Just published in @nature. Our comment how to decarbonize conference travel&include under-represented groups. Go virtual+Regional hubs = No intercontinental flights & 80% CO₂ savings & occasional face2face. As COVID taught us, virtual is possible. 1/6 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02057-2

Why is conference travel bad? A single meeting can emit as much CO₂ as a city in a week. For @theAGU 2019, scientists flew 285million km to San Francisco&back≈2xEarth-Sun=. But virtual alternatives exist, which are cheap, time-efficient, inclusive and ~net-zero. 2/6

COVID questioned the necessity of recurrent conference air travel - but will virtual conferences become the new normal? What needs to change: 3/6

(1) Reorganize of conferences to minimize emissions, increase virtual participation and therefore inclusivity. Choose accessible venues, merge with other conferences, create regional hubs. Go biennial with fully virtual meetings in between. 4/6

(2) Include carbon budgets in research grants. Respect that "necessary travel" depends on career, field, etc

(3) Invest time,effort&money into virtual technologies. Virtual: posters, comm channels (e.g. @discord, @SlackHQ), social events etc. Open-access to increase outreach. 5/6

(4) Researchers: speak virtually or better let colleagues from under-represented groups speak. 6/6
@DebbieHopkins_ @ThomsenSoeren @KA_Nicholas @flyingless @ScientistsX @coralsncaves @KevinClimate @groovybeatz1 @JKSteinberger @clequere @oxfordgeography @V_BlueDecade @jellsmoor