted by ALLEA, the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, and the Young Academy in Germany. On behalf of the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences, Agnes Kreil from the ETH Zurich, was a contributing author.
Edition / Volume: ALLEA Report
Pages: 112 p.
Standard identifier: ISBN 978-3-9823967-1-2 / DOI 10.26356/climate-sust-acad
Contact
Dr. Roger Pfister
Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences
House of Academies
PO Box
3001 Bern
Switzerland