Abstract
Awareness of the environmental impact of conferences is growing within the scientific community. Here we report the results of a survey in which scientists in Germany were asked about their attendance at conferences, their reasons for attending, and their willingness to explore new approaches that would reduce the impact of conferences on the environment. A majority of respondents were keen to reduce their own carbon footprint and were willing to explore alternatives to the traditional conference.
Highlights
Scientists attend conferences to present their results, to hear results from other scientists, and to meet other people in their field
Since the survey was completed, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the cancellation of many conferences and a significant reduction in air travel around the world
The breakdown according to career stage was: doctoral researchers/PhD students (46%); postdoctoral researchers (35%); independent group leaders/ principal investigators (PIs; 19%; see Figure 1B, C)
Summary
Scientists attend conferences to present their results, to hear results from other scientists, and to meet other people in their field. Going to a conference often involves long-distance air travel, so the benefits of attending need to be weighed up against the environmental cost of attending (Rosen, 2017). In March 2019, inspired by the student-run environmental movement Fridays for Future, a group of scientists from Germany, Austria and Switzerland founded Scientists for Future to encourage the scientific community to take action against climate change. We report the results of a survey that was conducted to gain some insight into the attitude of scientists to conferences and travel, and to gauge their appetite for change. Since the survey was completed, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the cancellation of many conferences and a significant reduction in air travel around the world
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