30/11/2023
In this December 2023 editorial, Bertrand DUPE, Officer for Carbon Footprint, and the Presidents Olivier FRUCHART and Dennis MEIER, review our responsibility as individual to evaluate and decrease the carbon footprint of our professional activities, and detail the commitment of EMA to contribute to it.
Dear Colleagues,
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions remains a major challenge and we are concerned by global warming, the harmful effects of which are becoming more and more evident every day on both individuals and societies. The phenomenon is now scientifically documented and clearly linked to human emissions of carbon equivalents. We believe that no one can ignore this fact, and that everyone must now evaluate all actions possible to rapidly and significantly reduce their carbon footprint, whether as individuals or through collective action. At EMA, we would like to look at what we can do about our own professional footprint.
A number of assessments indicate that the average per capita footprint of a researcher is equivalent to or greater than an individual footprint, i.e., 10 to 20 equivalent tons per year. While we can argue that our research should not be cut because its results can help to reduce the world's footprint as a whole through the development of greener technologies, we can ask ourselves whether we could achieve our goals just as well with a smaller footprint.
What can we do as individual researchers? Actions are relevant both in the laboratory and on trips, which represent the two largest shares of our impact. Actions in the laboratory could include the rational use of buildings, the energy efficiency of their power supply and heating/air conditioning, equipment renewal policies, etc. As these actions often depend on collective and institutional policies, our responsibility here is to motivate the reviewing and revision of these policies. Action on travel is largely in our own hands. We must ask ourselves about the impact of attending every given meeting, and consider new strategies for dissemination, learning and networking. If networking is crucial to our activities, we should review how often we need to attend events to achieve the bulk of the impact, meet more often on a regional basis, travel more by train or favour direct flights over multiple flights when air travel cannot be avoided.
EMA is responsible for the events it organizes, namely the Joint European Magnetic Symposia (JEMS) and the European School on Magnetism (ESM). In evaluating bids for the organization, we take into account criteria, such as the venue (Can it be reached with a moderate carbon footprint?), the premises (Is it of adequate size? Can an academic venue be used?) and practical organization (considering heat, waste, food and goody bags/giveaways).
We are now in the process of identifying a new Carbon Footprint Officer at EMA. The current Officer, Bertrand Dupé, has taken responsibility for ESM and would like us to identify a replacement to ensure that the topic keeps receiving the attention it deserves. While we are looking for someone internally, we also warmly welcome nominations from colleagues willing and able to support EMA in this area.
We encourage you to consider what personal actions you can take to reduce your carbon footprint, and we look forward to receiving your nominations for a new Carbon Footprint Officer!
Bertrand DUPE, Officer for Carbon Footprint and Higher Education
Olivier FRUCHART, President
Dennis MEIER, Vice-President